Lynx trapping on the Kenai Peninsula in Game Management Units 7 and 15 will be closed for the 2017-2018 trapping season from January 1 through February 15, 2018, according to an announcement by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Jeff Selinger, Kenai Peninsula Area Biologist with Fish & Game…
Selinger: “Well on the Kenai we’re on what’s called the Lynx Harvesting Tracking Strategy (LHTS) where we will allow substantial harvests on Lynx when the Lynx numbers come up, when the Lynx numbers come down then we will close the trapping portion of Lynx Harvest.”
The lynx trapping season for Units 7 and 15 are managed using a harvest tracking strategy. When snowshoe hare populations are low, trapping seasons are closed. The snowshoe hare is a primary food source for the lynx. Lynx and snowshoe hare populations follow a similar pattern with peaks and declines.
Selinger: “We harvest Lynx under two methods. Under trapping regulations and under hunting regulations. So, when the Lynx populations are down and the Snow Shoe Hare populations are down, the only thing we allow is hunting of Lynx and that’s from January 1st through February 15th. We do not allow trapping during those low portions of the Lynx and Hare cycle. When the animals start increasing, we will allow trapping as well as hunting.”
This emergency order applies to all lands, federal, state and private, currently open to trapping on the Kenai Peninsula.