Iowa Trappers Association August 2010 Report

President — Craig Sweet, 1825 Kirkwood St., Saint Charles, IA 50240; phone: 641-764-2758

Vice President — Randy Mitchell, Iowa Fall, IA; phone: 641-648-6787

Secretary — Patty Kempf, 3371 130th St., Jamaica, IA 50128; e-mail: itasecretary@iowatelecom.net

Treasurer — Chris Grillot, 2769 110th Ave., Wheatland, IA 52777; phone: 563-374-1074;
e-mail: itatreasurer@fbcom.net

FTA Director — Gene Purdy, 521 Edwin Place, Fontanelle, IA 50846; phone: 641-745-8841

NTA Director — George Scalf, 123 N. Madison Ave., Ottumwa, IA 52501; phone: 641-682-3937;
e-mail: iantadtr@mchsi.com

Membership Options:

• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $15
• Lifetime membership with subscription — $250

Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:

ITA Secretary
Patty Kempf
3371-130th St.
Jamaica, IA 50129

http://www.iowatrappers.com

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Greetings to all. As you read this the fall convention in Sigourney will be about a month away – hope to see you all there. See more about the convention under Convention Report.
At the June 27th BOD meeting, guests were, Margaret & Ron Squier, Judy Sells, Joice Hill, Diane Davis & Drake, Phil Choquette, Bruce Hutton & Deloris Sweet.

At the meeting, District 4 Director, Ed Clouse had sent a letter of resignation to the board due to his health. Ed has a single-cell cancer that is non-cureable, but treatable running though his blood and bones. I talked to Ed, said he was feeling better & his chances are good at 80%. Anyone wishing to send a card, mail it to Ed Clouse 1979 695th Ave. Albia, IA 52531. Ed has been a director for many years in the ITA, Thanks Ed for your years of service to the ITA, our prayers & best wishes to you in the future.

As of now the following districts are in need of directors. Dist 4(Appanoose, Davis,Mahaska,Marion, Monroe & Wapello) Dist 6 (Des Moines, Henry, Lee & Louisa), Dist 9 (Benton, Iowa & Linn), Dist 19 (Clayton,Delaware & Dubuque) Dist 20 (Allamakee, Chickasaw, Howard & Winneshiek) Dist 24 Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola & Sioux) If you live in one of these districts, contact any officer or director for information about becoming a director.

The ITA Fur Auction will be January 8th in Boone. The guide lines for selling fur will be available at convention. Auction will be limited to 100 sellers. All legally taken fur will be accepted. Fur will have to be skinned or finished, only carcass animals allowed will be otter & bobcat. Beaver castor, squirrel pelts & tails, turkey wings & tails & deer hides will also be accepted – NO BEEF hides. Anyone can sell, 7% commission, with 3% on “No Sales”, bring you check book or cash to pay commissions – No credit/debit cards will be accepted at the sale. Contact Eric Rector to get your seller number.

As of June 25th, Ron Andrews retired as Furbearer Biologist for the DNR. Ron worked for the DNR over 43 years. If you see Ron, say thanks to him for his many years of appreciated service to and for us trappers. Ron, Thanks so much for all you have done, from the ITA BOD. For the time being, Ron’s assistant Dave Hoffman will assume his duties. The ITA looks forward to working with Dave under his now roll.

The ITA fur coat was presented at the Miss Iowa Pageant by Tom Walters to Miss Iowa 2010, Pauli Mayfield. Pauli is scheduled to be at the fall convention on Saturday Sept. 11th from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. Stop by and see her, I am sure she will have autograph pictures to sign for everyone. Congratulations Pauli on behalf of the ITA for being chosen as Miss Iowa for 2010.
The ITA is in the process a bidding for the 2012 NTA National Convention. The convention site, if selected, will be held in Mason City at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. I will know more after Aug 3rd when the NTA Site Selection Committee will decide. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

The ITA Officers up for election this year are President & Treasurer. Nominations from the board were Chris Grillot for Treasurer & myself again as President. Nominations will remain open until the General Membership Meeting at the fall convention to be held Sept 11th at 1:30 P.M. You must be a current paid-up member of the ITA to be nominated.

