President — David Leibig, 1375 Warren Rd., Delhi, NY 13753; phone: 607-829-6813; e-mail: beavertrapper64@yahoo.com
Vice President — William Ballou, 4 Noth Street, Camden, NY 13316; phone: 315-245-0960
Secretary/Treasurer — Dale Gamba, 12320 Pople Rd., Cato, NY 13033; phone: 315-626-3710; e-mail: minkman@frontiernet.net
Recording Secretary — Ed Hogan, 1900 SR 48, Fulton, NY 13069; phone: 315-593-2196
NYSTA Newsletter Editor — Angie Berchielli, 3861 SR 85, Westerlo, NY 12193; phone: 518-797-3747
NTA Director — Jim Carmody, 237 Fonda Rd., Waterford, NY 12188; phone: 518-237-3071
FTA Delegate — Ray Van Hoesen, Rt. 3. Box 259, Red Hook, NY 12571; phone: 845-758-2453
Executive Director — David Miller 11311 Gay Rd., Prattsburg, NY 14873; phone: 607-522-4707; e-mail: guarddn@empireaccess.net
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
• 3-year individual with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $50
• Family membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $22
• 3-year family with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $56
• Senior life member (65 or older) — $100
Complete membership application on first page of
association section and send dues to:
NYSTA, Secretary/Treasurer
Dale Gamba
12320 Pople Rd., Cato, NY 13033
http://www.nystrappers.org
President’s Report
Cattaraugus County Report
Cortland County Report
Eerie County Report
Independent Fur Harvesters of Central New York
Greetings NYS Trappers,
Trapping season just started and mother nature played her hand. Starting with the first day, we were hit with a large rain event. Then three days later, we here hit with a Nor’easter, I had almost 2 feet of snow in my door yard. That is one way to shut down a trapline. As trappers, we don’t let a little bad weather stop us, maybe slow us down a bit. I hope the weather is a little better for you then it has been here.
As we are collecting our furs, one has to wonder what kind of prices we will receive for them. The last time the stock market crashed this bad globally, the price of furs took a nose dive. This is a concern of many trappers. One good thing about this turn around, the gas prices took a drop also. For me, it doesn’t matter, I’m going to trap no matter what the prices are. I trap for the whole experience, but the money is a nice bonus. I ask you to sell at one of the local auctions to support the local clubs. Or send them to the Canada auction houses. NYSTA gets a refund for education from the big auction houses. The small clubs have committed to donate a portion of there earnings for Dave Millers fund.
I need to apologize to the Independent Fur Harvesters of Central NY. I was scheduled to attend their meeting in October. Apparently shortly after I made the commitment to go, I forgot all about it. This wasn’t something done out of disrespect. I wanted to respond to the false allegations that were made about myself regarding the 220 regulations.
I would like to put the call for members to sell our cash calendar. I use it as Christmas presents for family and friends. For $20 it makes a great gift.
I want to wish everyone a safe and successful trapping season. Take advantage of the new trapper mentoring program and expose a kid to the wonderful pastime of trapping furbearers. — Dave Leibig
It was a sad meeting for the Cattaraugus County Trappers Association when we all learned that one of our faithful attendees had suddenly gone to that big trapline in the sky. Alton Eastman will be sorely missed by all. We sent a basket of flowers for the family plus made donation.
New York State DEC is trying to cut costs and so may phase out its pheasant raising and releasing program. Very few, if any, of the birds survive for long in the wild anyway. But the Allegany County Sheriff has the solution. Have the prisoners in the jail raise the birds. This they have done and have found that they can raise the birds for just a fraction of the cost compared to the state. WHY ARE WE NOT SURPRISED! And next year they plan to expand the program and raise even more birds. SHERIFF — YOU THE MAN!
Our fur auction is planned for Jan. 17, 2009, and we are getting things ready. The hall is reserved. The buyers are being contacted. We discussed which auctioneer we wished to hire. We voted to raise our commission to 5 percent for members and 7 percent for non-members. Since trapping season is starting right away, we need to get some posters up as soon as possible, maybe even yesterday. Last year’s auction went fairly well so maybe this year’s will be even better. We don’t try to make this a money maker for the club. This is done as a service to the trappers and we just try to break even.
We discussed our bimonthly newsletter. With the high cost of postage, maybe we should send out only four a year instead. After some talk, we decided to keep it just as it is as communication with the members is very important and that John Milks will keep writing them and mailing them.
Trapping season is upon us and we hope all of you guys and gals get out there and enjoy the great outdoors, fill your stretchers and, if possible, mentor a youth in trapping. The youth of today need more than just TV and video games and you can provide that.
Meetings are the third Thursday of each month at the Catt. Co. Coop. Ext. building in Ellicottville. If you wish to join, call John at 716-557-2523.
— David Allen
Meeting was called to order at 5:20 p.m., Oct. l9, 2008.
50/50 was won by Mark Slocum. Mark donated the winnings back to the Club. Thank you.
Les Wedge won door prize donated by Marie Shea.
