Presidents Report - Gary Meis
Gary Meis President of Minnesota Trappers Association
In June of 2006 the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed a lawsuit in Federal Court stating that the MN DNR was in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because there were several documented cases of lynx being caught in traps. As you know the lynx is on the ESA. Upon receiving this news I contacted MTA legal counsel, Gary Leistico, and asked for advice. After a lengthy discussion we both agreed it would be in the best interest of trappers to request the court allow the MTA to enter the lawsuit as intervening parties. I called an emergency board of directors meeting and Gary Leistico and I explained the options. To the credit of your MTA board, they unanimously voted to enter the lawsuit. Gary Leistico also suggested that we get the NTA, FTA, and USSA as well as two trappers in MN as affected parties to enter the lawsuit as intervening parties. The two trappers we chose as interveners were Cory Van Driel and Todd Roggenkamp of which both happily agreed. To the credit of the MN DNR they did not object to any of us entering the lawsuit. Along the way Safari Club International (SCI) requested, and was granted to enter the lawsuit. Much to our pleasure the Court allowed all parties to intervene. Sitting in on the Federal Court hearings was a learning experience for me. To make a long story short the HSUS settled out of court “without prejudice” and per the agreement of both parties the MN DNR had to pay $25,000 of which $12,500 of that money would be put into lynx habitat. In return we trappers were allowed to continue trapping as we always have.
We certainly did not get to relax or bask in the outcome of the HSUS lawsuit very long. Almost immediately the MN DNR was hit with yet another lawsuit, this time by the Animal Protection Institute (API) and the Center for Biological Diversity. The format for this lawsuit was identical to the HSUS lawsuit. The proceedings for this lawsuit were nowhere as easy as the first one. Again we attended all meetings and hearings. What really deflated me was the outcome of the January 17th court hearing. Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Davis ruled that the MN DNR was guilty of violations of the ESA pertaining to instances of the lynx being caught in traps. I for one was crushed by the judge’s decision. I really thought all chances of coming out of this lawsuit with any chance of saving trapping were nil. After the judge’s order was reviewed by our legal counsel all hope was not lost. The judge ordered the MN DNR to file for both an Incidental Take Permit with the USFWS and to also develop a plan to ensure the safety of the lynx while trapping. Back to the drawing board we went. To the credit of the MN DNR, they continued to keep the MTA and all intervening parties included and involves. We met the DNR and a proposal with “quote” scientific data approved by the FWS was formatted. All parties agreed to final draft after some concessions were made. We supported the DNR proposal as it was the best outcome that we could hope for under the current laws. The proposal as submitted to Judge Davis of which he approved is as follows:
- The use of Snares 5/64” and up not to exceed 1/8” in diameter will be allowed. Loops must bee 8-10” in diameter. Water sets excluded.
- 160 and 220 body grippers must meet the requirements of being set at least 3 feet off the ground or surface of the snow, and be set on a leaning pole or tree no larger than 6” in diameter. 160 and 220 body grippers may ALSO be used on the ground provided they are inside a cubby or box and inserted a minimum of 7” from the front. Body grippers smaller than 160 and body grippers used as water sets have no restrictions.
- There are no restrictions on foothold trap sizes however they must be staked with no drags allowed. Also the chain or cable securing the foothold must be no more than 18” long and have at least two swivels.
- No hare or rabbit may be used as bait.
- No flagging may be used within 20 feet of the trap.
There is also a clause about fresh bait and its usage that I need to have clarified. I will report on this as soon as I know the exact language.
I would be remiss if I did not inform you that once the MN DNR submitted this proposal to the judge, the API then submitted their plan. Their plan stated no snares, no body grippers, and no bait at all; no flagging and no footholds greater than a 4” opening which would be a number 1 size foothold and they also wanted the range to be the upper 1/3 of MN.
On July 14th at 11:55 a.m. we received word that Judge Davis accepted the DNR’s proposal and the rules will only apply to the area from Duluth following Highway 53 on the east side of 53 to the border.
If you’re not happy with this outcome lets take a look at several decisions that could have been made by the judge. Worse case scenario he could have banned trapping in all of MN. He could have applied the plan submitted by the API. He could have stopped the upcoming trapping season. The judge could have done many things that would have been detrimental to MN trapping. For those of you reading this report that are living outside of MN you must realize that any negative outcome of this lawsuit could have, and most probably would have been a domino effect across the U.S.A.
In closing I want to give thanks where thanks are due. First and most importantly I want to thank the MN DNR for standing by us trappers and keeping us 100% informed throughout the entire lawsuit. The MN DNR continually asked for our input and advice. The MN DNR could have easily taken the easy road out of this lawsuit and saved thousands of dollars in court and legal costs and caved in at any time. The MN DNR chose to stand up to the challenge and protect our trapping rights. Many of you know that I have had issues with the DNR over law changes, which is part of any president’s job. I will forever stand up and say that the MN DNR stood by us trappers and never wavered and I will forever be grateful to them for this.