The ITA will be busy in Sept. – fall convention 10-12th. Sept 18 & 19th the Boy Scouts will celebrate 100 years. They will be at Water Works Park in Des Moines having a state wide camp with lots of activities planned. The ITA will have a booth & demos planed during that weekends events. The following weekend, Sept 25 & 26th, the Izaak Walton League will be having an Outdoor Expo, also at Water Works Park in Des Moines. The ITA will have a booth there also. On October 9th the ITA will be doing demos & have a booth at the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ankeny. January 28-30th the ITA will be at National Pheasant Fest in Council Bluffs/Omaha at the Qwest Center. March 11-13th will be at the UNI-Dome Sports Show. Help will be needed at all these events, if you would like to help contact me at 515-306-9385 or hightoweria@aol.com

The 2011 Fall Convention is planned for Sept.16-18th at the Madison County Fairgrounds in Winterset. Winterset is located at the Junctions of Hwy 92 & Hwy 169 about 35 miles SW of Des Moines

The next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Sept 10th at 1:00 P.M. at the convention grounds in Sigourney. Better go for now. Til next time, enjoy the summer.

— Craig Sweet

NTA DIRECTOR’S REPORT

First, I’m sorry to report the untimely death, on Feb. 20, 2010, of Sam D. Hamilton, who had been sworn in as the 15th Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Sept. 1, 2009. Sam died while skiing in Colorado. Deputy Director Rowan W. Gould is serving as Acting Director until a new director is named.

At the May 13, 2010 meeting of the Natural Resource Commission of the Iowa DNR, Gregory Drees was retained as Chairman, Tammi Kircher was retained as Vice-Chairman and Kim Francisco was retained as Secretary. Other members of the Commission are Elizabeth Garst, Dennis Schemmel, Margo Underwood and Janelle Rettig.

The 6th Annual NE Regional Convention was held in New York May 21-23 and again was highly successful. Dan Skurski is our NTA Convention Coordinator.

On May 22, we held our 5th Annual Youth Field Day at the Izaak Walton League grounds east of Ottumwa. Approximately 160 youngsters participated in this year’s event. I was assisted with the trapping program by Dennis Long and Paul Vesely. A big thanks goes out to Dennis and Paul for their great help.

I’m asking everyone reading this column to consider a membership in the NTA, if you are not already a member. Recent TV ads by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) President Wayne Pacelle feature sad looking animals and somber music and ask for your donation of $19 PER MONTH! That equates to $228 per year! Membership in the NTA, to help protect your trapping rights, is only $30 PER YEAR! Let’s all support our sport through membership in the NTA!

The 51st Annual NTA Convention will be held shortly after you receive this, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Aug. 5 thru 8. Stop by the NTA booth and say HI as that is probably where I will be spending most of my time.

— George E. Scalf

CONVENTION REPORT

The ITA Fall Convention will be held in Sigourney at the Keokuk County Expo Center Sept.10-12. The grounds are located 1/4 mile south of the junction of Hwy 92 & Hwy 149 at the east side of town. The will be little shade on the grounds, but will have ample room for everyone wanting to camp. Camping will be available on the grounds as in past years for primitive and with electrical hook-ups – first come first serve. The Belva Deer Inn in Sigourney (1/2 mile from grounds) still had a few rooms available for Friday evening, but Saturday night is full. There are motels in Oskaloosa , 23-25 miles west of Sigourney, that had plenty of rooms available for both nights. No blocks of rooms have been reserved by the ITA, but the direct line for motels are as follows

Belva Deer Inn – Sigourney – 641-622-3200
Super 8 – Oskaloosa (east side of town) 641-673-8481
Americas Best Value Inn – Oskaloosa (east side) 641-673-8351
Budet Inn – Oskaloosa (east side) 641-673-8333
Comfort Inn – Oskaloosa (west side of town) 641-676-6000

For inside dealer spaces or convention information contact me, Craig Sweet at 515-306-9385 or hightoweria@aol.com Tailgating will be on a first come first serve. By the time you read this, there should be a complete convention schedule posted on the ITA website www.iowatrappers.com. Friday evening will be the potluck dinner as in years past. If anyone would like to donate a small turkey or fish please contact me at the info above. Turkeys about 10 lbs are the right size for cooking.

Convention will start at noon on Friday the 10th & close at noon Sunday. Beware that some inside dealers will leave on Saturday evening. Miss Iowa will be present on Saturday the 11th from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. There will be a GPS program for kids, a beginners trapping demo, scavenger hunt & straw scramble. The General Membership meeting will be at 1:30 P.M. on Saturday. On Saturday at 11 A.M. there will be a program by Conservation Officers on conservation laws & changes to the Consealed Weapons laws. Hope to see everyone at Sigourney.

— Craig Sweet

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