Idaho bobcat jaw collection

[Loup Loup]

From Corey Mosby IDFG Furbear Coordinator
This season marks the 6th year the Department has been collecting bobcat jaws on a voluntary basis.
Through this effort we’ve been able to collect samples from approximately 25% of the total annual harvest. These samples provide us with the age and sex structure of the population and provide insight on reproduction and genetic health. Thank you for your participation. We plan to continue this collection effort next season. For those that did not participate, please consider doing so next season and remember we now offer $10.00 per jaw to help compensate you for your effort. If you have any questions or concerns about this effort, please give me a call.

[Loup Loup]

Will be interesting to see what kind of a system WDFW mandates.

[JakeLand]

Eric you and I both know this state won’t give a penny for compensation as they actually want you to NOT kill cats

[Loup Loup]

Hey Jake. Yea, not expecting any compensation from the All Knowing All Owning WDFW.
But going to be fun to see how burdensome they can make this process, compared to IDFG.

[blnelson]

I will be part of the study in Idaho. Has Washington made up there mines yet on all the ways the skull will need to be presented?

[Loup Loup]

I haven’t heard anything. Would like to have trappers involved in the process. We have tried.

[JakeLand]

From me they will get the whole skull in whatever stage of decomposition it’s in

[bugs n bones]

Eric you and I both know this state won’t give a penny for compensation as they actually want you to NOT kill cats

[TeacherMan]

If I didn’t sell them on the taxidermy market I’d send them all in. I’m just glad Idaho understands this and allows me to sell them in the whole still after I get them tagged.

[Trapper John]

Hey Jake. Yea, not expecting any compensation from the All Knowing All Owning WDFW.
But going to be fun to see how burdensome they can make this process, compared to IDFG.

There is a big difference between Idaho Game Department and Washington.  Idaho wants to work with their trappers and trapper association. 
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife does not work with trappers and every trapper is an outlaw (their words) and the department Game Agents are "trained" to "create" revenue." (their words) 

WDFW does not manage fish or wildlife, they're all about "money" ........... "Creating revenue"

So, watch your backs they're not your friends.

[Loup Loup]

Breaking news:
We, representatives of WSTA, have offered an olive branch to WDFW, in that we have asked them to attend the roundevous in August, and give us guidance as to what they want/expect in these jaws.
To their credit, they are agreeable (so far so good)to trappers helping develope methods/ procedures on how to extract these jaws. We also want insight, ideas from taxidermists and predator hunters.
Our goal is to help guide this process to make it as less invasive, burdensome to the harvester as possible, and yet, produce a specimen that will yield usable data.

[UrbanTrapper]

Let's at least ASK them if WDFW will give us $10 for a whole, dried in the freezer, skull. That's about all I could sell them for in 2024 anyway.

[Frank The Tank]

Breaking news:
We, representatives of WSTA, have offered an olive branch to WDFW, in that we have asked them to attend the roundevous in August, and give us guidance as to what they want/expect in these jaws.
To their credit, they are agreeable (so far so good)to trappers helping develope methods/ procedures on how to extract these jaws. We also want insight, ideas from taxidermists and predator hunters.
Our goal is to help guide this process to make it as less invasive, burdensome to the harvester as possible, and yet, produce a specimen that will yield usable data.

I think (relatively speaking) this is huge.  In the conversations I've had with the WDFW biologists, they were naively surprised that the verbiage of how the jaws would be turned in was confusing, and would add friction. 

One thing I think we need to realize.  1. Turning in the jaws is a done deal. 2. Canines have been proven over and over in multiple states to put age window in days. In retrospect-hindsight being 20/20, instead of focusing on incisors and such, we collectively should have put weight on things like "voluntary" and a cash "bounty" to encourage participation.   These same biologists were surprised-shocked-that not every trapper skinned, put up, their own hides.  To these persons' credit (NOT BIG WDFW) they listened to the taker/harvester perspective of how to best meet their goals. To this end they want us to show-even teach-them on best practices from taking a raw skull to separating the jaw and completing this the way WE think it should be done.  When was the last time WDFW asked for this? This is a great way to influence future decisions (things go better when they go our way)

For those nay-sayers, and "I'll just give them the whole skull and too bad" crowd.  1. You KNOW this won't work. You won't get your pelt sealed and then be mad about it. See how that helps us as an organization. 2. Folks bitch that WDFW won't work with us, and when they offer to, folks bitch that they are.  No one says trust them. But this is a way to influence through action and behavior.  We CAN'T stop the decision on collecting jaws. That boat has sailed. We CAN influence how, which gives legitimacy to WSTA. 

[Frank The Tank]

Let's at least ASK them if WDFW will give us $10 for a whole, dried in the freezer, skull. That's about all I could sell them for in 2024 anyway.

I think this, presented in the correct way, would show them they would get more participation, and we WSTA might actually influence this in the future.  Something we probably should have focused on when this thing first came out.

[JakeLand]

Breaking news:
We, representatives of WSTA, have offered an olive branch to WDFW, in that we have asked them to attend the roundevous in August, and give us guidance as to what they want/expect in these jaws.
To their credit, they are agreeable (so far so good)to trappers helping develope methods/ procedures on how to extract these jaws. We also want insight, ideas from taxidermists and predator hunters.
Our goal is to help guide this process to make it as less invasive, burdensome to the harvester as possible, and yet, produce a specimen that will yield usable data.

I think (relatively speaking) this is huge.  In the conversations I've had with the WDFW biologists, they were naively surprised that the verbiage of how the jaws would be turned in was confusing, and would add friction. 

One thing I think we need to realize.  1. Turning in the jaws is a done deal. 2. Canines have been proven over and over in multiple states to put age window in days. In retrospect-hindsight being 20/20, instead of focusing on incisors and such, we collectively should have put weight on things like "voluntary" and a cash "bounty" to encourage participation.   These same biologists were surprised-shocked-that not every trapper skinned, put up, their own hides.  To these persons' credit (NOT BIG WDFW) they listened to the taker/harvester perspective of how to best meet their goals. To this end they want us to show-even teach-them on best practices from taking a raw skull to separating the jaw and completing this the way WE think it should be done.  When was the last time WDFW asked for this? This is a great way to influence future decisions (things go better when they go our way)

For those nay-sayers, and "I'll just give them the whole skull and too bad" crowd.  1. You KNOW this won't work. You won't get your pelt sealed and then be mad about it. See how that helps us as an organization. 2. Folks bitch that WDFW won't work with us, and when they offer to, folks bitch that they are.  No one says trust them. But this is a way to influence through action and behavior.  We CAN'T stop the decision on collecting jaws. That boat has sailed. We CAN influence how, which gives legitimacy to WSTA.

your wrong Frank 1) I lose money giving them the jaw to a cat 2) I lose money because time is money as you know taking out he jaw takes time 3) there are ONLY 2 age classes of cats period juvenile or adult so what’s the difference and why do they care of the age class when this state is literally loaded with cats
All the trappers in this state trapping cats don’t touch 1% of the country trapping , you can trap a area every year and catch every cat in that area and next year there will be just as many that fill in
They won’t do crap with the teeth as we all know it’s very stupid