On January 4, 2020, Karen Zoller went for a run with her dog Mac in the Sand Mesa Habitat Area. It was a seemingly normal day on a trail that Zoller was familiar with.
Zoller said she was startled to see Mac get stuck in a trap during their run.
“He got caught in a hidden snare on public land and he died in my arms,” Zoller said. “The snare flipped him, and I couldn’t get him out. There was no hand release.”
Zoller contacted the sheriff. She said she was appalled to hear the words, “it’s legal.”
“That changed my life,” Zoller said. “It’s not right that a trapper can place hidden death traps on public land at the expense of others.”
Zoller started the Wyoming Trap FREE-Mont County, a grassroots organization that advocates for trapping law reform and education, after Mac’s death.
“We started as a result of Mac’s death and community support,” Zoller said. “We all have rights on public land, and we can work together to find sustainable solutions.”
Zoller said there needs to be far more public awareness on trapping in communal lands.
“Why can’t Wyoming stand up and tell travelers ‘watch out, our public lands are loaded with death traps’? That’s not being honest. It’s a safety hazard,” Zoller said.
Much of Wyoming’s public land allows trapping, and there are specific trapping seasons for animals such as minks, beavers, and bobcats. Certain areas, including Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park, are closed to the trapping of all fur-bearing animals.
Although there is dispute around traps on public land, trapping is a livelihood for some Wyomingites. Jim Pearce, who oversees the southeast region of the Wyoming State Trappers Association, began trapping when he was 13 years old.
“It’s one of those things where you either want to do it or you don’t,” Pearce said. “I’ve always been interested in wildlife and animals’ peculiarities.”
Pearce said there’s a number of things to take into consideration when setting up traps, including the location, the target species, and the kind of trap being used.
Pearce said trappers are required to check leg-hold traps within a maximum timespan of 72 hours. He typically checks his traps every other day, but lethal traps such as snares and conibears provide a bigger window for checking.
“I personally don’t like to go longer than 72 hours because of predation,” Pearce said.
If there is no movement during a 48-hour check, he extends the time to 72 hours.
“You set your line, and you check accordingly,” Pearce said.
The laws around time periods in which traps must be checked have sparked conflict. Lisa Robertson, president and co-founder of trap reform organization Wyoming Untrapped, voiced concerns over these time frames.
“You trap an animal, you leave it, and you come back either when you’re ready or when the law requires,” Robertson said. “That animal is suffering thirst, fear, hunger, and pain.”
Trap reform advocacy encourages mandatory 24-hour trap checks to lessen any animal distress, but Pearce said this is not doable.
“Twenty-four hours is not feasible because of the distances we have to cover and the weather,” Pearce said. “There are days I literally cannot get out there because the highway is closed. Explain to me what the reasoning is behind that.”
Public safety is a major concern among trap reform activists and has led to the push for trap-free zones. Pearce said there are public places that are seasonally closed to trapping but closing these spaces for a full year is too constraining.
“Public lands are just that – they are public lands,” Pearce said. “Having a whole mountain closed to trapping would cause a domino effect. Everyone has to use the land and get along.”
Trap reform argues that high-traffic spaces require more safety precautions. Robertson said trapping incidents have occurred at Vedauwoo, a popular hiking area for tourists and Wyomingites.
“In places like Vedauwoo, where there’s a high number of recreationists, there should not be any trapping,” Robertson said. “These are conflicts with solutions. There should be trap-free zones.”
Robertson has volunteered for wildlife conservation and wolf recovery for 10 years. She became interested in trap reform after learning more about trap laws in Wyoming.
“We started investigating, and the more we learned, the more horrified we were,” Robertson said. “We realized how archaic our trapping laws were. Traps are legal directly on trails.”
Wyoming Untrapped has now been in business for almost seven years and raises awareness through education and advocacy.
“I thought, let’s tackle something that’s probably the hardest thing you can do in Wyoming,” Robertson said. “I tend to do things like that and stir things up.”
Despite the disagreements within this issue, there is still hope for further compromise.
“There’s got to be trust and there’s got to be the willingness to sit down and work together,” Robertson said. “Every step we’re taking right now is breaking new ground.”
Pearce also said that both groups will continue to share public land in the future.
Zoller is looking forward to watching recognition for this topic continue to grow, especially in a city like Laramie.
“I think it’s impacting Laramie in a good way because it’s bringing public awareness and good solutions,” Zoller said. “You have the University of Wyoming with all the students, and the youth is the future.”
She believes that trappers and trap reform advocates can continue to compromise and share public spaces.
“We are all public landowners, and we need to come together,” Zoller said. “We’re all Wyoming neighbors and we all take care of each other.”
WY Trap FREE-Mont County: https://www.wytrapfreemontcounty.org
Wyoming State Trappers Association: http://www.wyotrap.com
Wyoming Untrapped: https://wyominguntrapped.org/about/
