President — Virgil Schroeder, 3471 Earlwyn Road, Cottage Grove, WI 53527; phone: 608-764-5218; e-mail: virjo4t@msn.com
Vice President — Lee Sillars; phone: 715-218-5041; e-mail: Isillars@aol.com
Secretary — Dorothy Abrahamson, 508 E. 9th Ave., Stanley, WI 54768; phone: 715-644-0644
Treasurer — Pam Mather, P.O. Box 305, Oregon, WI 53575-0305; phone: 608-335-2700; e-mail: wtatreas@verizon.net.
NTA Director — Chris Bezio, 5479 Hawthorne Dr., Pulaski, WI 54162; phone: 920-822-3427
Trapper Education Coordinator — Nicke Shumaker, P.O. Box 28, Caroline, WI 54928; phone: 715-754-2121; e-mail: wctep@mwwb.net
Public Relations Director — Ken Kasper, P.O. Box 367, Fremont, WI 54940; phone: 920-446-3815; e-mail: wtapr@centurytel.net
Trapper Correspondence Course Director — Mike Widner, P.O. Box 483, Baraboo, WI 53913; phone: 608-356-3621
Future Trappers of Wisconsin Coordinator — Jennifer Roever, W14399 Highway 45, Tigerton, WI 54486; phone: 715-754-5317
Membership Options:
• Three-year individual membership without Trapper & Predator Caller — $80
• Individual membership with Trapper & Predator Caller — $30
• Individual membership without Trapper & Predator Caller — $15
• Junior (under 17) with Trapper & Predator Caller — $15
• Family Membership with Trapper & Predator Caller — $30
• Lifetime membership (under 65) with Trapper & Predator Caller — $500
• Lifetime membership (over 65) with Trapper & Predator Caller — $300
• Husband and wife lifetime membership with Trapper & Predator Caller — $600
• Future Trappers of Wisconsin membership (under age 19) without Trapper & Predator Caller — FREE
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
WTA Treasurer
Pam Mather
P.O. Box 305, Oregon, WI 53575-0305;
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Happy 2010 Wisconsin Trappers,
Well it’s the very end of December and the end of 2009 as I write this. As we approach a new year, we can always hope for better.
It has been a slow fur year for most of us. The anticipated low fur prices took some of the enthusiasm out of the season. Most of the trappers that I’ve talked to have done some trapping, but have not trapped as hard, or as long as in previous years. In any case, I hope that you have enjoyed a good space of time in the outdoors. In many cases, that’s the important part, just enjoying the fresh air and beauty of creation with the hope of a catch to pay for our time.
The Spring Banquet will be here before we know it. We’ll have a main speaker and an invited guest that will hopefully be available for trappers to speak with during the day. I’m expecting some legislators that have WTA interests in mind. George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation will also be available to meet with and will also address the banquet in the evening. So bring a friend or two.
Enjoy a meal, get some good information from people that are in a position to support the ideals of the WTA, swap some trapping stories, all while supporting your state association. You can buy tickets from your district director or Ken Kasper.
The Personnel and Finance Committee has been working very hard concerning important issues facing the WTA. Your attendance at the meetings and involvement in the discussions is very much needed.
Also, as you know, the NTA Convention will be in Wisconsin this summer, so come and find out what the plans are, and also how you may be able to lend a hand in that.
If you’ve been successful trapping ’coon, remember the 50-50 ’Coon Raffle. Contact Richard Clark concerning the details.
All has been quiet on the legislative front, but be sure and attend the spring hearings in your area.
That’s about it for now.
— Virgil Schroeder
DISTRICT 2 REPORT
Greetings, I hope everyone had a good time over the holidays and enjoyed the weather that Mother Nature can throw at us during the winter in Wisconsin.
There is a district meeting scheduled for Feb. 13, 2010, at Trapper Arts, scheduled to start at 10 a.m. There will be a follow up postcard mailing also. There are a few things to cover so please plan to attend and I plan to keep it as short as I can so everyone can get on with the day. The big items of discussion will be the Spring Banquet, District 1-2-3 summer rendezvous and the NTA convention. If there are other items that need to be on the agenda, please get them to me.
Spring banquet is around the corner and since this is an even number year, the even numbered districts are asked to work the tables for the banquet. If you have items to donate, please bring them to the banquet or get them to me and I will deliver.
Summer rendezvous is in the planning stages, any ideas get them to me so we can go over them in advance.
NTA convention will need a lot of help from every district to help make this a success.
Just a couple of hours donated will help make the work load easier for everyone.
Personnel and Finance is still looking for people who would be interested in participating on the committee. We are aiming towards having all members on the committee to be non-BOD members. If you are interested or wondering what P&F does, please contact any of the listed members for more details.
