President — Paul Kelley, P.O. Box 75, Hudson, IL 61748; phone: 309-726-1443; e-mail: pkelleyp@aol.com
Vice President — Mike Gragert, Box 20, New Douglas, IL 62074; phone: 314-713-7976
Secretary — Dean Corgiat, 620 Clarksville Rd., Pittsfield, IL. 62363; phone: 217-285-4984; e-mail: dcorgiat@verizon.net
Treasurer — Timothy M. Kelley, 17458 Tice Rd., Petersburg, IL 62675; phone: 217-632-3521; e-mail: tmkelley69@warpnet.net
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
ITA, Treasurer
Tim Kelley, 17458 Tice Rd.
Petersburg, IL 62675
http://ilta.we.bs
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The worry of whether the auctions would be successful or not , no longer is worrisome. They both turned out much better than I predicted. At the Odell sale, we again experienced bad weather in the form of “ICE,” then a dusting of snow. I’m sure some folks put off attending due to the roads and weather. The number of lots were smaller than last year, but still we had 21 lots with several holding large numbers within each. Leon Bilbrew, Carroll Williams, Wes Johnson and I went to Odell Friday afternoon to set things up for the sale. This being the first time at this location required some adjustments to our regular setup, but we got er done. Lighting was the one thing lacking, but again we managed.
Thanks to the fellows that put in the extra effort getting things set up and ready to roll. The graders, Mike, Ryan and Carroll all deserve a thank you for the work done at these stations. Neal Graves, again thank you for conducting the 50/50 ’coon raffle of which was won by Jonathan Leman of Secor. I don’t have the exact amount taken in on this project, but I thank each person participating because this and the gun raffle pay the expenses. Tom Steiner of Mulberry Grove was the winner of the 10/22. I would be remiss if I didn’t again give Leon “Honey Man” Bilbrew credit for cooking up a great pot of chilli for all to eat. Lastly, I’m appreciative of all the folks that made the trip to Odell to sell their fur. Without the members, this sale wouldn’t happen.
Tim Kelley promised me to have the fur auction results completed and posted for this issue, so I will address the Fairfield auction now.
Leon and I started towards Fairfield on the morning of Friday the 23rd of January. I decided rather than tow the cargo trailer all that distance, we loaded and tarped everything needed for the auction into the bed of my truck, and in the jump seat. This didn’t leave any extra room inside the truck, but we managed.
About 2 p.m., we started set up to be ready for 5 o’clock, the time we would be accepting dried furs. Our first lot of furs came at about 5:30 p.m. and we had a continuous run of fur until around 8:30 or 9. We had to eat supper yet so we adjourned to a local pizza place to share a meal and plan for the upcoming day.
The next morning, 4:30 came early, but we did manage to arrive on time to get the doors open. As always, several trappers awaited our arrival and good naturedly asked why we were late. The number of lots of fur was 46, approximately 15 to 20 less than last year, but some very large lots both in dried goods and green ’coons. I will again leave the prices and breakdown of the sale to Tim’s report, but I was again pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Cody Champ managed the 50/50 ’coon raffle and did a superb job with obtaining fur donations. I don’t recall from memory the total of the Trapper Lot, but Mike Gragert won this one. The 10/22 raffle was won by Mike Gragert also. I want everyone to know that this was the luck of a hard working, dedicated member and everything is and will be above reproach. Carroll Williams and Mike Gragert did all the grading and deserve thanks for their efforts in making this sale a success.
For me to try to name everyone that helped in anyway, I would fail to note someone, so rather than slight someone, I say thank you one and all. Two that do come to mind are the auctioneers that helped spell Mike on several occasions, those being Steve Sutter at our northern sale and Harvey Fenton at our southern sale. Thanks to both of you fellows, as this worked out very well, and I hope we can continue to do so in the future. Carroll Williams was chairman of the auctions, and did an excellent job in pulling things together. Thank you Carroll, and I hope you plan to remain in this position for the future, even though I know it didn’t come without some glitches. Great work!
This week, I sat next to my computer to watch and listen to the proceeding in the Illinois Senate. 59-0 was the final verdict. In 2005, 87-27 in the House and 49-2 in the Senate was the vote on HB1486.
It was vetoed by our past governor and I wasn’t able to overturn his veto. I fully know that 59-0 is veto proof!
I wish our newly sworn in governor Patrick J. Quinn the best of luck in his office and offer any assistance to his success.
