www.patrappers.com
President — Brian Mohn, 138 Farview Road, Hamburg, PA 19526; 610-562-1790; papatrees@aol.com
Vice President East — Joel Whitehead, 845 Snake Hill Road, Thompson, PA 19526; 570-756-2714; JFRED@nep.net
Vice President West — Charlie Sykes, 1265 Airport Road, Stoneboro, PA 16153; trapper_66@windstream.net
Secretary — Don Klinger, 522 S. Pancoast, Reynoldsville, PA 15851; 814-371-1170; advantage16@verizon.net
Treasurer — Donna Spittle, P.O. Box 708, Hummelstown, PA 17036; 717-239-9267; spittlefam@paonline.com
Editor — Ed Price, 3833 Old Newburg Turnpike, Union Dale, PA 18470; 570-679-2318; pricee@nep.net
NTA Director — David Shuttleworth, 5452 Tamarack Drive, Sharpsville, PA 16150; 724-962-4260; dianeshutts@aol.com
FTA Director — Mark Kasten, RR2 Box 2287, Hallstead, PA 18822; 570-278-2553; willsher@epix.net
Public Relations Director — Barry Warner, P.O. Box 223, Dallas, PA 18612; 570-675-7041; beavernbass@comcast.net
Website Designer — Barbie Bankston; barbiebankston@gmail.com
Membership Options:
Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $30
Individual membership without subscription — $10
Junior, age 16 and under without subscription — $5
Lifetime membership with subscription — $500
Lifetime membership without subscription — $250
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
PTA Treasurer
Donna Spittle
P.O. Box 708
Hummelstown, PA 17036
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The PTA’s Officers and Directors held their meeting Saturday March 1 in Clearfield, PA. We reviewed our testimony presented to the Pennsylvania Game Commission in January. In this report we supported the Bobcat and Otter management plans and asked the board to follow the plan’s recommendations by implementing a limited otter season. We addressed the shortened mink / muskrat season in 2013-14 and asked the board to return to the historical average of 50 days. The board gave preliminary approval to extend the season by 1 week on the back end for the 2014-15 season. We continued to ask the commission to define the set back distance from exposed bait while land trapping. We suggested a distance of 30’ but no action was taken. We supported the change in measurement for 330 size body gripping traps to a dimension of 10”x 12”, but we did not support the change of trigger placement to no more than 1 1/2” from the vertical side of the trap. We suggested the PGC place more otter avoidance techniques in the License Digest instead of a regulation change and offered to assist in this project. The final subject we addressed involved a change in legal cable restraint locks set forth in a directive a few weeks before the start of cable restraint season. We asked the board to suspend any action and defer till the results from the BMP study are available this Spring. I made the board aware that we were one of a few states to participate in the process to identify several more locks to meet the criteria of BMP standards. I would like to thank the two trappers who participated in this BMP study on cable Restraint locks. These trappers and their technicians worked through some pretty adverse and challenging conditions to meet the goals set forth in the study. I’m sure we all can relate to the adverse conditions of this past winter. The PTA board will continue to work with the PGC to resolve these differences.
Welcome to all the new members that have joined our association. By now you should have received the PTA newsletter and sweepstakes. If you have not received the mailing please let me know. Maybe we printed the mailing before you were in the system or perhaps we need to update your address in our data base. Either way don’t hesitate to call me at 610-562-1790, or email papatrees@aol.com.
I hope to see all of you in June at the joint FTA/PTA rendezvous in Washington County.
“OUR IMAGE IS OUR FUTURE” — Brian Mohn
VICE PRESIDENT WEST REPORT
With trapping season coming to an end, the events within each district will start happening again. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to get involved with their district events. It is a great opportunity to spend time with wonderful people and to support the Trappers’ Association. The district trapping schools are particularly important because they engage and educate our youth. The youth is the future of trapping, so it is imperative that we foster their learning. The schools are a great opportunity for that; however, they take a considerable amount of work. Get in touch with your county leader today and see how you can help out. I am sure that each of you has a quality or skill that the district not only needs but will appreciate.
