Virginia Trappers Association February 2009 Report

President — Bob Newberry, 5595 Waddletown Rd., Bland, VA 24315; phone: 276-688-3670; e-mail: sandyhollow@embarqmail.com

Vice President
— Mike Perdue, 9150 Poor Mountain Rd., Bent Mountain, VA 24059; phone: 540-929-4412; cell phone: 540-589-4508; e-mail: Bentmtntrapper@aol.com

Membership Secretary — Norm Mullins, P.O. Box 802, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609; phone: 276-963-0642; cell phone: 276-971-1856; e-mail: nsmullins@naxs.net

Recording Secretary — James G. Covais, 10401 Moore Ct., Spotsylvania, VA 22553; phone: 540-760-9694; e-mail: jcovais@comcast.net

Treasurer — Thomas Teague, 2920 Cross Keys Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801; phone: 540-564-1930; e-mail: thomasteague@verizon.net

General Organizer — Bud Jenkins, 33423 Seacock Chapel Rd., Ivor, VA 23866; phone: 757-859-6868

Training Coordinator — Ed Crebbs, 175 Waldrop Rd., Gordonsville, VA 22942; phone: 540-832-2708; e-mail: edcrebbs@yahoo.com

NTA Director — John Coakley, 1188 Turkey Knob Rd., Quicksburg, VA 22847; phone: 540-477-3440; cell phone: 540-335-6088

Membership Options:
• 1-year membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
• 2-year membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $38
• Junior (under 16) with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $10
• Lifetime membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $250

Complete membership application on first page of
association section and send dues to:
VTA, Membership Secretary
Norm Mullins
Box 802, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609-0802

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Well, here we are starting another new year. I hope everyone had a safe and blessed holiday season. We are just getting in the swing of setting traps for this season as fur prices are still up in the air. I hope after the January sales things will look brighter. All the fur I have in the shed belongs to the youngsters that I have been teaching over the last few years: Tyler, Kyle, Steven, Cody and Blake. We just had a new entry this week: Kenneth Swain. You guys might just have to fill the shed this season.

I attended a VDGIF meeting in Charlotsville on Dec. 10 concerning a low red fox population in Albemarle, Culpepper, Louisa, Madison and Orange Counties and the impacts on mounted fox hunting activities.

Suggestions have been made to A. Ban live trapping and shooting of foxes in these areas. B. Restrict live trapping of foxes to areas within 20 miles of fox hound training enclosures. C. Limit or ban live fox trapping in areas where mounted fox hunts occur. D. Establish daily and season bag limits for live trapping foxes. E. Limit the number of foxes that training enclosures can obtain. The above issues will be brought up at the VDGIF Board meeting at the Richmond office on Feb. 27.

We all need to stay on top of these issues and make as many contacts as we can to VDGIF Board members and the legislators of the counties that this issue will effect. You can go to the VDGIF Web site and keep up with all the above happenings (www.dgif.virginia.gov). Our 2009 convention will be at Page County Fairgrounds Sept. 11 to 13.

More info on the convention in the next writings. Looking for another catch circle in the morning, just be sure you have that youngster with you.

— Bob Newberry

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S REPORT

I hope everyone is having a good fur season and your sheds are full. I haven’t set many traps so far, but maybe I’ll have the chance to trap more before season closes.

Membership is holding fairly steady at 671 members. As always, I want to encourage you to keep your membership up to date and to sign-up a new member at every opportunity.

This is an election year for the VTA. If you are considering running for office or would like to nominate someone for office, please let Bob Newberry know. I will not be able to seek another term as membership secretary, so it is imperative that at least one qualified individual runs for my position.

Lastly, I need to let you all know that I have a new e-mail address. You can e-mail me anytime at nbmullins@gmail.com. My old e-mail address is no longer functional.

As always, if you should have a question about your membership, please feel free to contact me.

— Norm Mullins

DISTRICT 1 REPORT

We have a couple of upcoming events that I hope many of you are able to attend. Our fur demo day will be Jan. 17, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Wytheville Livestock Market, same as last year. This day is devoted to teaching and demonstrating proper fur handling techniques. If you put up fur, you should attend. No matter how long you have been putting up fur, you will certainly learn something here. If you would like to show how you skin, flesh, stretch, etc., you are more than welcome to join in. This is all about doing the job right and getting the most out of your hard work. Lunch will be available at the event.

Our District 1 fur sale will be Feb. 28, 2009 also at the Wytheville Livestock Market. Doors open to sellers at 8 a.m. Doors open to Buyers at 9 a.m. Cost is $10 for each consignee selling fur. Shippers will be available if you choose to ship. Trapping supplies available. Lunch available on grounds. We will accept any donated pelts for the District 1 fundraiser.

Directions to the livestock market: Exit 70 off I-81 US 52 North 2 Mi. Sale barn on left.

I hope all of you have fun and success on your traplines!

— Jonny Wright

DISTRICT 8 REPORT

I hope you all are having a great trapping season. We’re doing well with beaver and raccoon and finally added a coyote to our gambrel. The warm weather certainly has the raccoons walking as we seem to stay behind on fur handling chores, not a bad predicament to be in though. At our October district meeting, we had a demonstration on ’Coon Cuffs. We put them into service this season with exceptional results; no pullouts so far and only one dug up — poor bedding on my part. Due to the freeze proof nature of the trap and the ease of setting them, we’ll make them a mainstay in our bucket.

Also, I hope the holiday season provided you some special time with family and friends. Besides celebrating the birth of Christ, December brought us an added blessing of welcoming our first grandson, Michael Blaine Walsh, into our lives. I already have a few traps culled out for him and have been contemplating what .22 rifle and shotgun to procure. I’m thinking Mikey can join us on the trapline by age 3 and will be shooting straight by age five.

It appears fur prices may be bleak this year. I’m trying to improve the quality of the fur we’re putting up in hopes of better grading. Fortunately, we’re having a fur grading demonstration at our next district meeting on March 8, 2009, at p.m. I’m anxious and nervous to see what my sewed holes and false cuts do to the value. All members are invited to bring their fur to the meeting for the grading demonstration and an estimate on the value of their fur. I’ll send a flyer announcing the meeting and directions to the site by mid-February.

If you have any questions, please e-mail at foltzas@verizon.net or call me at 540-630-1756.

Be Safe.

— Art Foltz

DISTRICT 10 REPORT

Greetings all. I hope this finds you well and managing some decent trapping opportunities with the closing of deer season and the deer dogs being pent up. I know…there’s still the rabbit hounds running about.

The winter has been mild thus far in our neck of the woods. Hopefully, it will remain where we don’t have to anti-freeze our sets. I know, it’s wishful thinking. By the time this report is read, I will have had to chisel some sets free from the frozen soil.

There isn’t a whole lot to report going on. I’ve had random phone calls and e-mails from VTA members, some inquiring about 2010 VTA convention, others asking where to sell their fur. I need to get cracking on arranging our March ’09 meeting location and then announce the place as well as date/time.

I hope everyone is piling up the fur. If you have any ideas or suggestions to better our district, I want to hear from you. You can e-mail me at rob.brewer@us.army.mil or werjello@verizon.net. Please be sure to put VTA in the subject line, so I don’t delete it as spam. For those who’d rather pick up the phone, my cellular is 757-869-9822.

‘Til next time.

— Rob Brewer

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