As the first month of 2009 comes to a close, I sit here looking back at the years of enjoyment that has been bestowed upon me with the family of trappers, here in Illinois and from all other states. Many enjoyable evenings, days in the field and not to forget the enumerable trips to our capitol to ensure trapping remains a viable sport, comes to mind. For all new to our sport, remember first and foremost, trapping will be saved only by our vigilance and dogged determination to keep it so. Just before sitting down to write this report, I received an e-mail from one of my IFOR buddies, Geoff Kispbaugh, relating information coming from HSUS. These are their figures, BUT, are you willing to just sit back and let this continue?
The following is HSUS tooting their horn with their accomplishments recently
Post-1990 Initiative and Referendum Summary-Animal Issues
Total win/loss count for the animal movement – 28 wins, 13 losses with 68% win rate
Total win/loss count for measures HSUS or FFA has been centrally involved in – 28 wins, 11 losses with 72% win rate (HSUS was not actively involved in 1992 AZ and 1998 AK anti-trapping initiatives)
Between 1990 and 2008, animal advocates squared off against factory farmers, hunters and other animal industries in 41 statewide ballot campaigns, winning in 28 and marking a huge surge in the use of the process on animal issues. To provide a contrast in the previous 50 years, between 1940-1990 there were about a half dozen animal related initiatives and our movement prevailed in only one campaign, and that measure was later overturned by a subsequent ballot measure advanced by opponents of the reform.
From 1990 to present, 32 of the measures were initiatives or referenda pushed by animal protection advocates, three measures were initiatives by animal use industries, five were pro-hunting referenda placed on ballots by state legislators, and one was a pro-animal referendum placed on the ballot by state lawmakers.
Of the pro-animal initiatives (with HSUS instigating and leading most of the campaigns), animal advocates have won restrictions on cruel methods of trapping in five of seven states, (with two measures in Arizona) where initiatives have been conducted, four of seven related to hound hunting and bear baiting, one of two measures to ban mourning dove hunting, and one measure on horse slaughter, all three measures on cockfighting, two of three measures on airborne hunting of predators in Alaska, one of two measures to ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts and all three measures on intensive confinement methods for pregnant sows, veal calves and egg laying hens. We failed in an effort to strengthen Arkansas’s anti-cruelty law. One of the trapping measures, Question 1 in Massachusetts in 1996 also banned hounding and baiting and eliminated the requirement that members of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board had to be hunters.
Of the five pro-hunting referenda, animal advocates prevailed in four campaigns. Most of these pro-hunting referenda sought to make it practically impossible to use the initiative process- either by creating new passage or qualification standards: we vigorously campaigned against these measures and defeated three of the four. One pro-hunting referendum which we contested and defeated , sought to repeal the ban on lion hunting in California. We defeated two of the three initiatives from animal use industries- one to repeal the voter -approved ban on hounding and baiting in Oregon and one to expand gambling at greyhound and horse racing tracks in Arizona.
In sum, we have had great success in carefully selecting and winning initiative campaigns. Stung by our successes , animal use industries have organized a backlash, mainly by working with their allies in state legislatures to place counter measures on ballots. We have been successful in defeating the meaningful counter measures. In the rare circumstances when animal industries have placed measures on ballots, we have handily defeated their measures.
To give this more time in the confines of this missive would in fact infuriate many of you. There is much more and it needs watching, in order to stay ahead or at least keep pace with these groups. The aforementioned Mr. Kispbaugh and several others, myself included, monitor all legislation that comes before the Illinois legislature for IFOR (Illinois Federation for Outdoor Resources).
To better know your enemies requires many hours of reading good-for-nothing bills, sifting out what will have impact on us as sportsmen, not just trappers. More eyes and ears are required, to enable us to keep abreast. How many plan to just sit on your thumb and let the other fellow carry the load?
Many, many of you younger folks are much more capable of using computers than I am, but fail to see the need to become involved. Sit back to do nothing, your days are numbered. Step forward, get involved and at least you’ll have a fighting chance. If any of you would like to help monitor legislation, e-mail Geoff at big_three_hunter@hotmail.com and he will bring you up to speed.
ITA Web site: http://ilta.we.bs. Refer to it occasionally for news and updates in legislation.
To bring this to a close, thanks for listening. Good Luck and God Bless.
— Paul Kelley
TREASURER’S REPORT
Greetings to all,
The ITA fur auctions are now complete and this report will contain tables showing the averages and other pertinent figures for both events. However, prior to displaying that information, many thanks must be offered to all those whose efforts helped to make both auctions successful.
