Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Furharvester Activity Summary, 2008-09 Matt Peek, furbearer biologist Licenses: A total of 6358 adult and 194 opossum, raccoon, striped skunk and weasel junior resident furharvesting licenses were may be hunted or trapped, and mink and sold in 2008. This is the most licenses sold muskrat may be trapped - through February in 20 years (since 1988), and represents a 15. Beaver may only be trapped, and their 16% increase in resident license sales over season runs though March 31 (Figure 3). the five-year average. Historically, the raccoon has been the most 15 1500 14 1400 Adult Junior important furbearer species in Kansas in 13 1300 12 1200 terms of total harvest and pelt value, and 11 Furharvester license 1100 10 1000 season dates are set to roughly correspond 9 900 8 800 with the time when raccoons are prime 7 700 6 600 (Figure 3). In addition to ensuring the (thousands) 5 500 4 400 different species are conserved, emphasis is 3 300 Adult LicensesSold 2 200 Sold Licenses Junior placed on having season open for all species 1 100 0 0 at the same time – so a bobcat taken 4 6 68 80 84 96 00 08 9 9 0 incidentally by a raccoon trapper in 1960 19 1 1972 1976 19 1 1988 1992 19 2 2004 20 Year November can be kept, and a raccoon taken Figure 1. Resident furharvester license sales in KS, incidentally in February by a bobcat trapper 1960-2008. can be kept. Over 100,000 user days are spent annually hunting and trapping Nonresident furharvester licenses have been furbearers in Kansas. available in Kansas since 1983. Sixty-four were sold in 2008. Demand for these November December January February March licenses has increased dramatically the last Badger few years, perhaps reflecting the value and Bobcat Coyote availability of bobcats in Kansas. Gray fox 70 Red fox Swift fox 60 Mink Muskrat 50 Opossum Raccoon 40 Skunk 30 Beaver 20 Primeness Period Furharvesting Season Beaver Season Number of Licenses of Number 10 0 Figure 3. Pelt primeness dates for Kansas furbearers 7 3 9 1 7 9 9 98 00 as indicated by Kansas furdealers. 1985 1 1989 1991 19 1995 1997 19 200 2003 2005 2 1983 Year Figure 2. Nonresident furharvester license sales in Harvest and Furdealer Purchases: Kansas, 1983-2008. Total harvest and the number of furbearers purchased by furdealers decreased for most Seasons: Furbearer hunting and trapping species in 2008 from the previous season seasons open statewide the Wednesday (Table 1). Beaver, muskrat, raccoon and following the second Saturday in November. opossum saw slight increases in furdealer Badger, bobcat, red fox, gray fox, swift fox, purchases. The slight increase in raccoon and opossum purchases contradicts the drop in pelt values that occurred, and probably Pelt Values: Furbearer pelt values reflects the fact that many furharvesters had decreased for every species in 2008-09 prepared to trap raccoons this season, except muskrat, which experienced a slight following last years high pelt prices and increase in value. Most importantly, prices optimistic market predictions. of raccoon, bobcat, and coyote, our three most important species as far as total pelt value, decreased from last season by nearly Table 1. Furbearer Harvest and Furdealer 50%. This decrease will likely be reflected Purchases of Kansas Furbearers, 2008-09. in license sales and furbearer harvest in the % Change in Total Total Species purchases from coming season, and stands in sharp contrast Harvest** Purchases*** previous year to the optimism leading into the past few Badger 1,619 505 -23.5% seasons that resulted in a 20 year high in Beaver 6,855 1,786 +11.1% license sales. Bobcat 4,080* 2,127 -45.7% Coyote 27,100 4,550 -42.9% Kansas furdealers purchased an estimated Grey Fox 84 25 -28.6% $477,000 of pelts from furbearers harvested Red Fox 707 178 -22.9% in Kansas in 2008-09. (This estimate does Swift Fox 98* 20 -50.0% not include the value of pelts harvested in Mink 177 57 -25.0% Kansas but sold out-of-state, kept for Muskrat 5,767 1,624 +40.7% personal use, or discarded.) Raccoon was Opossum 46,113 5,397 +41.3% by far the most important furbearer in terms Raccoon 85,061 40,339 +3.4% of total pelt value, accounting for about 67% Skunk 16,748 1,400 -20.7% ($321,000) of the total value of pelts *From pelt tagging records rather than Furbearer Harvest Survey harvested in Kansas, while bobcat declined **From annual Furbearer Harvest Survey ***From furdealer record books in significance from 32% last year to 18% ($87,000). Coyote (7%; $32,000) and beaver (4%, 17,000) were the only other species that accounted for more than 2% of Table 2. Pelt Values of Kansas Furbearers, the total value of pelts. As indicated in 2008-09 figure 4, this is in contrast with a Average Average KFHA % Change Species Pelt Auction Pelt from previous predominantly beaver/mink/muskrat market Price* Price ** season* of the pre-1970’s. Badger $9.89 $10.04 -22.1% Beaver $9.39 $7.57 -19.6% Raccoon Mink & Muskrat Coyote Bobca t Beaver 100 Bobcat $41.07 $29.82 -51.8% 90 Coyote $6.95 $7.44 -44.4% 80 70 Gray Fox $13.03 $8.00 -59.8% 60 Red Fox $11.78 $8.47 -29.7% 50 40 Swift Fox $9.03 - -40.8% 30 Percent of Value 20 Mink $8.78 $7.90 -28.1% 10 Muskrat $2.53 $2.26 +8.6% 0 6 8 -62 64 68 70 72 74 80 82 -86 90 92 -96 02 06 -08 Opossum $0.93 $0.54 -14.7% 1 5-6 7- 9- 1- - 7-7 9- 1- 5 9- 1- 5 1- 5- 7 3- 6 7 8 0 96 96 973 97 983-84 99 993-94 959-60196 1 19 1 196 197 1 1975-7619 1 198 1 198 1987-8819 1 1 199 1997-981999-0020 2003-04200 200 Raccoon $7.95 $5.54 -46.4% 1 Year Striped Skunk $2.42 $2.02 -49.1% Figure 4. Relative cumulative value of select *From annual Furdealer Pelt Price and Primeness Survey. furbearers purchased by Kansas furdealers, **From Kansas Fur Harvesters Assoc. Auctions (Jan 19 & Feb 23, 1959-2008. 2008). .