A Notice of Proposed Rule Making, I.D. No. ENV-22-07-00010-P (published May 30, 2007), pertaining to the setting of body gripping traps on land, contained a typographical error in the Regulatory Impact Statement. The corrected Regulatory Impact Statement is published below in its entirety. (The error was made in the last line of the 4th paragraph in the “Needs and Benefits” section of the Regulatory Impact Statement.)

The Department of Environmental Conservation apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

1. Statutory Authority

Section 11-0303 Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) addresses the general purposes and policies of the Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) in managing fish and wildlife resources. Sections 11-1101 and 11-1103 of the ECL authorize the Department to regulate the taking, possession and disposition of beaver, fisher, otter, bobcat, coyote, fox, raccoon, opossum, weasel, skunk, muskrat, pine marten and mink (“furbearers”). This proposed regulation addresses restrictions on the use of certain sizes of body gripping traps, traps which are used primarily to take fisher and raccoon.

2. Legislative Objectives

The legislative objective behind the statutory provisions listed above is to authorize the Department to establish the methods by which furbearers may be taken by trapping.

3. Needs and Benefits

The Department proposes to establish a new trapping regulation that is intended to prevent the accidental capture, injury, or killing of dogs in body gripping traps primarily set to catch fisher or raccoons.

The proposed regulation would address the manner in which body gripping traps, measuring five inches or more in the open position, are set on land. Traps are to be measured in accordance with paragraph 11-1101(6)(b) of the Environmental Conservation Law, which reads in part as follows:

For traps of this size set on land, the Department is proposing that certain precautions must be taken in order to avoid capturing a dog with the trap. The Department proposes that these traps must be set in compliance with one of three options: (1) set five feet above the ground; or (2) set within a container which has restricted openings and other features designed to prevent a dog from entering and triggering the trap; or (3) set within a container which is fastened to a tree or post in a vertical position, has only one opening which faces the ground, and is set so that the opening is no more than six inches from the ground.

The traps that will be impacted by this rule are mainly used to target raccoons and fisher. Raccoons and fisher are smaller than most dogs and are well adapted for crawling into small holes to find food or shelter or both. These species are natural cavity dwellers. Dogs, on the other hand, are generally not well adapted for climbing into small holes.

The proposed regulations require that the trap be set within a container designed to exclude dogs (unless the trap is set at least 5 feet in the air). In addition, the opening in the container for a trap set on the ground must be no more than six inches high, which is too small for medium to large dogs to enter, and the trap must be set back within the container so that no part of the trap is less than four (4) inches from the opening of the container. A trap that is set affixed to a tree or post, and which is less than five feet from the ground, must have its only opening positioned no more than 6 inches from the ground. This again provides a very small area through which to access the trap within the container. Department staff believe that such requirements will make these traps very selective to catching raccoons and fisher, and inaccessible to dogs. Similar techniques have been used in other states and have proven to be effective.

Traps adapted pursuant to the proposed requirements should remain effective for capturing raccoons and fisher because these species readily enter small holes to seek shelter or food or both. For this reason, the modified trap sets are not expected to significantly reduce the ability of trappers to catch these species. However, the proposed rule will increase the selectivity of trapping and reduce or eliminate the capture of most dogs. A very small dog, however, may still be vulnerable to capture, injury, or death.

If a trapper opts to comply with the proposed regulation by placing the trap at least five feet above ground, dogs will be at very low risk of capture because the traps will be out of reach of most dogs. Raccoons and fisher, however, are well adapted to climbing, and traps will remain effective in catching these species if they are placed five feet or more above ground.

The proposed regulation is needed to protect dogs that may come in contact with a trap while the dogs are being walked by their owners or are being used for hunting. At the same time, the proposed regulation should not negatively affect the effectiveness of traps used for catching the intended furbearers, primarily fisher and raccoon.

4. Costs

Trappers will be required to purchase or construct a container, made of wood, metal, plastic or wire, that will be used in the setting of certain body gripping traps. Alternatively, they may choose to set their traps at least five feet above the ground. For trappers who decide to use a container, the Department estimates that trappers will need to spend approximately five (5) dollars in materials to comply with the regulation. In some cases, the expense will be lower because suitable buckets, wire, and lumber may be used to construct the container and are available at very low expense or salvageable as scrap.

5. Local Government Mandates

This rulemaking does not impose any program, service, duty or responsibility upon any county, city, town, village, school district or fire district.

6. Paperwork

The proposed rules do not impose additional reporting requirements upon the regulated public (trappers).

7. Duplication

There are no other local, state or federal regulations concerning the taking of fisher and raccoons.

8. Alternatives

An alternative to making the proposed changes is to leave the trapping regulations unchanged. However, this would mean that dogs would continue to be vulnerable to capture, injury, or death in traps set for the capture of furbearers.

9. Federal Standards

There are no federal government standards for the taking of fisher and raccoons.

10. Compliance Schedule

Trappers will be required to comply with the new rule as soon as it takes effect.