Just a reminder that the Pennsylvania Trappers’ Association will have a booth set up at the 55th Annual National Trappers’ Association Convention from July 24th to July 27th 2014, at the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds (2401 12th Ave. North, Escanaba, Michigan 49829). If you are available to help with the booth, please get in touch with me.
God Bless. — Charlie Sykes
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Our trapper training programs will begin in the near future. These programs will continue throughout the year and obviously will include our State rendezvous with demos going on throughout each day. I know most of you reading this will be involved in these events. The challenge is getting those individuals involved that desperately need the training.
If you have never helped with these training programs or our state rendezvous, please step forward now. You do not have to be an instructor if this makes you uncomfortable; there are many other activities where you can provide valuable assistance. You may find that this is not only a very valuable experience for the students, but for you as well.
On another note, please be aware of the problems our fellow trappers from other states are experiencing. Oregon, Montana, Michigan, New Hampshire and New Mexico, to name a few, are in need of our financial assistance. As trappers, most of us do not have a great deal of wealth to spend indiscriminately. However, please keep in mind, we could be next. And, think how good it feels when we are able to stop these antis in their misguided and ignorant efforts. — Barry Warner
DISTRICT 1 REPORT
Hello trappers,
Our 10th annual gun raffle is right around the corner. Please remember to attend – you must be 18 years of age. It is on Saturday April 5th, doors will open at 3:00pm and the first gun will be drawn around 4:00pm. It will be held once again at the Sparrow Pond Family Campground 11103 Route19 Waterford, Pa.16441.
Venango County will be hosting the spring meeting on Saturday, April 12th, at the Venango County Fairgrounds, 867 Mercer Road, Franklin, Pa. 16323 (Route 62). Doors will open at 8:00 am. There will be vendors, food, and demos. The meeting is scheduled for 1:00 pm. Also there is a cable restraint class being offered – to register visit the PGC website.
During the meeting I would like to discuss having a trappers’ family picnic, and also maybe include fur handling in our trapping school. Any input is encouraged. I can be contacted at 814-823-5429
Our Image Is Our Future — John W. Chase
DISTRICT 2 REPORT
I hope everyone had a successful season and continued success for those that are still beaver trapping. It is bitter cold as I write this, and many of our waterways are jammed with large amounts of ice. I hope the “spring thaw” doesn’t flood the communities along these waterways. I cannot help but wonder what the effect of being iced in with rapidly rising water is having on our water furbearers. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to spring!
The following is a list of some of our district’s spring, summer and fall events. Don’t forget to help out with the Youth Field Days this summer if you are able to!
March 9th: Meeting at Happy Hunters Club in Fennelton, Pa. The building will be open at noon, with the meeting starting at 1:00 p.m. There will be food and drinks available, 50/50 raffle, and 5 for $1 table.
March 15th: Annual banquet at the VFW in Mars, Pa. The doors will open at 5 p.m.
June 19th through 22nd: Annual State Convention Washington County fairgrounds, Washington, Pa.
July 20th: The District 2 picnic at Sugar Creek Park (located off of Rt. 268 west of Kittannning). Please bring a covered dish/dessert to share. Other food and drinks will be provided by the district. Your families are invited to share the afternoon as well.
September 14th: The district’s annual fall expo will be located at East Butler Sportsmen’s club. Dealers should call district 2 for a spot and check availability of tables.
October 12th: Meeting at Happy Hunters Club in Fennelton, Pa. The building will be open at noon, with the meeting starting at 1:00 p.m. There will be food and drinks available, 50/50 raffle, and 5 for $1 table.
DISTRICT 3 REPORT
Hello All,
Just a quick update here, you should have received your spring newsletter earlier this month, with the banquet ticket application. If you didn’t receive one, give me a call and I’ll get one out to you. By the time you get this report, our spring meeting will have taken place, I’ll have to report on it in the next issue. Thanks to Matt Pappa and everyone who helped on doing the Allegheny Sport, Travel and Outdoor show on February 12-16. Its great public relations for us to be at that show once again. Before you know it the convention will be upon us here in district 3, we can always use the help if you can spare some time during convention week.
