Looking back: Man traps over 3,000 coyotes in 15 years; officers chase after teens on horses

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  Published at 10:54 am, January 14, 2026  | Updated at 12:00 pm, January 14, 2026

Brittni Johnson, EastIdahoNews.com

Looking back: Man traps over 3,000 coyotes in 15 years; officers chase after teens on horses

1926-1950

DRIGGS — A Driggs man made headlines after trapping more than 3,000 coyotes over the span of 15 years, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Jan. 12, 1939.

L. Doyle Mathews started trapping for the U.S. Biological Survey when he was 19 years old. In 1939, at the age of 34, he’d trapped more than 3,000 coyotes and held the district record for a three-month catch, under mountain conditions, of 131 coyotes.

The 131 coyotes and four bobcats pictured above -- (try and count them) -- represent the three-month catch of L. Doyle Mathews of Driggs, U.S. Biological Survey trapper. His superiors claim the catch is a record for this mountain district. The cabin is situated on Moose Creek in the Teton Basin region. Caption dated Jan. 12, 1939.
The 131 coyotes and four bobcats pictured above — (try and count them) — represent the three-month catch of L. Doyle Mathews of Driggs, U.S. biological survey trapper. His superiors claim the catch is a record for this mountain district. The cabin is situated on Moose Creek in the Teton Basin region. Caption dated Jan. 12, 1939. | Courtesy Idaho Falls Post Register

“But Mr. Mathews doesn’t think he knows enough about the trapping game yet,” the article states.

The paper said “his surprised but pleased superiors” announced that Mathews decided to enroll at Utah State University for a three-month course in game management.

He was set to return to work in March and resume his trapping activities on the spring lambing ranges in Fremont County.

During the winter months, Mathews is typically stationed in the rugged mountain vastness of Teton Basin and Island Park.

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