Presidents list. President thanked all who helped make the Rendezvous a big success.
The joint effort of the CCTA and the IFH once again carried the day.
Things went quite well; from the vendors to the kids beaver toss. We always hope the vendors make a few bucks and everyone enjoys themselves.
The Club thanks Hugh McDonald, and Al LaFond for their cash donations to the Club.
Treasurer will pay all bills and deposit all money from the Rendezvous.
Discussion on the Federation Pheasant release.
Discussion on the Farm Bureau membership. Motion made and 2nd that we do not renew this year. Motion carried.
Discussion held on calendar and convention book adds we take out to support NYSTA. Should we change the content of the ad?
Bill has fur inventory. We could use some ’coons, skunk, coyotes and X-foxes.
No one knows why NYSTA has dropped out of the NYSCC or the Sportsmen/s Alliance, both of which we support.
Treasurer’s report was accepted as given.
Minutes of last meeting were accepted as written. Motion by Art and seconded that notes how much effort and cash Dick Purdy puts in getting our Rendezvous advertised in the many Pennysavers, that we extend his membership for another year. Motion carried. Art will send new membership card.
Round table: Shirley thought we could do something for Tom Zebo in return for the good stuff he does for us.
Les Wedge discussed the newsletter. Club thanked him for taking job over. Les will add Sen. Jim Seward to our mailing list. How did we miss him?
Lee Stockton told us about discussion he had with Bob Newnan. Lee’s new pan design seems to be well accepted.
Bill H noted that trap prices would be going up at least 10 percent next year. Postage will also be higher.
Lee S had many containers of lure that Marie Shea donated from Pat’s supplies. We can use them for door prizes or members can just take them and use them. Thank you Marie.
Butch Jenks had bill from Z&L Trading, Treasurer will pay it.
John Slocum questioned whether a ½ page add in the Trapper Book would be as good as the full page we now use. Let’s check it out. The contents of the Calendar ad and the Booklet ad should be reworked.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted.
— Art Manz
At our October meeting, we voted on our first recipient of the Sgt. Daniel Shaw Youth Award. Congratulations to Samantha Chuba. Sam, as most of us know her, began coming to meetings with her dad when she was very young. In fact, we have an old picture of her at one of our first fur handling demos!
Sam has helped out by organizing our Christmas parties, helped her mom and dad on the t-shirt committee, worked for several years at our booth at the fair and expo, as well countless hours helping Patti cut fur for the kids prizes. Sam has shown the enthusiasm for our club, which made for an easy choice in our selection. She will receive her award at our Christmas party. Thanks for all of your help, Sam!
We had a few special guests at our meeting. Thanks to Laurie and her friend Kelly for bringing in some beautiful samples of fur hats ,vests, teddy bears and purses to name a few. Laurie is quite the local artist and has been making fur and leather items for many years. Each item is custom made from her fur or yours and she will use your tanned deer hide if you wish. Laurie said she can also make some alterations on fur coats, or make a coat into a vest, blanket or teddy bear.
If you have an idea of something you would like made out of you fur, call her at 716-648-1663. We have some flyers she made up for the club. You can get one at the next meeting. The guys had a great time visiting with her and we hope you will consider her for all of your fur fashion needs.
Thanks to Harold for printing out a few copies of some of the DEC Web sites Furbearer Profiles. We will make some more copies to be used as handouts and will also put them in a folder to have at our booth displays. Some of the animals they profiled are raccoon, fox, coyote, skunk and more. For each animal mentioned, there are about three pages of information including habitat, behavior, diseases and management. Check out the Web site for yourself at www.dec.ny.gov and look under “Furbearer Profiles.”
Rick explained about who and what the New York State Conservation Council does for us, and showed the Grass Roots Newsletter. He also went over some of the Councils position on the last resolutions we voted on. One of the trapping issues that they approved was the statewide 48-hour check on water sets. This is the first step in getting this into new law. Rick also went over the youth mentoring program. Look in the guide or on the DEC’s Web site for the permission slip that has to be signed and carried while taking a kid under 12 years along with you on your trapline.
Other news, the club voted on renewing both of our memberships to the Council and Sportsmen’s Alliance. There was a reminder that Kevin Kishel will give a discount on traps for ECTA members. Hamburg Rod & Gun said they are now NRA recruiters and you can join the NRA through them at $25 ($10 off price). The Cuba Rushford School field trip got rescheduled until the spring. John will organize the trip then. Tim mentioned he had some videos for our library. Patti said we did not receive any Herb Eble letters yet. So let any kids you know who just took the trappers class to send in those letters! Mark will do a “Mystery” Demo at Novembers meeting.
Thanks to Andy Berry for his very informative demo on vehicle care complete with a maintenance inspection form for an outline. Andy stressed about preventive care from everything from batteries, belts, filters, wiper blades and lights, to name a few. He mentioned the benefits of using the synthetic oil and finished up with transmission tips, his specialty. If you missed the demo, feel free to hit him up for questions next time you see him. Thanks Andy for all of the great information to keep us all moving on our traplines!