‘Til next time. — Dave Eckels
DISTRICT 4 REPORT
Just a few thoughts before the Officers and Directors meeting later this week. The season is at a close and the Coyote hunts are over. Most of us have sold or sent the year’s harvest in anticipation of big rewards. We still have a Fur Sale to host April 5th at the Jefferson County Fair Grounds info; Jeff 814-594-0896 or Don 814-371-1170. I hope to have a lot more to say after the directors meeting. I found a good way to stay warm — tie more fishing hooks. — Jeff
DISTRICT 5 REPORT
District 5 held our annual fur sale on Sunday February 8, 2014 and the results are as follows:
Listed by Species, Qty. and Average
Red Fox — 977, $38.85
Gray Fox — 210 $25.56
Coyote — 119, $27.79
Raccoon — 2342, $15.15
Opossum — 267, $5.07
Skunk — 31, $3.35
Muskrat — 1712, $13.83
Male Mink — 120, $21.94
Female Mink — 25, $11.90
Beaver — 80, $21.38
Bobcat — 7, $83.00
Fisher — 4, $86.00
Otter — 5, $67.00
Thank you to all who helped with the sale or sold fur at the sale and also thank you to the buyers who participated.
The district 5 spring meeting will be held at the Gander Mountain in Johnstown on May 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the Gander Mountain meeting room and will include the election of officers. Please plan to attend and support our district.
Our district officers are as follows: Don Sager – Director, Jim Griffith – Assistant Director, Pat Wess – Treasurer, and Deborah Sedlmeyer – Secretary.
Please feel free to contact Pat Wess @ (814) 262-9455, Don Sager @ (814) 443-3185 or me with any information you would like to see in this report or any questions you might have. I can be reached at (814) 686-0497 or e-mail me at bdstern@atlanticbb.net Thanks for reading. — Brian Stern, Tipton, PA
DISTRICT 7 REPORT
D-7 hosted the PTA State Banquet March 8, I will have a report in a later issue. District spring meeting was March16, fur sale at Hillsgrove Fire Hall on April 6,4% commission, You must be a member of the PTA to sell. — Pete
DISTRCIT 8 REPORT
Hello all. I hope everyone had a successful trapping season. I would like to apologize for getting the postcards out for the meeting at Shippensburg so late. I couldn’t get any of the new postcard stamps and had to scramble to find the old stamps plus the 1 cent stamps. The meeting will be March 9 at the Shippensburg Fish and Game. At this meeting will be discussing our upcoming youth field days, trapper training school at Mercersburg Sportsman Club in August, the East Waterford Show, and a date and place for our May meeting. I have a new cell phone number, 717-331-6786. — Pete
DISTRICT 10 REPORT
Hello to all,
I hope that everyone had a successful season. As we all know, the weather really gave us a run for our money, and with fur prices down compared to last year’s welcomed spike, it made it a little harder to take. It seems China had some problems with taxes and tariffs, causing some uncertainty in the fur market. We hope that it will pick up again in the future. Either way, we all kept the tradition of trapping in Pennsylvania alive, and hopefully have passed it on to some younger generations as well.
The District 10 live bid fur auction was held on January 18th. There were 48 lots of fur, but only two buyers. We sold $14,862 in fur but had a more than usual amount of “no sale” items. The district took in $605 from the commission. We would like to thank everyone who sold fur and volunteered their time to help out. Our fur auction kitchen continues to receive a five star rating year after year, and our auctioneer, Bill Meck, does a really great job calling the auction for us! We would also like to thank the buyers, who without them, we would not be able to have the auction. In the future we will try to gain more buyer participation, but the more well handled fur offered the better. The breakdown of the auction is listed below.
There has been some buzz about starting up “The Gathering” again. We are working with district 12 to get this event back on track. A date and location have not been decided on, but when we have more information on this we will get it out to you. Plan on it being a great time come spring. Contact Bob at 610-759-9203 for information on this.
