Director: Dale Hayes
 Co-Director: Terry McElmury

Director Report

Since this is the first week of February maybe the weather will start improving and I can get back to beaver trapping. The temperature is cold enough to make ice but a lot of places it will be thin and I am tired of getting wet. This report is a difficult one to do, in that our district meeting has not yet taken place, but will before this issue is delivered. So I will jump ahead to next month and run though some upcoming events. The Minnesota Deer and Turkey Expo will be the 7th, 8th and 9th of March at the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna. We will have an educational booth and display to answer any questions the public may have for us. We will also be selling tanned fur along with other MTA merchandise. My plan is to have electricity and to show the MTA education tape and also both NTA tapes. This will be the first time that the television will be used in Owatonna and it should go over good.

The next MTA board meeting is on March 15th and I am hoping that there will be some donations for the tanned fur project to be turned in from the spring meeting. Later on we will have some fair booths and in the June newsletter, I will be asking for helpers.

The winter meeting was well attended and as usual was a good time. I would like to congratulate the volunteers of 2007, Dave D'Aigle, and Carl and Virginia Ernst. They all went over and above the call of duty at both the FTA and MTA conventions last summer. I would also like to thank all the volunteers. You help make the summer conventions and the winter meeting successful year after year. One person I need to thank is Jim Blakley who called and asked if I was going to the lawsuit hearing in Minneapolis. I was going to take Barb's small car but Jim offered to drive and boy, I think Terry and I are both glad he did. I think I would still be lost. Going to the U.S. District Court was quite an experience, very educational and interesting. For the latest be sure to check out Gary's report.

This year the summer convention is in Fergus Falls starting on August 1st. Remember this is the same weekend as We-Fest so reserve your room early if you are not camping. The following weekend, the NTA convention will be in Mason City, Iowa. This year, it looks as though I be able to attend one state and two national conventions, so it should be a fun filled summer.

If you are planning to trap in the spring, good luck on the line, trap hard but trap safe.

Dale Hayes
trappergabby@hotmail.com