RUMFORD – Lack of interest was cited Wednesday as one likely reason why there are no state-required trapper education courses being offered this month or next in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties.

Maine’s trapping season gets under way on Monday, Sept. 1, starting with bear, a week later than the start of Maine’s general hunting season for bear, which opens on Monday, Aug. 25. The bear hunting season ends on Nov. 29; bear trapping ends on Oct. 31.

New trappers or those who can’t prove they’ve trapped in Maine or elsewhere in the nation since 1978, must show proof of having successfully completed a state-approved, 10-hour trapper education course to get a Maine trapping license.

The course teaches participants how to responsibly trap furbearing animals and establishes a foundation of knowledge on which to build, according to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife safety officer Michael Sawyer.

Topics include proper trapping equipment and use, responsible trap setting, the importance of good wildlife management practices, and habits and traits of furbearers.

Sawyer said Wednesday from Augusta that the course offerings are driven by trapper demand and the schedules of volunteer instructors.

“With trapping, we don’t give that many courses,” he said. Over a year, he said, 400 to 450 people seek trapping classes, “… so the demand … is nowhere near the demand for our hunter classes, which is 6,000 a year.”

According to the department’s Web site, trapping courses this month or in September are offered in Aroostook, Kennebec, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, and Waldo counties.

Typically, trapper education courses are not offered in every community. In previous years, the courses were taught at Neil Olson’s residence and fur business in Bethel.

Now, Sawyer said, it’s a two-part course with a home-study section, although students are still required to attend training sessions and complete a written one-hour exam to gain a certificate enabling them to get a Maine trapping license.

Resident children under the age of 10 can trap without a license when accompanied by an adult, but those aged 10 through 15 must get a junior trapping license, which is good for an entire year, and also trap with an adult or parent. Mainers 16 and up must get a resident trapping license.

Starting this year during bear trapping season, trappers age 10 and older must get a bear trapping license in addition to a regular trapping license to trap bear during the two-month bear trapping season.

For more information, visit http://maine.gov/ifw/education/safety/trap.htm