Iowa Trappers Association March 2011 Report

President — Craig Sweet, 1825 Kirkwood St., Saint Charles, IA 50240; phone: 641-764-2758

Vice President — Randy Mitchell, Iowa Fall, IA; phone: 641-648-6787

Secretary — Patty Kempf, 3371 130th St., Jamaica, IA 50128; e-mail: itasecretary@iowatelecom.net

Treasurer — Chris Grillot, 2769 110th Ave., Wheatland, IA 52777; phone: 563-374-1074; e-mail: itatreasurer@fbcom.net

FTA Director — Gene Purdy, 521 Edwin Place, Fontanelle, IA 50846; phone: 641-745-8841

NTA Director — George Scalf, 123 N. Madison Ave., Ottumwa, IA 52501; phone: 641-682-3937; e-mail: iantadtr@mchsi.com

Membership Options:

• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $15
• Lifetime membership with subscription — $250

Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:

ITA Secretary
Patty Kempf
3371-130th St.
Jamaica, IA 50129

http://www.iowatrappers.com

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Greetings to all. Well, the regular trapping season has wrapped up for another season, but far from being over as beaver remains open until April 1st. Just got my last sets pulled at 11:45 P.M. but did get one last ‘coon this A.M. check. I did get to fill my otter quota, but missed my bobcat by a month and a half – maybe next season.

First item is a bill that has been introduced to the House Natural Resources Committee – House file 145. It has come about due to an incident which occurred with a dog. The bill as introduced would prohibit setting a conibear type trap or snare on the right-of-way of a public road within 440 yards of the entry to a private drive serving a residence without the permission of the occupant. Currently, such a trap cannot be set within 200 yards of the entry to a private drive of a residence without permission.

A letter writing campaign to the reps on the House Natural Resources Committee has already began. If anyone would like any further info, contact me at hightoweria@aol.com or the phone number under the officer list above this column and I will get that passed along to you. At this point, it is important to let the members of the committee know our thoughts on this subject. Keep all your thoughts short and to the point, but above all be polite when contacting them.

Next item is the ITA Fur Auction. First of all, thanks to the buyers that committed to attend. Some got there late due to the weather, but we had seven present for the entire auction. Buyers were Central States Fur, North Iowa Furs, Midwest Fur – Bruce Hutton, Greater Midwest Fur, Stark Fur, Allen Hindman Fur Co., Midwest Fur – Ted Wallace, The Fur Shed, Spies Fur, Tom Gilman. Thanks to all the workers that made the day/auction run so smooth, especially for being the first one.

There were to many people involved to name everyone & if I did name everyone I would probably leave someone out, again Thanks for all your help during the day/weekend. Most everyone was pleased with the prices they received and heard of some that wished they had brought more. Below you will find the results from the acution. During the lotting process there was no separate listings for green or finished furs so they are all combined in the results below.

Badger — 2, high $22, low $15, avg $18.50

Beaver — 60, high $12.50, low $1, avg $6.83

Coyote — 53, high $20, low $1, avg $15.57

Coon — 2137, high $30, low .20, avg $11.27

Red Fox — 29, high $25, low .50, avg $14.54

Mink (M & F) — 69, high $17, low $1, avg $7.30

Otter — 6, high $45, low $40, avg $43

Skunk — 13, high $2.75, low $2, avg $2.23

Nutria — 2, High $2, low $2, avg $2

Opossum — 99, high $2.75, low .50, avg $1.76

Muskrat — 528, high $8, low .50, avg $6.78

Deer hides — 23, high $4.50, low $1, avg $3.69

Deer Tails — 88, high .10, low .10, avg .10

Squirrel — 2, high $1, low.50, avg .75

Squirrel tail — 1, high .10, low .10, avg .10

Castor — 6.5 lbs, high $30 lb, low $20 lb, avg $26.15

For those who notice – yes there were nutria sold, but they were NOT from Iowa!!!

The ITA booth was set up this past weekend, Jan 28-30th, at Pheasant Fest in Omaha. Again, as in the past the booth was busy & well received during the weekend. Dwayne Kay & Spencer Hill had their demo on Sporting Dogs & Predator Control as they have the 2 previous years.

Cody & Tracy Hutton were video taped by Scott, forgot his last name, at the request of a viewer, in an effort to help hunting dog owners with understanding the mechanics, operation and how to set a conibear. This is one of the main goals in being present at this event, to educate owners in the operation of all of the different traps, be it footholds, coinbears or snares along with educating people about the importance of a trapping.

Thanks to the following for their help during the weekend – Dwayne & Linda Kay, Joice, Nat & Spencer Hill, Dennis Johnson, Jim Noneman, Mike Long, Joe Aeschliman, Randy Porsch, Cody, Tracy, Remington, Bridger & Gunner Hutton. Gunner was the ITA pelt identification go to/tell you all about them specialist for the weekend. FYI – Gunner was the ONLY person to walk away from the weekend with more money than he started with.

Well, better go for now. Til next time, be safe and have a good Spring.

— Craig Sweet

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