I thought I would take a moment to respond to Monique Beyerle’s distorted reporting (letter) on trapping in New Mexico in the Feb. 24 edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.

I would encourage everyone to get online and read the New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish’s five pages of regulations pertaining to trapping of wildlife in NM that is included in the current years hunting rules and info. Trapping is highly regulated – much like hunting or fishing. I certainly support the notion that everyone is entitled to their opinion – but stating that trapping endangers citizens and their children is a HUGE distortion of trapping fur bearers.

The traps used will not maim or cause irreparable harm (amputation?) to hikers or those simply enjoying public lands in NM. Clear distortions and accusations like this are simply propaganda intended to mislead people in supporting a ban on trapping on public lands in NM. This is just another attack on the rights of men and women who hunt, fish and trap on public lands throughout the State.

Wildlife policy should be administered by professionals and not politicized by conservation groups who seek to limit use of public lands to activities that they deem “appropriate.” The rights of hunters and trappers to use public lands have come under increasing pressure from “Anti” groups for decades. The anti-trapping movement is just one more ploy to decrease the access to public lands and individual rights which are guaranteed to all citizens.

I would encourage readers to do independent research on the issue and they will find that trapping does not adversely affect wildlife populations. In reality, some trapping of predators may allow deer, elk and bighorn sheep to flourish or re-establish populations in new areas. Readers should also keep in mind that the resurgence of CONSERVATION of wildlife in North America was facilitated by HUNTERS and the fees they paid to engage in time honored pursuits. Check it out … read about the Dingell-Johnson and Pittman-Robertson Acts and their impact on wildlife in the U.S.

In the meantime, let’s leave wildlife management to the professionals who have been trained to manage our collective resources. Leaving wildlife management to the ballot-box and funded advertisements to politicize the issues is a clear disservice to our environment and individual rights.