Our next meeting is slated to be on August 17th. It will be a picnic style meeting at a sportsman club somewhere within the district. We would like it to be a family and friends event, where everyone can come out to enjoy some outdoor time together. There is also the possibility of putting on some demos to make a day of it. If anyone within the district has an idea of a good location to hold something like this please let us know. We would love to have a good turn out! More to come on this as we find a location and iron out details.
A quick update on House Bill 1534, presented to place a $25 bounty on coyotes. As of this writing the bill has passed the House and is on to the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee, awaiting a vote. I know many people have asked if it has gone into effect after seeing it in the media, but it looks as though it will be a little while until a decision is made.
Some dates for your calendar:
May- The Gathering, Location and date TBD. Call Bob 610-759-9203
June 7- Northampton County Youth Field Day
June 19-21- PTA/FTA 77th State Rendezvous
July 13-20- Northampton County Conservation School http://www.ncjcs.org/
July 19-26- Monroe County Conservation School http://www.mcconservation.org/default.asp?contentID=31#ConservationCamp
August 17- District 10 meeting & picnic, location TBD
August 22-24- The Lehigh Valley Hunting and Fishing Extravaganza, Kempton, PA http://www.lvhfe.com/
September 26,27- District 10 Fall Mini Convention, Gilbert, PA
September 27- Trapper Training @ Fall Convention, Gilbert, PA
September 28- Cable Restraint Certification Class. This is a tentative event, based on the game commission availability. Keep an eye on their website for final details and to register
2014 District 10 Live Bid Fur Auction Results
42 Lots — 2 Buyers
Listed by Species, Amount sold/offered, High, Low, Average and Totals
Red Fox — 307/486, $38.00, $7.50, $26.40, $8,104.00
Gray Fox — 6/10, $25.00, $23.00, $24.00, $144.00
Coon — 291/397, $18.00, $1.00, $13.24, $3,852.25
Muskrat — 167/202, $10.00, $3.75, $9.13, $1,524.75
Mink (M) — 32/50, $20.00, $5.00, $18.18, $581.50
Mink (F) — 14/20, $11.00, $8.00, $10.50, $147.00
Opossum — 58/76, $2.50, $1.00, $1.73, $100.25
Skunk — 2/5, $5.00, $5.00, $5.00, $10.00
Coyote — 4/9, $25.00, $11.50, $18.00, $72.00
Beaver — 5/8, $33.00, $8.50, $24.10, $120.50
Deer — 38/44, $4.50, $3.00, $3.71, $141.00
Fisher — 0/3, $0.00, $0.00, $0.00, $0.00
Bobcat — 1/1, $65.00, $65.00, $65.00, $65.00
Bear — 0/1, $0.00, $0.00, $0.00, $0.00
Auction Totals — 925/1312, $18.36, $10.16, $15.64, $14,862.25
That’s it for now. Good luck to the turkey hunters and the fishermen and women! — Scot 610-863-9759, patrapd10pr@yahoo.com
DISTRICT 11 REPORT
As hard as it may be to believe, we cancelled a trapper’s meeting because of the weather! Old man winter came at us with a double barrel that day so we cancelled the meeting and all stayed home. There was nothing worth risking an accident for that couldn’t be put off until our April meeting in Schuylkill County. This meeting will be at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds on Apr 6th at 2PM. Another date to mark on your calendar is April 27th. Ralph and I will be doing a Cable Restraint class at the Conewago Gun Club in Elizabethtown from 1-5 and then at 6PM we will have a Rendezvous planning meeting at the gun club. If you need directions call Ralph or myself to help you with that.
A great big THANK YOU to Wayne Gemmill and the whole crew that manned the booth at the Great American Outdoor Show. They sold a bunch of merchandise and sweepstakes tickets. There were a lot of people that signed up for the trapper training schools and also a lot of new PTA memberships. Thanks to all of you who helped out with this event.
We will, I’m sure, participate in the county Youth Field days and hold our trapper training schools again this year. I don’t have all the dates for these events yet but keep looking for them in this column in the months to come and also on the State website.
Hopefully we will see you in Schuylkill County in April. The weather should cooperate by then but the way this winter has been, you just can’t be too sure.
Till next month. — Mike Spittle, (717)367-2637, spittlefam@paonline.com
