President — Janet Hodge, P. O. Box 787, Union, WV 24938; phone: 304-772-5586; e-mail: hawkmtn@hawkmtn.com
Vice President/Field Editor — Bill Healy, P. O. Box 187, Smithville, WV 26178; phone: 304-477-3301; e-mail: healybg@hotmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer — Gloria Stutler, HC 70 Box 140, Creston, WV 26141; phone: 304-354-9038; e-mail: buttercup26141@yahoo.com
State Organizer — Scott Whytsell, 448 Hattie Run Rd., Grantsville, WV 26147; phone: 304-354-6965; e-mail: swhtsell@frontiernet.net
NTA Director — John Thomas, HC 70 Box 43K, Sugar Grove, WV 26815; phone: 304-249-5690; e-mail: john52766@hardynet.com
FTA Director — Brian Casto, 6198 Parkersburg Rd., Sandyville, WV 25275; phone: 304-273-3055; e-mail: wvtrapper71@hotmail.com
Membership Options:
• Adult membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Adult membership with newsletter only — $15
• Junior (under 16) with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $16.50
• Lifetime membership — $300
Complete membership application on first page of association section and mail dues to:
WVTA Secretary
Gloria Stutler
HC 70 Box 140, Creston, WV 26141
http://www.wvtrappers.com
FIELD EDITOR’S REPORT
The Officers and Board of WVTA thank everyone who helped to make our 41st Annual Convention, held Sept. 18-21 a success. Friday’s attendance was low, but on Saturday the Recreation Center grounds were packed. As usual, there was a full schedule of demonstrations covering trapping and snaring of most furbearers. There were also demonstrations on raccoon skinning and pelt preparation, medicinal herbs, ginseng and game cooking.
Lauren Mastro, with the USDA Animal Damage Unit, gave a seminar on the coyotes in West Virginia, and Geriann Albers, a graduate student at WVU, was on hand to tell us about a new, statewide study of coyote food habits. Geriann is asking trappers to save the heads and stomachs of coyotes they capture. The critical part is keeping the head and stomach of each animal together, and labeling the bag with your name, sex of animal, location trapped and date trapped. Samples should be frozen and dropped off at any DNR regional office.
Geriann will be at the January and March fur sales to collect samples. If you are interested in helping, contact Geriann Albers at galbers@mix.wvu.edu, or 304-293-0050. She will be happy to supply instructions and color pictures showing how to remove coyote stomachs.
The Board of Directors meeting was held on Friday evening. I am happy to report that our membership problems with Trapper & Predator Caller have been resolved. To help keep our membership files up to date, we are dividing the Secretary’s job into two positions: a general secretary and a membership secretary. Gloria Stutler will continue as general secretary and Brianna Hodge will become membership secretary. There is just too much work for one person to do both jobs at fur sales and the convention.
Ed Buck’s classic book, “The Appalachian Bobcat and All His North American Kin,” has been reprinted by WVTA and is available for $8. All proceeds go to the education fund. The Saturday morning trapper education class was a success. This year, for the first time, there was a beginners class and an intermediate class. Twenty four students graduated from the beginners class, and 36 graduated from the intermediate class. The WVTA Trappers Education Program has graduated 430 young trappers since its beginning in 1998.
Annual elections were also held Saturday morning. Roy L. Wood was elected vice president, and Jeff Johnson, of Beckley was elected to the Board for the first time. The following members were reelected to the board: Bill Bell, Michelle Byrd, Robert Byrd, Scott Schimmel, Danny Stutler and Harold Stutler.
WVTA is planning to host a fur graders workshop in December. The location has yet to be determined and will depend on the number of students interested in the class. The class will be taught by our senior fur graders and supplemented by our graders and fur buyers. We plan to include text material as well as plenty of hands-on instruction with pelts of various grades.
The event will last nearly all day. Those participating in the class will be urged to continue their education as apprentice fur graders at our January fur auction. If you are interested in participating in a fur grading workshop, please contact Janet Hodge as soon as possible by e-mail at hawkmtn@hawkmtn.com or phone at 304-772-5586.
The highlight of the general membership meeting was the induction of Thomas G. Cook into the West Virginia Trappers Hall of Fame. Tom passed away last October. He was a retired business man and owner of Anglers Roost Sports Shop. Tom served on the WVTA board for many years and he was also active in the WV Wild Turkey Federation. Tom’s wife, Allie, accepted the award on Tom’s behalf.
Calendar of Events:
Jan. 8-10, 2010: Fur auction, Gilmer County Recreation Center, Glenville, WV. Board of Directors meeting Friday evening at 7 p.m.
March 5-7, 2010. Fur auction, Gilmer County Recreation Center, Glenville WV. Board of directors meeting at 7 p.m.
— Bill Healy
