Upcoming Events

• VTA Directors Meeting
  May 14th, 7 P.M.
  Comfort Inn, Berlin, VT
  All members welcome



• VTA Spring Fur Auction Prices



• Green Mountain Gun and Knife Show May 17-18
  American Legion, Chester, VT

Vermont Game Seasons

• Spring Turkey Hunting , May 1 - 31
  
  
  

VTA Officers

• John Lapre -- Acting President
  Florence, VT 05744
  (802) 483-0043
  
  
• Joe & Deb Epler -- Vice President
  P.O. Box 12
  Chester, VT 05143
  
  
• Deb Epler -- Secretary
  P.O Box 12
  Chester, VT 05143
  
  
• Jim Calchera-- Treasurer
  Putney, Vt 05158
  (802) 722-9790
  
  
• Dave Perrin-- N.T.A. Director
  Braintree, VT 05060
  (802) 728-5935
  
  
• Paul Ainsworth-- Membership Sec.
  Eden, VT 05652
  (802) 635-7343
  
  
• Conservation Dir.-- George Gay
  

President's Report

May 2008

Greetings fellow trappers, hope all is well .

It’s been a while since you have heard from me, so I hope I don’t leave anything important out.

I attended the North East NTA Leadership Conference on April 12th, and got some good ideas to help with our legislative and political endeavors. New York is looking to legalize the use of cable restraints. We tried this a number of years back with little success. I do feel optimistic about our ability to legalize there use in Vermont. However, if we were to pursue the legalization of cable restraints, it would take a huge amount of effort on our behalf to educate the powers in Montpelier.

I have talked with Wayne Laroche, Commissioner of Fish & Wildlife about re-extending muskrat trapping season on Champlain. It appears that very little formal population information exists. In order to re-extend the season, formal surveys need to be gathered on Champlain and around the state. The Commissioner said they have the means to produce these surveys, but It sounded like it could be a long drawn out process. I have started a dialog with Fish & Wildlife, and will keep you posted as things progress.

I testified at the state house on March, 27th regarding H543 Funding for Fish & Wildlife. The F&W dept. has traditionally been funded with licence sales. This bill seeks additional funding via other revenue sources. With, parasitic grubs infesting our fish, 100 year old fish culture stations, and numerous new diseases on the rise, The Fish & Wildlife Department needs more funding.

I would like to thank Brent Teillon and the banquet committee for another successful banquet. Their dedication and commitment to this event has made the banquet by far our largest fund raiser. Despite a down economy the profits were good. Attendance was great, with a record number of sponsors. Hopefully next years will be as good if not better.

On sort of a down note, I have been looking at the same dedicated directors for quite some time. The Board of Directors are a dedicated group that works hard to preserve our trapping privilege. I am fearful with all that is on our plate, that the board will get burned out. I have seen the signs, and have seen many of these guys spread themselves way too thin. WE NEED NEW BLOOD! Without more directors we will not be able to sustain the quality of an association we have now.

I ask of you to think of the future of trapping in Vermont. Without the Vermont Trappers Association there would probably be no trapping in this state. Keep in mind the northeast headquarters for HSUS is in Jacksonville, Vermont, and you can bet they are watching every move we make.

I encourage you to come to a directors meeting. The commitment is only 1 evening a month. Generally we meet in the 2nd Wednesday at the Comfort Inn in Berlin. Below you will find a list of Directors segregated by county. Please call these guys and make arrangements to ride up.

I hope to see you at our next director meeting. Until then stay safe.

John P. Lapre
Acting President, VTA