Earth steward

Running a trapline or trapping furbearing animals can be a lucrative business but for Frank Getsfrid, it’s not about the money, it’s about living off the land and being in tune with nature.

Although a hunter, Getsfrid’s forte is trapping, an ancient practice that has an important role in American history. “It is one reason the West was settled,” Getsfrid says.

Getsfrid believes he performs a service by being a good steward of the land and natural resources. Without trapping, he believes, rabies and mange would run rampant among the fur-bearing animals he traps

More importantly, Getsfrid feels that as a trapper, he helps keep a balance among predators and prey, and prevents some species, such as beavers, from overpopulating. Although many of us may feel fortunate to see the natural dam-maker in action, Getsfrid says, “When they are chewing on your $800 ornamental tree, one is not so happy.”

The appeal for Getsfrid “is being out there, outdoors, seeing the little inconsistencies of nature, like the pussy willow budding out due to the warm and wet weather, seeing animal tracks, following their movement and seeing their behaviors.”

Getsfrid has lived and worked in the woods all his life. He grew up in logging camps in Alaska and started trapping at age 8. In 1988 he broke his neck, back and leg in a logging accident. After being tested for several different jobs, he says, “My social worker/counselor said I was socially unacceptable and untrainable.”

He wanted to be retrained as a log scaler or a timber cruiser or even a meat cutter – any job that took him into the woods or away from people. But his counselors wanted him to become an accountant or a librarian. That just would not do for a man who has not shaved in 23 years or combs his hair.

“I do not have the social politeness to deal with the public nor am I very patient. I am inept,” Getsfrid explains, “and they put me on full disability.”

His injury still causes him pain even today and he sees a doctor often.

But in the woods Getsfrid is very considerate and patient. He believes fur should be harvested in a responsible way. There are ways to set up traps and traplines to catch the targeted animal and not another animal. And Getsfrid is adamant that if dogs are around you shouldn’t set certain traps or snares.

“For beaver, otter, or muskrat the Coeur d’Alene River is hard to beat,” he says. “I look for wood being eaten and some backwater. I set up a trap and put out a scent. Beaver are very territorial.”

Beaver fur is usually made into Stetson hats and the felt that wraps around a cowboy hat. The pelts are extremely soft because of the 60,000 hairs per square inch that protect the big rodents from the cold.

The price of fur is going up. Just three years ago a beaver pelt fetched $11. In 2004 the price was $16. Last year it was $24.

“Fur prices are up in bobcat, martin and muskrat,” says Don Kemner, of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. “Bobcat is running an average of $350, and I’ve seen it as high as $500 for a nice quality hide.”

Fur prices are driven by the overseas market and depends a lot on fashion. “China is buying fur by the leaps and bounds,” says Kemner.

Some trappers sell their furs to private fur buyer who may turn them into garments themselves or supply furriers on the East Coast or in Europe. Other trappers play the market, setting a price for each pelt depending on its size, color and quality. If the price is met or goes higher the fur is sold.

To become a good trapper Getsfrid says, you have to learn the biology of animals – how they breed, what they eat, how they interact with others.

“Like in March,” he explains, “beaver start breeding and they start fighting. I get a lot of holes in my pelts that time of year.”

Trapping is a regulated sport; trappers must check their traps regularly. It also can be dangerous. At times, Getsfrid explains, “I risk my life by pulling out traps when the river rises.”

But for Getsfrid, trapping is more than the money he can make. It’s more about the spiritual feeling he gets by being in tune with nature and her cycles.

“All the trees and animals work together,” he says. “God gave us talents and put us on earth and life comes to a full circle. There has to be something there for all of us.”