President — Gary Meis, 69555 One Mile Rd., Bruno, MN 55712; phone: 320-838-1570
Vice President — Tim Bauer, 17290 155th Ave. N.E., Foley, MN 56329; phone: 320-355-2748
Secretary — Liz Thom, 173 Prairie Lake Rd., Wright, MN 55798; phone: 218-644-3593;
e-mail:wlthom@frontiernet.net
Treasurer — Tricia Coons, 403 Wood Ave., Bemidji, MN 56601; phone: 218-444-8244; e-mail: MTATrish@paulbunyan.net
Membership Coordinator — Kathy Peterson, 57124 Cty Rd., Northhome, MN 56661; phone: 218-659-4535; e-mail: kpeterso@paulbunyan.net
Director of Trapper Education — Deb Offerdahl, 14788 Lynx Rd., Milaca, MN 56353; phone: 320-983-6023
Mandatory Trappers Education Director — Shawn Johnson, 6122 McQuade Road, Duluth, MN 55804; phone: 218-525-4970; e-mail: mcquaderoadfur@msn.com
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
• Junior (under 16) with subscription — $12
• Senior (over 65) with subscription — $12
• Lifetime membership with subscription — $350
Complete membership application on first page of
association section and send dues to:
MTA, Membership Coordinator
Kathy Peterson
57124 Cty Rd., Northhome, MN 56661
DIRECTOR OF TRAPPER EDUCATION REPORT
Summer greetings,
I am hopeful the summer has been good to everyone and that you have had a chance to go to your area trapping conventions. Obviously, fur prices were a huge disappointment this year, but we have weathered this once before so I am confident we can weather it once again.
I would like to encourage anyone who is considering becoming a trapper education instructor to take the plunge and get certified. The next opportunity to attend an Instructor class will be at our winter meeting in January. Please, do not let the current fur market deter you from educating our future trappers. We have been getting requests for trapping classes all summer long. The interest and desire to learn our sport is still alive and well. At this time, I want to thank all our instructors who have put on education classes so far this year. I would also like to thank the members who have assisted new trappers in completing their in-field training requirement, as part of the Correspondence Course.
I would also like to take this chance to plug our Tanned Fur Project. For those of us that will still do some trapping this fall, I will encourage you to donate some quality hides to this program. Through this program, we are able to donate hides to local schools, environmental learning centers, nature centers, Apple Valley zoo and to conservation officers to use in their public programs. For more information about this program, please feel free to contact me.
That will wrap it up for now as our convention will be held in two weeks and I will have more to report on at that time. Enjoy the rest of the summer and be safe.
— Deb Offerdahl
DISTRICT 5 REPORT
Hello everyone,
As I write this, District 5 will be having two trapper education classes this fall.
Jerry Larsen will be having a class on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the classroom part, and on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the in field training part at the Grove City Community Center in Grove City. If you are interested in the classroom and/or in field training part, give him a call at 320-857-0158
I will be having a class on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the classroom part. The in field training part will be on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kimball Rod & Gun Club in Kimball. If you are interested in either or both classes, or would be interested in helping with one or both classes, give me a call at 320-236-2410 or my cell phone number 320-309-9382. Leave a message and I will get back to you.
The Boy Scout Trailblazers Event is on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Fairhaven Scout Camp. We will set up our booth at 8 a.m.. If you are interested in helping out with this event, give me or Deb Offerdahl a call.
Take care.
— Pete Jonas
DISTRICT 8 REPORT
Where has the summer gone? It seems just like yesterday I was looking forward to spring and now it is August. It was mentioned to me the other day that I missed the last issue of the T&PC. There really is not a good excuse for it, but I really got confused. I missed one deadline because I did not receive my copy, but I got the issue when I saw Jim Spencer at Mena. Before anyone says something, it is not hard to get confused when you are a senior citizen. It also has not helped since I joined a couple of new organizations. One of them being the Marine Corps League and the first week of August they are having the 86th MCL National Convention in Rochester. Needless to say, I will be spending a lot of time there this week.
The summer convention in Chisholm will be over when you receive this copy, so I want to thank everyone from District 8 who took the time to help with our district duties. Hopefully everyone had a good time. District 8 has completed two fairs and while there seems to be a good number of people attending, sales are down. The week after the convention, we will have two more to do, one being in Houston county and the other in Steele county.
Mark your calendars for the Northwest Trappers 9th Annual Customer Appreciation Day to be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. The hours will be from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. District 8 will have a meeting most likely about noon to 12:30 and this will be an election year for director and co-director. As you should all know by now, both Terry and I will not seek re-election.
There are between three and four people who have shown some degree of interest in the positions. I would like to encourage all District 8 members to attend and select your new district officers. Demos will be provided by Mark June and possibly others.
I will try to have more info in the September issue of the newsletter. Until then, if you are trapping, trap hard but trap safe.
— Dale Hayes
MANDATORY TRAPPERS EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Greetings Trappers,
First of all, I’d like to thank all of you folks that have hosted a Trapper Education Course this year and those who have scheduled a course for this fall.
Student interest never ceases to amaze me and I’m proud to be a part of such a fine organization that has stepped up to the challenge. For those of you with computer access, I urge you to take a look at the Web site at www.mntrappers.org and view the trapper education course offerings listed. If your district doesn’t have a course offered, I strongly urge you to consider hosting a class in the near future.
Hosting your first class can be a bit intimidating and co-teaching with another instructor once or twice really lessens the anxiety. I get requests from across the state for certification courses and unfortunately, many are forced to take the correspondence course option due to limited classroom opportunities. Reasonable costs for hosting a class such as facility rental, advertising, etc. will be reimbursed by the association.
If unsure about reimbursement for certain items, please contact Deb or me and we’ll get an answer for you as soon as possible. A word to the wise, advertise your classes at least one week in advance and encourage students to pre-register. Nothing is more discouraging then going to all the trouble of organizing a class only to have poor student turnout.
Materials for hosting classes are available for the asking and it’s always better to have too much material than too little.
The Help a Beginner Program that Mark Palas directs is an excellent vehicle for membership recruitment as well as putting some traps in the hands of student graduates to help those entering the sport for the first time.
Although most would prefer more favorable prices for their furs, a real advantage for new trappers entering the field is reduced competition.
This might well be the perfect time for young people to hone their skills in the meantime awaiting the return of higher fur prices.
Trapping season is just around the corner so I strongly encourage you to consider hosting a class before the harvesting season begins.
Again, thanks to all active instructors out there for all your dedication.
Keep your skinning knives sharp.
— Shawn Johnson
DISTRICT 7 REPORT
Hello fellow trappers! District 7 will be holding their Fall Meeting on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Schmitt Enterprises. Schmitt Enterprises will also be holding an open house. Doors will open at 9 a.m. The district meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. There will be demos throughout the day. Lunch will be served. District 7 members, try to bring a friend to sign up as a new member, and both of you will be entered into a special drawing.
If you know any young trappers that need their in the field training, please be sure to let them know about my demo at 1 p.m. This demo is going to be directed for in-the-field training.
This is the tentative schedule, some time changes maybe made.:
9 a.m. — Doors Open
9:30 — Snaring Coyotes by Shannon Cohrs
10:30 — Demo by John Graham
11:30 — District 7 Meeting
12:30 — Lunch
1 — Youth Water Trapping – by Leon Windschitl
2 — Coyote Trapping – by Brian Fisher
3 — Demo by John Graham
Be sure to look at the next issue in the reports for information from the convention.
— Leon Windschitl