Greg Schroeder — 608-423-4621, schroeder4@charter.net
Michael Abrahamson — 715-644-0644, ironmike13@hotmail.com
Dan Carroll — 608-847-5538, trapperdan153@yahoo.com
Bryce Larson — 920-693-8734, brla@tds.net
Michael Leiser — 715-570-6692, greeenmoose63@yahoo.com
Lee Sillars — 715-218-5041, lsillars@aol.com
Enjoy what Wisconsin wintertime has to offer and I hope to see you at the district meeting.
— Mike Abrahamson
DISTRICT 9 REPORT
We at District 9 wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope all of your holidays were great. Our meeting is Saturday, March 6 at 9 a.m, at Woodman town hall. This will be a potluck meeting. If you have something for a silent auction or raffle item, please bring them to this meeting.
We will need to discuss our duties at this time for the National Trappers at Marshfield. We will also need to set the dates for our highway pickup. Hope to see you there. Any questions, contact Dan Carroll at 608-847-5538. Also, Patrice Rhodes would like to have you send her your e-mail address so we can contact you with anything important. Her e-mail is patrice@phrhodesinc.com.
Thanks, and hope to see you there.
DISTRICT 10 REPORT
The District 10 winter meeting will be held on March 6, 2010, at NAFA in Stoughton. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. As in the past, we will hold a business meeting, have a raffle, draw for door prizes, enjoy a great fish fry and get a chance to talk with old and new friends. We will be sending out raffle tickets to each member of the district shortly.
If you would like extra tickets, I will have more. Tom Florin, owner of Florin Trapping Supplies and Fur made an extremely generous donation of a dozen Grizz Get’rs. They will be our grand prize. Thank you very much, Tom. The raffle will also include Victor Coils, Duke Coils, Bridger and Duke #160’s, and other prizes donated by members. If you have any donations for the raffle, please contact Scot Stewart or Pat Varney (remember, Pat is our new co-director).
Our next summer rendezvous will be held on Aug. 21, 2010, at the Delevan Sportsman’s Club. Last time we were at Delevan, we had a great turnout and enjoyed fantastic demos. Plan to join us for a good time, good food and good friends. Mark your calendars.
District 10 will again hold a 50:50 ’coon raffle this year. This is another fundraiser for our district. In addition to helping the WTA, we have a new scholarship fund that will give an annual scholarship to an upper class natural resources student at UW-Stevens Point each year beginning in 2010. We have also assisted a grad student at UWSP, helped trapper’s education students with equipment and assisted with funding for the marten restoration areas in northern Wisconsin. If you like the types of efforts our district is supporting, consider donating one or more raccoons to the ’coon raffle.
All you need to do is donate at least one raccoon at NAFA and tell Virgil Schroeder that it is for the District 10 WTA 50:50 raffle. There is no limit to the number of raccoons you can enter. Your chances of winning increases with each raccoon. The winner will split half the proceeds with District 10. We will draw the winner at our summer rendezvous.
I hope all of you are having a rewarding trapping season, had a terrific Holiday season, and are enjoying our frozen tundra.
— Scot Stewart
DISTRICT 11 REPORT
Dear District 11 members, I hope this holiday season was a safe and happy one for all. As you are reading this report, I would like to inform everyone that we will be having a 2010 rendezvous. It will be held at the Daniel Boone Conservation Club as it has been for the past two years. The details have yet to be determined, which includes the date. There seems to be a conflict of the date we have always held our rendezvous on. I am currently working with their board to get this rectified and establish an agenda. As I have previously mentioned in past reports, we will need people to help with setup and teardown.
Those that would like to participate, please contact me by either office phone number or e-mail. I have noticed that my information has been listed incorrectly in the Wisconsin Trapper, therefore please contact me at the following — phone – 262-537-3449 or e-mail – trackerswildlife@aol.com. I am calling on all of our county directors to help sign up two to four members from their counties to help with the event. I will have a signup sheet with the days and times.
Also, I will be calling on and looking for members to provide various demos, plus I will be looking outside District 11 for possible demos. In additional news, I would like to give a special thanks to Steve Moratz for all of his past years of time, help and support that he has donated to our District 11 members and his county. Steve has recently sent me his resignation, and I will be looking for people that might want to act as an intern county director until we can officially fill this position. If anyone might be interested, please contact either myself or Tom Weiss. In closing, I would like to briefly mention the NTA national rendezvous. We are going to need a lot of help in order to properly cover our portion of responsibility at this event.
As to date, I have only heard from a couple of members offering to help. We will need to get a lot more support than we’re getting right now. By the time of this particular report, we will have had a WTA board meeting in which I’ll have more information to report on regarding the nationals. Until then, be safe and good luck on the line.
— Lance D. Joaquin
