Muskrats

[Woody]

Coming home through Benson over christmas break I noticed a guy on the ponds north of Benson tearing apart the side of Muskrat lodges.  He was knealing on the ice and ripping the lodge apart with his hands (maybe a shovel or hatchet too).  A couple of the lodges had the material laying near the lodge-but left the holes wide open. Maybe he was just going through them all at once, then fill the holes back up later?  I know nothing about trapping, so I might be wrong, but is this legal?

Also many years ago I had seen where someone had destroyed the muskrat lodges-like a tornado came and obliterated them.  Lodge material was scattered all over the ice.  I'm guessing this was caused by someone who wanted the muskrat out, and not a trapper. 

I like to think most trappers are like most hunters, they are sportsman like about their task and do not destroy habitats for fun, kill everything in sight, etc.  All it takes is one bad "apple" and suddenly everyone is labeled the same.      

[GRIZ]

It is legal to trap muskrats in thier huts, provided the material you use to plug the hole you made in the hut is wetted first to seal it from the enviroment(cold). That is while and after you are done trapping it. I've normally used an axe to do it myself. I never try to make a bigger opening than what it takes to get my trap in but I'm certain if someone was to see me who doesn't trap, they would think I'm tearing it apart. Most often than not when I'm done plugging my hole back up with the wetted materials it's more weather proof than the rats do it.

There are however a couple instances where things can go wrong. The first is an inexpierienced trapper that plugs the hole he cut w/o wetting the materials. (uneducated) The other is the guy who goes and catches his rats and when he's done is too lazy to plug the hole back up. Now this guy also falls into 2 catagories by himself. One he actually believes that he's got all of the rats using the hut so figures no point in wasting time plugging it.(ignorant) The other is the guy who don't care.(those are the wanna be's) Or that's what I call them anyway as if they were trappers they'd plug the hole to make sure the surviving rats would reproduce for next yr.

[Woody]

I figured it would be awefully ballsy of someone to do this in broad daylight alongside a busy highway if it was illegal.  And being as I was only a passerby, I don't know if he filled the holes or not-I'm assuming he did.  Thanks for the explanation Griz!