Second all trappers owe MTA life member Gary Leistico, our legal counsel, a huge debt of thanks for the dedication he put forth in the lawsuit. Gary attended all MTA board meetings and kept the board up to date on anything and everything that was happening. Gary explained everything in language that we understood. I was informed of ever little detail along the way and never was I left confused or in question. After a few bumps in the road I was left somewhat down and out and Gary was always there to bring up the bright things and encourage me to keep my chin up always telling the truth and never sugar coating anything. Gary Leistico and his law firm of Rinke-Noonan were absolutely impeccable. For those of you who do not know Gary very well I will inform you that he is to be rated in the top 10% of trappers in MN. His catches of fox, coyote, coon, water animals and most especially bobcats are astounding.
Next I must thank all of you kind people and organizations who sent in financial help to pay our legal fees. Your kindness and generosity shows that you do indeed care about our future of trapping as well as your trust in the MTA that we would make every effort to get the job done. I will wait until the dust settles to talk about what this fight cost us in dollars. You will be very surprised at how expensive this fight was. Anyone wishing to still donate to the MTA Legal Defense Fund can still send in any financial help they can afford. Just make the check payable to the MTA and send it to either Tricia Coons or myself.
Last but not least I need to thank the NTA, FTA, USSA, SCI, intervening parties Cory Van Driel and Todd Roggenkamp as well as expert witnesses Con Christianson and Russ Sikkila for standing by us and never wavering. The amount of work these people put into the lawsuit will boggle your mind. To see our parent associations and outside groups as well as trappers step up to the plate and contribute and sacrifice their time and energy makes the fight worth the effort. To everyone who stood behind us during this fight I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This shows what a group of determined people can do once they put their mind to standing up for what is right and not caving into the demands of those who wish to stop our rights to trap. Never give in my friends, if you’re going to lose, then lose big. For those few who did not stand by us and who opted chastise us I will only ask you to read my mind.
Until next time,
Be safe,
Gary
Report #2
I just returned from the MTA convention in Fergus Falls and do have more to report to the membership. Before continuing, I want to thank and compliment the many people who made this convention the success and grand event it was. Attendance was down a little from normal especially in the tailgaters section. We did anticipate lower attendance because of the high price of gas and the economy being as tough as it is. The hard working committees did everything they could possibly do to make this convention the fun time it was. Butch Dykhoff and his group of district 3 members did their usual flawless job of taking care of business. T.J. Johnson is to be commended for his on site coordinator details. There are just so very many people who work their tails off to make these events happen that it is impossible to list names for fear of missing someone. I’m talking people like the VanDriel’s, Bauer’s, Petersons, etc who do not get to take in the convention due to their commitments to oversee everything. Thank these people for their sacrifices. Thank the dealers, the demo people, the volunteers as they do everything they can to insure you have a good time.
Look through the newsletter for the highlights of the convention and read the committee reports. The auctions were a success as was the trap setting contest, wild game sampler, Sadie Hawkins race, the two dances, the kids games, the raffle, the demo’s, the general membership meeting and awards ceremony, etc.
We were introduced to what we construe as a flaw in the lawsuit settlement. As I reported earlier in this report, when Judge Davis rendered his decision in our favor on the lawsuit he allowed the use of 220 body grippers on the ground provided they are recessed 7 inches from the front of the cubby or box. The wording came out at the convention that the opening of the box or cubby may not exceed 50” in diameter. As you know a 220 is a 7” x 7” trap totaling 49 inches. Counting the dog and the corner bends the 220 exceeds 50 inches. We are wondering if the judge was informed that a 220 is seven inches in diameter and that is how he came up with his math, not putting into consideration the cubby or box opening. The DNR called me at home yesterday (August 4th) and informed me that they are not going to pursue this error. I have asked the DNR to explain their reasoning in this newsletter and they agreed to do so. I do know that there are numerous ways to continue the use of the boxes and buckets we use today by “necking” down the opening of your box. The DNR is having examples inserted in this newsletter to explain how to do this. I did speak with MTA legal counsel Gary Leistico yesterday and he is going to continue work on this. Remember one thing; this only applies in the lynx zone which I covered earlier in this report. The trappers in the Arrowhead region of the state are the blunt of this frivolous lawsuit and the MTA will continue to work through this for you. As I stated earlier, we won 90% of the lawsuit and we will continue to make the outcome as painless as we can.
I want to end this report by thanking the following for their financial donations to the Legal Defense Fund to help us pay our attorney fees. Tim and Nancy Caven the owners of Minnesota Trapline Products gave us a check for $1500.00. My wife Betty again this year made her famous brownies for the benefit auction with the agreement the funds brought in would go to the Legal Defense Fund and the generous and caring bidders paid a total $872.50. Jerry Drolshagen from Wisconsin donated a trap from Charlie Dobbins collection with Charlie’s name tag still on it with the agreement the funds would go to the Legal Defense Fund and a member of whom I do not have the name bought it for $400.00. Dale “Gabby” Hayes donated a FTA commemorative trap from this years FTA convention with the same agreement and Danny Swedberg bought it for $250.00. Leon Windschitl donated $200.00. Larry Merschman and Wes Felber each donated $100.00. Jim Dufour sent in $50.00. Todd Roggenkamp sent in $20.00. District one donated $6.30 in donated fur to NAFA, and the famous belly-flop by Carl Ernst brought in $455.00.
The MTA and trappers across the county owe these generous people a HUGE thank you for their generosity.
Gary