LTAHA News

Fast Facts From Louisiana

Hunting

In 2003, hunting-related expenditures in Louisiana amounted to $599 million (LDWF 2005).

Wildlife-Watching

In 2003, expenditures related to wildlife-watching in Louisiana amounted to $175 million
(LDWF 2005).

Fur Harvest

The 2005-2006 fur harvest in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands generated approximately $1.17 million
(LDWF 2006).

Alligator Harvest

In 2003, the Louisiana alligator harvest was valued at approximately $38 million (LDWF 2005).

Waterfowl

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands provide habitat for approximately 1.8 million migratory waterfowl
(LDWF 2008).

The Spring Convention in Review

This year’s spring convention was a great success with lot of friendship and fun for all who attended. The
morning started off with a demo from Clint Johnson, one of our up and coming trappers. Clint did a great job showing us how he takes coons by modern methods he has developed. Steve Hughes put on a cat demo with lots of extras on location and set placement. Steve gave us insight into his world of flat land trapping in the northeast corner of Louisiana. Later in the morning Kyle Lofton put on a coyote snaring demo with special attention to equipment and placement. Between all the trapping demos, Sterlin Kirshman of NAFA demoed proper fur handling techniques for high prices on put up fur and Tony Howard demoed otter skinning for easier
fleshing.

At 11:30 the general membership meeting began with a discussion on the snaring issues we are facing. Curtis Cruse called the meeting to order and spoke about the issues coming up and then turned the floor over to Tony Howard for more discussion about the facts gathering done on behalf of the Assoc. Next, Mr. Allan Ensminger, of the Louisiana Fur Council, Land Owners Representative spoke at length about the snare issue and let the
general membership know that the fur council would not support any regulations which would restrict or hinder the use of snares. After Mr. Ensminger spoke, Sam Smith, the Chairman of the Louisiana Fur Council and NTA Representative spoke reinforcing the stance the Fur Council has over regulation on snares.

After covering current and past business the general membership began the election process for the three Board of Directors to be seated this year. Four nominations were submitted and carried to a vote of the general membership. Steve Hardy and John Linzay were re-elected to serve three more years and Bo Autonberry filled the third position. After the general membership meeting concluded the Board of Directors retired to the private meeting room and elected officers to serve the next calendar year. Tony Howard was elected as President, Wesley Blanchard was elected as Vice President and Youth Education Coordinator and Rob McKay was elected to fill the position of Secretary.

With the new board seated and officers in place, the day’s events moved on to the Youth Trap setting contest.
What a time we had with this. Our youth are really coming on strong and doing a great job. This year’s winners were as follows: 1st place, six year old boys division Aiden Bamberg. Kristyn Parker took 1st place in the ten year old girls division. Moving to the ten year old boys division, Trevor Leger took 1st place, Brock Berthelot captured 2nd and Michael Howard picked up 3rd. In the 13-15 years division which was co-ed Samantha Howard took 1st place, Ryan Leger took 2nd and Brandon Mayo came in 3rd. In the oldest division 15 and up Haryn Parker held on for 1st place with Zachary Livingston coming in a close 2nd and Wesley Blanchard finished a close 3rd. They all did a great job and really put on a show for us. It is great to see the youth of today find their way knowing they will be the leaders of tomorrow. All our youth were award prizes and certificates for participating in the trap setting contest. First place winners were award cash money to go along with their prizes. Good job to them all and I look forward to seeing more youth join our organization in the future.

After the trap setting contest we moved on into the Silent Auction and then right to the Live Auction. Even with fur prices low and gas high, members dug deep and made the auction a success raising over $1900 for the Association general fund budget this year. The top selling item again this year as in so many years passed was the “Hooped Beaver” donated by Paul Rhodes. So many people and vendors donated to help our association this year and it makes me feel proud to know people care about our industry. Please support those who gave to our auction as they did so out of the goodness of their hearts. As a brief side note, I would like to let everyone know that Bob Jameson of Jameson Lure’s suffered a heart problem and had to undergo quintuple bypass surgery. The LTAHA did send him a customer get well card from all the members. For those that don’t know, Bob sent us sixteen pounds of lure to help us raise money to fight the snare issue. Please keep Bob in your prayers.

A Letter from the Vice President

Hello everyone! Wow, what a time at the convention. First of all I would like to take this time to thank the board of directors for their vote of confidence in me and electing me to serve as vice president. It is a job that I take with pride and look forward to the many great things that lay ahead for this association. I promise to serve the board and the association to the best of my ability by promoting trapping in this state and helping defend our rights that are so dear to us all. I once was told that the difference between a manager and a leader is this; a manager does things right while a leader does the right thing. I am committed to doing the right things for this association and open to any suggestions, ideas and help that will be offered. We are all a team and it will take the whole team to achieve our goals. Thank you once again! The 2011 LTAHA convention went about as smooth as could be thanks to the hard work of everyone involved. To make a convention work, it takes months of planning, phone calling, organizing, last minute detailing and lots of hard work, good weather and folks showing up. Our many thanks go out to the sponsors that sent us all the material on the tables and auction items. The day would not have been as successful without their participation. These companies will be getting thank you cards from us but our biggest thanks can come from our business to those companies. I urge you all to please support these sponsors with your business so that they can continue to operate and serve the trapping community. Thank you again to everyone on a job well done!!

It is my belief that 2011 into 2012 will be a stellar year for our association. We are already receiving phone calls with lots of great ideas to propel this association forward. Many youth attended this years convention and as we all know, the future of trapping lies within those youth .It is in our best interest to cater more to those youth by having more activities geared for them. The youth trapping contest was a huge success and many youth participated. My hats off to the girls this year for whipping the boys in every division of the contest.
Boys, you better turn it up a notch and get them traps out of the shed and get to practicing. You’ve got your work cut out for you! Plans for a youth workshop are under way and when final plans are made then we will get that information out to all. Anyone wishing to help at any future event or has any idea that we can put into action, please contact any board member or officer.

As you heard our president and others speak
at the convention concerning regulations that
may be put on snaring, we want all members
to know that we are staying on top of the issue and will fight tooth and nail in Baton Rouge, New Iberia and anywhere else that this battle takes us. We will defend our sport and way of life and there will be NO COMPROMISE.
You have a board of directors that is
committed to seeing this issue to the end and
any other issue that may arise. Lots of phone
calls, letter writing and meetings have been
done that many will never know about, but
know this- you have the right people on the
board of directors and their dedication is
second to none! You are in good hands.
Thanks for listening and don’t forget to visit
us at louisianatrappers.com may God Bless.