Our Fur Handling Demo will be in early January at Elma Conservation Club. We are still waiting word on the date. Frank will be the contact. Call him at 716-681-5690 for date or directions. As usual we will need to put aside some animals for the demo. Let Rick know if you are planning to do so.
Our Fur Auction will be Saturday , Feb. 7th at S&S Taxidermy & Archery Pro Shop in Springville. Check in is at 8 a.m. and the auction begins at 10. Call Patti for more info at 716-337-2556.
Flyers will be available at our next meeting.
For club correspondence, send mail to ECTA 12580 Jennings Rd. Lawtons NY 14091. Our meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Hamburg Rod & Gun Club on Hickox Rd. Anyone interested in trapping should attend.
Our Christmas Party will be on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Please bring a dish to pass and a wrapped gift for exchange. We will vote for “Trapper of the Year,” draw a name for the “Volunteer” gift certificate, meet our Herb Eble award winners and give our newest youth award to Samantha. Christmas bingo will be played and there will be some grab bags for the kids. Hope to see you all there! — Rick Wattengel
INDEPENDENT FUR HARVESTERS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK
Minutes of Meeting — Oct. 9, 2008
14 members present.
The pledge of allegiance was said. Minutes of last minute were read. Treasurer’s Report was read and accepted.
OLD BUSINESS
Al and Gary have inventoried our club’s trailer. The totes are all marked as to what should go inside. There is a log book also that has all of our items documented and accounted for. Karl Curtis is storing the Alpaca blanket, and Harvey has the cash boxes.
NYSTA President Dave Liebig had said at the Cortland County Rendezvous that he would attend this month’s meeting with lobbyist Dave Miller to answer our complaints. As expected, it was a no show so we have given 27 plus letters to our NYSTA Rep. Charlie Lamb to deliver to the next BOD meeting for us. It’s still politics as usual with NYSTA.
NEW BUSINESS
Loren Sigmund is recovering at Sunnyview, 1270 Belmont Ave., Schenectady, NY 12308. Please send him a card and say hello.
Al will be attending the NRA grant award’s committee in Oneonta on Nov. 8.
The Club’s joint rendezvous with the Cortland County Trappers was held on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Solon Sportsman’s Club. Everyone that attended had a good time and we would like to thank the people that donated time and items to make it successful once again. Our club auction raised over $445.
Advanced Strategies Adventure’s of Kirkville, sent us a thank you letter for our 2007 donation. We voted to send them another donation, along with a donation to the Hunt of a Lifetime organization also. Both of these organizations support handicap or special needs hunters.
Al will be checking into ordering more furs and tails from Tom Gebo.
Sportsmen’s Club. Thank you to all that volunteered to help teach it, and to the There were 37 people that passed the club’s recent trapping course on 10-11-08 at the NedrowNedrow Club for allowing us to use their facilities to teach it. Also thank you to Al LaFrance and Shirley Howe for providing hot food for the students.
Rich Palmer has offered to store our trailer inside his garage until we need it for the Northeast Sports Show. Thank you, Rich.
We have been given a few Bear Huunt raffle tickets from Henderson Outfitters to sell. If anyone is interested, they can contact Al at 682-2050. Hendersons will, as usual, make a good donation to our club for selling the tickets. Members Ed Wright, Rich Palmer and Al LaFrance just returned from a successful hunt with Henderson’s and a superb time!
COUNTY REPORTS
Charlie Lamb reported the Oswego County Rendezvous was a big success. He also wanted to thank all that attended and volunteered their time to make it happen.
If anyone would like to be our new Madison County Rep., we sure could use one.
DATES TO REMEMBER
The annual fur sale is going to be held on Dec. 13 at the Pompey Rod & Gun Club in Pompey, NY. The commission will again be a flat rate of 10 percent for all sellers. Check in will begin at 8 a.m. and, as always, the club will be recruiting volunteers to help out. Thank you.
Our annual Christmas banquet will be held at Al’s Village Diner in East Syracuse on Sunday, Dec. 14 and will run from 5 p.m. till 8 p.m. This dinner is completely no cost to all members and their families. All we ask is that you please call ahead of time and let us know if you will be attending, and how many there will be, so we have an accurate count for dinner as the chef needs to know. Contact Al Burns at 687-1080 to be put on the guest list. Thank you. It is always a good time and we look forward to seeing everyone before the holidays. Each person attending should please bring a small gift to exchange, that way everyone will go home with a gift!
The Northeast Sports Show is Jan. 23, 24 and 25 at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse in the Center of Progress Building.
Starting in November, the meetings will once again change to Sundays.
Dues will be due the end of November. Send to Barbara LaFrance at 2823 Estey Road, Manlius, N.Y. 13104.
Jim Dougherty won the trap raffle, donated by Bill Howe. Thank you, Bill. And Jeremiah Burns won the video tape that was donated by Keith Kutil.
Thank you, Keith.
