By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that registration is now open for trapping workshops administered by the department. Workshops are scheduled for both youth and adults and are offered as a cooperative project between ADCNR, the Alabama Trappers and Predator Control Association, USDA Wildlife Services and Safari Club International.
ADCNR says that the educational workshops will provide instruction on the historical aspects of trapping, biological information about furbearers and furbearer management and proper techniques of using trapping as a sound wildlife management tool.
All workshops are limited to 25 participants. The youth workshops are recommended for ages seven and up and are free. Youth ages seven to 15 must be accompanied by an adult. Youth over 16 are not required to have an adult present, but it is recommended.
The adult workshops are: November 11-12 in Hamilton – Marion County – and February 24-25 at Southern Sportsman Lodge – Lowndes County.
The youth workshops are: November 4-5 in Pell City – St. Clair County, December 1-3 in Red Bay – Franklin County, December 9-10 in Citronelle, AL – Mobile County, December 15-17 at the Geneva State Forest – Geneva County, December 29-31 in Greensboro – Hale County, January 19-21 in Scottsboro – Jackson County, and February 16-18 in Spanish Fort, Alabama – Baldwin County.
With one exception, registration is free and available online at www.outdooralabama.com. A registration fee is associated with the adult workshop in Lowndes County to cover food and lodging.
Trapping is a sport that parents can enjoy with their children and is an excellent sport to teach wood skills.
Hunting and fishing is a $2.6 billion a year industry in Alabama, and Alabama is seventh in the nation on money spent for hunting and other recreational activities. Unfortunately, only four percent of Alabama residents have a hunting license. The average hunter spends $1,648 a year on the sport, and a portion of those dollars is devoted to conservation.
The state of Alabama is world-renowned for its numerous sporting opportunities. Our state boasts the highest deer population density in the country, as well as plentiful turkeys, doves, squirrels, geese, quail, hogs, coyote, rabbits, alligators and other game species, plus freshwater and saltwater fishing.
