Legality questions and trapping?

Good day all,

I have questions to which I cannot get an answer...short of asking the questions to my nearest wildlife office. This day being a Sunday I thought I would get a quicker answer here.

I'm a holder of a resident trappers' license and I would like to basically trap beavers, muskrat and mink on a fairly big river near my home. Since the body of water goes thru private land for kms on end and that water belongs to the governement so to speak, am I aloud to trap the species mentioned above without any restrictions as long as I travel thru that body of water without infriging on the private lands surrounded by that body of water? Could the length of a body of water be part/partially part of a trapline even though it goes thru private land?

If you have any information in regards to my questions, it would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to add more info relevent to my querry.

Thanks in advance.

Cabot.

I guess they're hard questions.

Okay, I'll take a stab. I was hoping someone else who may have a definitive answer would reply first. Don't take my answers as a sure thing, make sure you check with F&W first.

am I aloud to trap the species mentioned above without any restrictions as long as I travel thru that body of water without infriging on the private lands surrounded by that body of water?

My understanding is that you can trap the water (river) out to the imaginary centreline of that body of water from the side in which you have permission to trap. If a landowner gives you permission to trap his land, any water body that flows through it you can trap to that centreline. Of course, if the landowner owns the land on both sides of the water body, then you can trap both shores. Or, if you have permission on both sides of the water body from different landowners then have at her. I don't believe you can just trap your way down a river, after all, your sets would have to be placed on the shore or on beaver lodges which would be attached to a shore which would of course be private property.

Could the length of a body of water be part/partially part of a trapline even though it goes thru private land?

The answer is yes. But having said that, landowners have absolute power to grant whoever they wish trapping rights on their privately-owned land. Even the trapper who holds the rights to said trapline, still needs landowner permission.

Rob

Thank you very much for taking the time Rob, it is well appreciated.

I understand your way of thinking and agree with what you brought forth. Man! I was hoping this would go my way . Nevertheless, I will go and ask just to be safe. Since this post was visited so much, I will post the answers as soon as I get them.

Thanks again Rob.

Cabot.

Not sure if this is a definative answer. Like Rob says, check it six ways from Sunday to make sure.......

I keep my miners' license current, and in those regs, it states that the land adjacent to any watercourse only belongs to the "owner" as far as the high-water line. From there the land down to the shore, beneath the river, across to the other side, and up to the high-water mark on that side is vested with the Crown. The adjoining landowner has no rights to those lands, to any degree more than you or I. So if I can get to that perfect sandbar by boat, I am able to mine it. The landowner controls overland access, of course. I can't think of any reason why you couldn't float downriver setting traps quite legally, unless said river is part of someones' registered trapline.
Let us know what you find out, Cabot?

Hey Cabot
Stop in at my office in Bonnyville and Il show you the trap line maps or give me a call 812-1225

Ok guys, this is the answer I got from my Fish and Wildlife office.

When I walked in and said I wanted to trap part of the river and I had questions about it, he responded with "oh man! I hate those kinds of questions"

Anyways, he basically told me a mix of what you guys already brought up except for a few things. First he said, depending on how long the people owned the land, it could be that they own the bottom of the river right up to the imaginary centerline of the river, while others wouldn't, therefore, I would be able to trap as long as I have written permission from both land owner on both sides of the river or on one side depending on how long they owned the land, etc...Secondly, I had a look at the trapline map they had on the wall and 2 little spots of a trapline neighbours the river. Because there is a little bit of a trapline there(lease land), I wouldn't be able to trap in that particular area, but I would still be able to navigate through to get to wherever I have to go. If the land owners don't own half of the river, therefore the government owns it(if no trapline present), therefore I have to have written permission from the government of Alberta to trap it, in this case Fish and Wildlife, and it shouldn't be a problem for them to do this for me, according to them. So now, I will have to go and ask permission to every land owner on the section of the river I want to trap and ask them, first if they would agree to let me trap there and secondly if they own part of the river. I will have to write down all the info and bring that to F&W, they will give me permission on the sections of the river that are not owned by landowners by the river.

Another way he says that we could get you trapping in there is if the landowners would bitch about the beavers and the problems they are creating. Therefore, he says they wouldn't have a problem issuing me a ADC licence. So. what I'm going to have to do is get the land owners to call in on my behalf to report beaver problems.

Anyways, they were pretty helpful at the Wildlife office. So I hope this clears all questions that others might have about this. I counted too many untrapped beaver huts on that river to let it pass, I will be in there next fall.

Cabot.

PM sent Turney.

Cabot.

This is an interesting question and Cabot's answer from F&W is also interesting.

The "beds and shores of a permanent water body" belong to the Crown and and are supposed to be managed by Public Lands branch of the government. (not sure if Forestry is involved in "green Area" lands still).

If I go fishing along a river as long as I donot cross private land without permission, I can fish along the "shore" without permission and a land owner can not come down and tell me to leave because I am not on his land. If his cows come down and stand in the river to drink and crap in the river they are tresspassing on crown land and fouling the crowns water. If they are destroying fish habitat the cows owner could be open to Federal Fisheries charges.

I would think that F&W could not give you permission to put out traps on the crown land along a river unless they made it into a thin registered trap line. I could be wrong on this and hope so for your sake. There is certianly no shortage of beaver and it is nice to see someone willing to trap them where they are under utilized.

Robin.

Hey Duffy,

There are portions of the province, albeit small ones, that do not fall under the authority of a registered trapline. They are usually small separated quarters. Resident trappers can apply to the F&W office in that area and receive permission to trap it. My understanding is that the decision is left in the hands of that particular F&W ofice.

I was once trapping for a farmer who had some wolf problems. They were coming out of a 3/4 section surrounded by owned land. I went to F&W in that area to see if that land was indeed held under a registered trapline. Unfortunately for me and the farmer, it was - by a trapper who hadn't trapped the area in years but still held the rights to the trapline (something which happens far too often in this province). Long story short, they would have allowed me to trap it if it wasn't a registered line and that I should talk to the trapper of the line and seek his permission (Jr Partner) of which I had no interest.

Rob