For the auction at Odell, Mike Gragert and Steve Sutter are to be thanked for providing their expertise as auctioneers. Neal Graves conducted the 50/50 raccoon raffle and Leon Bilbrew prepared and served the refreshments. Neal’s daughters also pitched in, helping at the 50/50 table, as well as at the food booth. Dean Corgiat signed in sellers and buyers and collected the commissions for the ITA. Ryan Ruhl, Carroll Williams, Bryan Davis and Mike Gragert handled the fur grading and Carroll Williams served as the Auction Chairman.
Many folks aided in setting up and taking down the tables, floor covering, etc.; chief among these were Chad Jones, Bill Paulsen, Wes Johnson, and Joe McCall. Finally, I’d like to thank all the sellers and buyers who participated, as we couldn’t hold the auctions without you. If you attended this auction and helped the Association in any way, please don’t feel offended if I’ve left you off this list and please accept my apologies and sincere thanks on behalf of the ITA. The winner of the 50/50 ’coon raffle was Jonathan Leman of Secor, Illinois. Jonathan’s half of the winnings totaled $132.50, with the other half going to the ITA to defray costs for the event. Thanks to all who participated.
At the Fairfield event, Mike Gragert and Harvey Fenton performed auctioneer duties and Cody Champ conducted the 50/50 ’coon raffle. Paul Kelley signed in sellers and buyers and Rod Schrage collected the commission fees. Carroll Williams and Mike Gragert handled the fur grading and Carroll Williams again served as the Auction Chairman. Leon Bilbrew, Lee Stewart, Seth Groes, Scott Hertel, Joe McCall and many others participated in various ways to help make the auction a success. Again, without the folks bringing furs to sell and the buyers showing up to purchase goods, we couldn’t conduct the auctions, so many thanks to those people. As I stated for the Odell auction, if I’ve overlooked your efforts, please accept my apologies and thanks. Mike Gragert won the 50/50 ’coon raffle and his winnings totaled $220.75. On behalf of the ITA, many thanks to all those who donated pelts for this fundraiser.
Finally, before I get to the tabular details of the auctions, I want to remind all ITA members that we now have a working Web site at http://ilta.we.bs. I recommend that all members check out the Web site from time to time, as we often post news items and other valuable information (e.g., auction dates, convention dates, Officer and Director contact information, etc.) on the site.
Please plan to utilize the Web site, as well as these monthly columns, to keep current with all the pertinent information and goings on of the ITA.
The following table displays the results of the Odell auction held on January 10, 2009 (Listed by species, number offered, number sold, low, high and average):
Raccoon (Dry)
4X — 31, 31, $3.50, $20, $15.88
3X — 261, 261, $5, $25.50, $17.76
2X — 142, 141, $1, $16, $13.18
XL — 109, 109, $4, $14.50, $10.52
L — 90, 90, $2.50, $12, $6.46
M — 13, 13, $1, $3, $1.92
S — 3, 3, $1, $1, $1
Raccoon (Green)
3X — 54, 54, $7, $18, $16.03
2X — 96, 94, $5.50, $13.50, $10.15
XL — 109, 109, $1, $12.50, $8.69
L — 140, 140, $1, $12, $7.48
M — 45, 45, $1.75, $7.50, $4.45
S — 18, 18, $0.50, $3, $2.39
Kit — 5, 5, $0.50, $0.50, $0.50
Muskrats (Dry)
2X — 28, 28, $2.75, $4.25, $3.79
XL — 111, 111, $3, $3.90, $3.12
