Department of Natural Resources officials today announced specific dates and times the Wakefield Field Office will be open for furbearer registration.

Wildlife personnel will be available to register furbearers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST on Nov. 30, Dec. 14, Dec. 28, Jan. 28, Feb. 8 and Feb. 22. The office is located at 1405 US-2 East in Wakefield.

Anyone taking a bobcat, river otter, fisher or marten must bring the animal to a designated furbearer check station for examination. DNR staff will attach an official seal to the pelt of each inspected animal. It is preferable to have the animals unfrozen for registration and skinned if possible, although whole carcasses also are accepted.

For bobcats and marten, either the skull or canine tooth will be collected for registration, while only the skull is needed for fisher and the entire carcass and pelt are required for incidental catches. No parts are collected for otter. The registration and collection of parts allows DNR staff to determine the sex, age and physical condition of each animal.

Trappers and furbearer hunters must register their own take and cannot register for others. Complete details on furbearer registration and the location of other registration stations can be found in the 2009 Michigan Hunting and Trapping Guide, which is available online at www.michigan.gov/dnr, at authorized license agents or DNR Operations Service Centers. For more information about furbearer registration in Wakefield, contact Johnson at (906) 353-6651.