Trapping Organization Membership

Does anyone know the active membership numbers for the National organizations (NTA, FTA) as well as State organizations.

Curious how well we trappers are represented across the nation.

Typically, less than 15% of licensed trappers belong to trapping associations. It may vary a little one way or the other is some areas but this a a pretty good generalization.

Wow. That's atrocious.

I wouldn’t doubt the percentage rate is lower than that.

Last I knew NY was under 10%

Ohio is around 10%

Wow, I didn't know it was that low. Pathetic. I can't imagine any trapper not being a member.

I constantly tell non-members what will happen to our rights. Also stress the benefits of membership during Trapper Ed classes for almost 25 yrs. Not sure if it does any good.

Unfortunately ,at least here. its not about coming together. Its always been what gives me the biggest bang for the buck. I get no end to the amount crap about that point. But truly the heck with the fur check! There are other points that stand out to me . being a member of the association. Has pointed out windows and making. Clear that being a trapper is like being a gardener. Case in point there are revegetation plots that are full of tasty plants for muskrats and beavers. Well how can you expect to see the cattails come back if a healthy muskrat population is burrowing through them. So on so forth. Being part of the group helps give a stronger reason. The fur check only provides the means. Barely if at all. We cannot continue to make our check books primary. That's not a healthy drive for any environment.

Any way these are only my humble opinion. Even the mountain men formed friendships and met up.

The last report I saw put the NTA at roughly 9,000 members. The FTA may be closer to 4,000 members. Five states make up about 50% of the NTA membership, PA, MI, NY, WI and OH probably have 4000 NTA members.
This I am sure is always a consideration where the nationals are held. Two of the major states are NY and PA and they are a bit too far east to hold too many nationals. Much of the FTA membership centers around IN and ILL, IA, MO from my best guess.

Bryce

10% is pretty much standard across any kind of group. Then there's a core group of 10% of that 10%.

The difference between the pig and the chicken in an ham and egg sandwich is the chicken was involved and the pig was commited.

Trappers are the worlds worst about setting back and allowing Trappers Associations to take care of trapping issues without ever joining the Association. Then many complain how things were handled.
The more members the more voice the associated has.
Tightwads.

It would be interesting to note what percentage of the T-Man family belong to a state or national trappers association. It would also be interesting to note why they do not belong.

Its just like ANY club.
90-95% of the folks who benefit, are supported by the 5-10% who belong...…...whether its the local gun club or beekeepers club or NRA or NCTA or FTA.
OF COURSE there are problems with each, because PEOPLE are involved.
Sadly, many folks use THAT as their excuse for not belonging.

Trappers have always tended to be loners. They also tend to join trapping organizations when fur prices are up.

I meet some of the nicest people at the rendezvous'.

If, one of the popular, started a post, "trade you a membership" post, it might help?

About what year are those numbers from?

No shortage of people with sorry excuses why they won't or can't join an organization. Some are just down right pathetic, the excuses and people.

Here are some numbers for you -

The year of 2018 5,212 trapping license was sold in Montana

Current Montana Trappers Association membership 833

Out of that membership number 133 are out of state members supporting the association (thank you guys)

National Trappers Association members in Montana 237

Montana Trappers Association defeated 12 bills brought to legislation so far this year that pertains to trapping or wolves.

The biggest excuse I hear for not joining and/or not being involved on a state or national level revolves around a personality conflict with someone who is involved. Preservation of our traditions and trapping rights should come before personality.

I am just referencing the numbers for the NTA that were in the last membership report I saw which was either late 2018 or early 2019. My FTA figures are from information I heard when attending some of the meetings at the 2018 national at Marshfield. I am sure that if you contacted the offices you could get an updated membership number.

Bryce

That ought to motivate them to join our associations

I am a member of a major conservation group . One year we had a booth set up at an outdoor show . A man came walking up the aisle .The first thing he said was" If I sign up what do I get ". I looked at him and said" The right question is If you sign up what do you have to offer" Later another said "If I join does that mean I get to find new places to hunt" We all have things to do and we all have certain skills to offer . The first part is to offer the skill you have .Paying for a membership and getting a sticker for your window is a start But doing some thing is not always easy You can count on one thing ; when the antis are sending out their lies and misinformation about trapping people are writing checks

I'll let you give out the hugs

You nailed it C Fowler. The first to complain when we lose our privileges are those that done nothing to try preserve them.

That would be interesting. Hopefully most belong. If they don't, they probably wouldn't admit to it. Maybe they'll join after reading this thread.

Cathouse I wonder how many of those licenses are houndsman?

NY has around 10,000 licensed Trappers. Including Lifetime members, total membership is right around 1,400. Of those 1,400, there is a core group of about 25 or 30 that do all the work! When asked why they don’t belong, the usual answer is “What do I get for being a member?” Numbers count, folks! When a bill comes up for a vote, some politicians look at member numbers before deciding how to vote! Joining is easy! Benefits are immense when you consider the representation you get before politicians! Dues and conventions are the main sources of income. Without income, we cannot fight for our heritage! Please, join your state association. Joining the NTA & FTA in addition would be a bonus!

PM sent.

Unfortunately it seems to me adversity is what gets people to join. Here in WA we are a step away from losing it all and trappers know it so we have a pretty good percentage of trappers are members. We are steady at around 60% of trappers as members of the State Association.
Even at that it takes constant reminders. People think they are members no matter how long ago there membership has expired. It takes a lot of reminders.

One of the reasons I heard over the years by some here on T-man they don’t belong is they do not like the bad politics of their state or national organization. That’s fine, but I would like to know specifics about what they feel is wrong. If word gets out of something that isn’t right maybe it can be corrected if enough of us know about it.

Rather than wait on someone's "opinion", attend meetings, get to know people, be involved, and form your own opinion. That'd be my advise to anyone sitting on the sidelines.