L — 64, 64, $1, $4, $2.70
M — 28, 28, $1.25, $2.25, $2.10
Kit — 5, 5, $1, $1, $1
Muskrats (Green)
XL — 3, 3, $2, $3, $2.33
L — 19, 16, $1, $2.75, $2.42
M — 8, 8, $2, $2.50, $2.31
Kit — 5, 5, $0.50, $0.50, $0.50
Beaver (Dry)
Blanket — 2, 2, $18.50, $18.50, $18.50
XL — 1, 1, $25, $25, $25
L — 6, 6, $11.50, $20, $14.58
S — 9, 9, $5, $15, $11.83
Beaver (Green)
XL — 5, 5, $10.50, $10.50, $10.50
L — 1, 1, $8, $8, $8
M — 9, 9, $3, $11, $8.33
S — 5, 5, $2, $8, $4.20
Kit — 4, 4, $1, $4, $3.25
Mink (Dry)
XXL — 2, 2, $12.50, $12.50, $12.50
XL — 5, 5, $17, $17, $17
L — 6, 6, $3, $13, $8.50
Mink (Green)
L — 3, 3, $10, $11, $10.67
S — 2, 2, $5, $5, $5
Coyote (Dry) — 38, 38, $4, $15, $10.85
Coyote (Green) — 15, 15, $0.50, $14, $3.57
Red Fox (Dry) — 9, 9, $8.50, $22, $19.33
Red Fox (Green) — 3, 3, $5, $19, $13
Bobcat — 4, 4, $21.50, $42.50, $37.25
Skunk (Dry)
XL — 3, 3, $10, $11, $10.33
L — 7, 7, $2, $5, $4
Skunk (Green)
XL — 1, 1, $13, $13, $13
M — 3, 2, $0.50, $0.50, $0.50
Opossum (Dry)
XL — 6, 6, $2, $2.75, $2.63
Opossum (Green)
XL — 6, 6, $0.50, $0.50, $0.50
L — 25, 25, $0.25, $1, $0.66
M — 43, 43, $0.10, $0.25, $0.24
Squirrels (Dry) — 4, 4, $1, $1, $1
Deer Hides — 37, 37, $0.25, $5, $4.18
Total Pelts Sold: 1,644
The following table displays the results of the Fairfield auction held on January 24, 2009:
Raccoon (Dry)
5X — 1, 1, $18, $18, $18
4X — 14, 12, $2, $17, $11.08
3X — 146, 144, $1, $19, $15.38
2X — 329, 326, $0.50, $14.50, $11.42
XL — 249, 237, $0.25, $12, $7.29
L — 236, 206, $0.25, $12, $4.13
M — 80, 74, $0.50, $5, $2.57
S — 1, 1, $0.25, $0.25, $0.25
Raccoon (Green)
4X — 1, 1, $19, $19, $19
3X — 84, 83, $5.50, $16.50, $14.48
2X — 193, 193, $1, $18, $11.48
XL — 211, 211, $1, $14, $8.17
L — 271, 271, $0.25, $13, $5.82
M — 119, 117, $0.25, $7.25, $3.35
S — 3, 3, $0.25, $1, $2.25
Muskrats (Dry)
XL — 32, 32, $3, $4, $3.66
L — 57, 55, $3, $4.25, $3.30
M — 31, 31, $0.25, $2, $1.40
Kit — 5, 4, $0.25, $0.50, $0.37
Muskrats (Green)
2X — 1, 1, $3, $3, $3
XL — 19, 19, $3, $3, $3
L — 29, 29, $2, $3, $2.90
M — 35, 35, $2.25, $3, $2.68
Kit — 9, 9, $0.25, $0.50, $0.28
Beaver (Dry)
Blanket — 3, 3, $12, $13.50, $12.50
2X — 6, 6, $12, $25, $21.30
XL — 3, 3, $17, $22, $18.67
L — 5, 5, $12, $18, $16.80
M — 10, 10, $17, $17, $17
S — 11, 11, $8, $11, $10.73
Kit — 8, 8, $3, $7, $6.50
Beaver (Green)
XL — 1, 1, $22, $22, $22
L — 10, 10, $12, $19.50, $18
M — 10, 10, $12, $14, $13.60
S — 28, 28, $2, $9.50, $8
Kit — 2, 2, $1, $1, $1
Mink (Dry)
XL — 20, 20, $2, $12, $8.68
L — 8, 8, $1, $7, $6.41
Mink (Green)
XL — 9, 9, $8, $10, $8.83
L — 20, 20, $2, $8, $6.80
Coyote (Dry) — 128, 126, $0.50, $20, $8.30
Coyote (Green) — 30, 14, $1, $8.50, $3.07
Red Fox (Dry) — 11, 7, $13, $19, $15
Red Fox (Green) — 4, 4, $10, $14.50, $13.38
Gray Fox (Dry) — 2, 2, $15, $18, $16.50
Bobcat (Dry) — 2, 2, $6, $21, $13.50
Otter (Green) — 2, 2, $21, $21, $21
Skunk (Dry)
L — 10, 10, $1, $4, $1.90
Skunk (Green)
L — 17, 17, $2, $2, $2
Opossum (Dry)
3X — 2, 2, $1, $2, $1.50
2X — 14, 14, $0.25, $2, $1.55
XL — 27, 27, $0.25, $1, $0.88
L — 14, 14, $0.25, $1, $0.57
M — 9, 9, $0.25, $0.50, $0.42
S — 1, 0, N/A, N/A, N/A
Opossum (Green)
2X — 5, 5, $1, $1, $1
XL — 30, 30, $1, $1, $1
L — 68, 62, $0.50, $1, $0.66
M — 10, 10, $0.25, $0.50, $0.45
Squirrels (Dry) — 13, 13, $1, $1, $1
Deer Hides — 2, 2, $3, $3, $3
Total Pelts Sold: 2,621
God Bless ‘til next time!
— Timothy M. Kelley
