Tanned Fur Project Coordinator

            

Tim Caven

7444 County Rd 27

Pennock, MN  56279

(320) 599-4176

info@mntrapline.com

Fall 2022 Report

-- FALL 2022 Recent donations to the MTA Tanned Fur Project came from the following generous members and conservation officers:

TRAPPERS: Gary Stelzer – 2 Coyote, 1 Red Fox, 1 Beaver

Scott Colton – 26 Monster Opossum

Paul Jindra – 5 Coyote, 2 Muskrat

Alan Golden – 21 Beaver

Cumberland’s Northwest Trappers Supply – 4 Coyote, 2 Badger, 1 Skunk

Terry McElmury – 100 coyote, 13 Raccoon, 1 Mink

Yotes to Coats Tannery – 5 Tanned Raccoon

Jim Blakley – 1 Tanned Otter

Carl Ernst - $50 Towards Our Tanning Bill

Artie Barnes – 8 Muskrat, 1 Coyote

Walt Gessler – 3 Raccoon

Joe Jewett – 6 Beaver, 1 Coyote, 1 Mink

Pete Jonas – 3 Beaver

In Memory of Jill Thompson and Erin Fischer – 2 Cross Fox

CONSERVATION OFFICERS: Officer Mitch Lawler – 1 Otter

Officer Keith Bertram – 4 Otter

Officer Scott Staples – 1 Bobcat

With fur often times going through 2 or 3 hands before I see it and unfortunately the name of the original donor occasionally gets lost. Please if I have missed your name or donation shoot me an email so I get it recorded correctly, I don’t want to miss anyone. There was a nice stretched and dried mink donated at the convention in Wadena that I didn’t get a name for. Also, I received a coyote, red fox, and opossum from I believe someone in Fairmont but didn’t get the name so please email me if this was your donation. Thank you. It is always my great pleasure to be able to acknowledge and give out some awards to our top donors at our summer convention. There are 3 main competitions each year which include Conservation Officer of the Year, District Competition, and Individual Competition. Winners at this years convention in Wadena were:

Conservation Officer of the Year:

5^th Place Officer Mitch Lawler

4^th Place Officer Kip Duncan

3^rd Place Officer Keith Bertram

Runner Up – Officer Demo Regas (Officer Regas was our 2021 Winner also)

1^st Place – Officer Tricia Plautz (Officer Plautz is a previous winner and 3-time Runner Up)

Congratulations and thank you for working side by side with the MTA

District Competition

Runner Up – Tie between District 3 and District 4

Winner – District 7

Individual Competition

15 – David Pearson

14 – Alan Golden

13 – Walt Gessler

12 – Leon Windschitl

11 – Bert Highland

10 – Brian Fischer

 9 – Frank Brula – Sure missed seeing you at the convention this year Frank, first time in over 40 years, get well!

 8 – Team Trapline – Flor, Hilburn, and Hilburn

 7 – Tim Alsleben

 6 – Tyler and Wayne Thompson

 5 – Bill Hanson

 4 – Eric Maijala

 3 – Doug Abel and Doug Padgett (103 Raccoon, 40 Coyote, 18 Beaver, 17 Muskrat, 9 Red Fox, 6 mink) – All Stretched and Dried

 Runner Up – Michael Shaleen, Sr. (235 Muskrat, 60 Beaver, 7 Mink, 5 Raccoon, 3 Skunk, 1 Marten – All Stretched and Dried

 1^st Place – Terry McElmury – 100 Coyote, 13 Raccoon, 1 Mink – All Stretched and Dried

Congratulations and thanks to all whether you are on the list above or donated 1 muskrat, it all counts and helps achieve our common goal. I was saddened by the passing of Lloyd Bakkonen prior to the convention. Lloyd would always bring fur to the convention to donate plus otter that he had put up for conservation officers for the tanned fur project. Lloyd’s fur processing skills were great, and he always brought the skins to me in boxes that he built out of wood as pelts were to be handled respectfully. Godspeed Lloyd.

Thank you to the many members who represented the MTA at county fairs this summer. We have the last two going on right now and when I get the fur back from them we will swing into full school mode. Thanks to the great donations this year we already have a good number of traveling sets of fur ready for the start of the school year. From all indications it appears that 2022-2023 will see the most educational use of our program in its history going back 30 years.

At the time of this writing Andy and Karen Shoemaker have the first 3 days of the Anoka Game Fair under their belts with 3 more days to go. These two dedicated members and their crew represent the MTA at the very highest level, please say thanks to them when you see them. District 5 headed by Pete Jonas and Matt Akerson will have a booth at Prairie Pothole Days in September and at the Deer and Turkey Expo in Shakopee this winter, thank you guys for donating your time and talents.

Please remember the MTA Tanned Fur Project as you plan your fall and winter traplines. Our greatest needs at this time are skunk, badger, bobcat, and grey fox to complete our school sets. Wishing you all the best in your fall traplines and hunts.

Tim Caven

Tanned Fur Project Coordinator

7444 County Road 27 NW

Pennock, MN 56279

tim@mntrapline.com