Data released from the DEC shows 14,061 sold for 2017 & 13,223 for 2018

Using inside political problems or negative personalities as an excuse not to join is ridiculous.Over the years there's been a lot of dissent about this person,or that person,or how things were handled that not everybody agreed with.When Don Hoyt was ousted as president in the late 80's is a good example.I still have no idea what that was all about,the information about the situation was pretty vague.But I didn't quit over it!The big picture is whats important,not the petty squabbling over policies.Unfortunatley, the same excuses used then are used today.And when the Anti's target became the international market,I heard wayyy to many people here say,big deal,I'll just find another market.Yeah,like the mountain man circuit is going to sustain this industry.There is no other markets to speak of,and look at what New York,and California are trying to do to any industry that involves fur.Join up and stand and fight,or lose it all.

Our society has lost the sense of community and most organizations are following suit. It is easier to do ones own thing and complain about those who make choices and decisions than to step up and be part of the process.
If we have not noticed the culture is rapidly becoming urban and suburb and the culture of urban life is much different than rural life. If we that live and work and recreate in rural areas are unwilling to step up then we are in the back of our mind saying this is a losing battle but I will do it my way and feel bitter about it until it is gone or I am gone. We make a living and enjoy nature which is thousands of years in the making at the least, yet most of us can't see past the next fur season, good, bad or ugly.

Bryce

Here we have a game commission thats not favorable , a govenor thats the same and a very progressive leglislative branch still can't seem to motivate people, even some of the ranchers will still support the very people that will make their life difficult?!! If you think you want to trap a cougar in NM now will be the year to try.

Numbers I found a few years ago indicated ~10%+ of licensed trappers belonged to state clubs and ~1-3% were active participants. As said above the 10% of the 10%. Numbers vary of course with the fur market and by state and those that belong to national clubs may or may not belong to the state clubs.
If the trappers organizations were organized around political action rather than around vendor sales would more people support them? It's a question I have wondered about. Rendezvous was even in the days of the Rocky Mountain Co. a time and place for suppliers to meet trappers and take away their fur money in exchange for goods; never did and never will have any effect on the rights of trappers to trap.
Most trapper organizations are set up as non profits that cannot be involved with or interfere in politics in a meaningful way. Most are also set up around the core 1% and their locations, which is reasonable, but in a large state it means most trappers are remote from most TA meetings; a reorganization of state clubs into active regional cells within the state might raise interest.
Membership in and of itself is just money tossed away, of no real benefit to either the club nor the unseen/unheard member. Members need involvement at a local level to see the "what's in it for me" that every single one wants to know.
Clubs need to be Unions. Each Union needs some paid employees to keep the ball moving while all the members live life.

Here in WI as in several other states we have 11 districts within our state WTA. We have an elected official from each district as a BOD rep and we have 4 general elected officers.
I am not sure of our WTA membership at this time bu I am guessing right around 2,000 give or take. The districts vary a lot in how active they are in organizing, fund raising and supporting the state. As has been stated above much of the work in each of these districts and the state level is done by a handful of members and that is over many years not just a one shot deal.
A person can really have a lot of voice if one chooses to get involved. Many times one can be elected to be a director with a handful of votes and one can impact an organization a lot good, bad or ugly.
Sometimes it gets frustrating but one has to also realize that many join an organization and donate funds to help support trapping and it is the responsibility of active members to honor those members as well.
WI is not a large state but we have a lot of habitat, geographic, species and temperature ranges that impact trappers and trapping significantly. I can only imagine the ranges for some very large states with huge changes in moisture, species, temperature and altitude. One has to always remember what one is striving for instead of constantly getting hung up by all the road blocks.

Bryce

That's not true. Many trappers groups are 501c6 which allow for lobbying. Even a C3 can lobby in some capacity.

Ontario is well over 80%,probably closer to 90.
There is a 5 million liability insurance policy included with the membership.

There are a lot of licenses being sold in NY, but with fur prices being low, I would bet most don’t trap! That being said, participation and involvement is pathetic!

Boco, how much are the dues?

Michigan is number one for nta memberships at about 1000 my district of u p trapper has about 200 members of that we have about 30 active ones ,that come to meeting an help out with all the stuff we do ,some travel 40 plus miles to go to meeting

$22.60 is the cost of membership to a licenced Ontario trapper who gets his licence thru the federation.

What a bargain Boco, considering you get liability insurance with that. That's an interesting marketing technique.

Fur taker license sales in PA have been from 42000 to 45000 every year for the last 5 years. I am not sure how many people belong to the PTA . But the conventions that I have been to put on by the PTA are usually well attended . In the NTA American Trapper magazine they always list state and individual donations to the NTA .The PTA and its districts along with individual donators are usually on those list consistently .

And that's payable in the Queen's colorful monopoly money !!

w

Are those numbers correct or did you mistakenly add a zero? Just curious.

Seems like a lot of trapping licenses!! Or is a furtaker license required for other sports - like Raccoon hunting with dogs.

Yes a fur taker license is required to hunt fox ,coon etc in PA with a dog or using a call .That certainly makes the numbers higher .I do not know if they track those that trap or hunt separately or not .The numbers come from the PA Game Commission web site They break down the sales into many different categories and list them for the last 10 years of sales

When I lived in PA several years ago, the PA Trappers Assoc. said there were 3, 000 members. It was estimated this number was about 10% of the total trappers in the state which would make about 30,000 trappers. I doubt these figures changed much since I left the state. However, the state has a inexpensive lifetime fur takers license for senior citizens. Since most trappers are older, I imagine some of of the figures for number of trappers can be skewed. Unlike here in Idaho, I believe PA trappers are still not required to submit a yearly report of their trapping activities.