The Wrangell sentinel., 1930-02-27
Increased Bounty On Wolves Urged To Protect Game
0pdyke Sees Many Signs In Nome Creek District Of Havoc Wrought By Predatory Animals.

Creek District Of Havoc Wrought
 By Predatory Animals.
 That the present scarcity of game is due to the increasing prevalence of wolves is the firm belief of Chas w Opdyke, well known mining man and trapper who is leaving for Nome Creek within the next few days. He cited one instance that is very significant But a short time ago, while following a band of car ibou up canyon, in the course of but one mile he discovered seven skeletons that had been pulled down by the denizens of the wilds.
 He affirms that one wolf can de- troy more game in a week than a number of trappers could hope to catch in the entire season. MT. 0p- dyke, from his observations ex- tended throughout his many years in the hills declares that the wolves leave a great deal of their kill. They seem to destroy for the sake of merely killing, says the Fairbanks News-Miner.
 He, with other trappers, bemoan the fact that the wolf bounty has been lowered They feel that if any thing, it should have been raised to at least $2250. To handle a wolf skin and prepare it for the fur market presents difficulties that are not met with in connection with other pelts. The wolf, when caught in a trap, is too heavy to pack un- less by dogs. This necissitates skin ming the wolf at the trap and in the open, ofttimes a real hardship in cold weather =. and lowering the wolf bounty will certainly not encourage the trapping of them.
 Mir Opdyke has been lengthen ing his trap line each year and 1t now covers a distance of 100 to 200 miles. Due to the growing scarcity of game, a line of that length is absolutely necessary if one would make trapping a profitable enter prise. MT. Opdyke uses a dog team impossible to cover that many miles otherwise He visits each trap at least once a week, some more often.
 He has five relief cabins strung along his line, which means con siderable cutting of trails and dead work during the summer. Accord ing to MT. Opdyke every trapper is in reality the trail blazer and road builder of his district.
 MT. Opdyke does not encourage chechakos to enter the trapping field until such time as the Game Commission sees fit to assign cer- tain district to each trapper, with full protection from the Commits sion against intruders. In return he would be responsible to the Game Commission for the fur and game in the district assigned him.
 Another suggestion offered by MT. Opdyke towards improving trap ping conditions is as regards to the season. Said MT. Opdyke =. ''If the season would open November first instead of the sixteenth, and close February first instead of March first, it would result in the catching of better skins and the trapper receiving better prices. This applies especially to foxes. These animals are easier to pick up in February as they are beginning to mate. The fur is not so good that month, that is, not to be compared with November skin caught just after the sixteenth.
 "The shortening of the season in the spring would mean an increase in the number of foxes as trappers would not interfere with their breeding. The change in the sea- son would allow such increases while the earlier opening would shorten the present season by only 10 days"
 The run of caribou in the Nome Creek district, according to MT. Opdyke, has been very peculiar. Immense herds were seen during the latter part of May and early June, mostly cows and calves, all looking becn no run at all, nothing but more sleek than ever before ob- served during the summer months. Since that time however, there has few scattered bands.
 This should not be suprising," declared MT. Opdyke, "when we know that wolves are so apparently on the increase. In all my 13 years of trapping I have never seen so roapu uuoIf fraokc fharo af