Arnold Groehler, United States Chairman
Arnold Groehler is one of the founding members of the WFSC and a professional trapper with over 40 years experience. Throughout his trapping career, he has trapped primarily raccoons and muskrats in southern Wisconsin.
In addition to serving on the WFSC, Arnold is active with several state and national trapper organizations. He is also a Wisconsin trapping education instructor and a hunter safety instructor. He is a retired Army master sergeant. During the summer months, he works on animal damage control projects and enjoys helping out with his wife’s horses.
Tim Eiden, US Director, United States Region A
Tim Eiden is a trapper living in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin and has been trapping for over 50 years. He has been a dedicated NAFA shipper from the beginning.
Tim is one of the founding members of the WFSC and trapping is not only his livelihood but his passion as well. He grew up in a trapping family and, as a result, enjoys the outdoors, winters and being a part of nature. He is a member of Ducks Unlimited and several local hunting clubs and has been a long time member of the Wisconsin Trappers Association.
Dennis Weiss, Director, United States Region B
Dennis Weiss has hunted, fished, trapped and worked along the banks of the Mississippi River in Iowa his entire life. He has been trapping for over 45 years and has been a director for Region B of the WFSC for the past four years. Dennis has worked in fisheries research for the Iowa DNR for the past 32 years.
In addition to the fisheries research work on the river, he normally does over 100 programs every year for school students and adult organizations on a variety of nature topics including furs/trapping. He is also an ardent believer in teaching young people about hunting, fishing and trapping, and conducts trapping education seminars each year.
Andrew Hyde, 2nd Vice-Chairman, United States Region D
Andrew Hyde is a dedicated trapper living in Pennsylvania and, throughout his trapping career has worked hard to promote and teach the fine art of trapping to young people interested in pursuing trapping as a career. He teaches at the Pennsylvania District Trapper’s Training school and is regularly called upon to teach children and adults about trapping, traps and the fur trade.
Andrew is also the owner of a small farm and you can sometimes find him at the NAFA booth conducting demonstrations at trapping conventions throughout the year. He is one of the founding directors of the WFSC.
Rebecca Monk, Director, Canada Region 1
Becky Monk is a full time trapper living in northwestern Ontario, where she enjoys living on the trap line, high on the backbone of the Canadian Shield, deep within the Boreal Forest.
Becky completed her post-graduate studies at the University of Guelph in the early 1990s in Flock Health Management and Lamb Improvement Breeding Strategy. She started trapping to control flock predation and found it so interesting and so challenging that she chose to follow the trappers’ path.
Becky became a certified instructor for Ontario’s Fur Harvest, Fur Management and Conservation Course in 1999 and still teaches students every year. She has served on the Board of the Lindsay District Fur Harvesters Council and the Board of the Nipigon District Trappers Council. Becky has also generously donated her time to participate in forums hosted by NAFA and the technical fur design workshops at Studio NAFA.
Stan Smith, Director, Western/Northern Canada Region 2
Stan Smith lives in British Columbia and has been trapping since he was 19 years old. As a young adult, Stan always felt a strong connection with nature and, as a hunter and fisher, found a ‘special solitude’ with the land – trapping was the next logical step.
Stan believes in trapping because he respects nature and believes strongly in scientific based wildlife management rather than permitting emotions to make decisions on wildlife management.
He is the current Chairman of the NAFA board of directors and represents the WFSC on the NFPI/NAFA boards. Previously, he was the Vice President of the British Columbia Trappers Association and then went on to become President for two successful terms. He also holds memberships with many trapper associations in the U.S.
Kirby Burtt, Director, Eastern Canada Region 3
Kirby Burtt lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick and has been a licensed trapper for over 30 years. He’s been involved with the WFSC since its inception and a supporter of all trapper-related associations locally along with the National Trappers Association.
Kirby is a graduate of the Maritime Forest Ranger School in New Brunswick and recently retired as a Parks Officer with the Provincial Department of Tourism, Parks Branch and the Ministry of Natural Resources. He was also instrumental in developing a trapper’s workshop in conjunction with the New Brunswick Trappers Conventions. He owns and operates a small trapping supply and fur buying business and is a nuisance wildlife control operator.
Bernard Dubé, Director, Canada Region 4
Bernard Dube has been involved with the WFSC since its inception in 1997 and is one of its founding members. He’s been a trapper for over fifty years. He traps all the species of the Gaspe Peninsula and has served the trapper association for his region for approximately 25years.
Bernard is dedicated to trapping and also works as a certified provincial trapping instructor for the province of Quebec.
Serge Lariviere, PhD, Independent Director
Serge Lariviere lives in Saint – Apollinaire in Quebec and is a second generation trapper alongside his father. Serge is a trained biologist with a Ph.D. in the ecology, management and conservation of fur-bearing animals. Throughout his career, he has served on various boards dealing with animal care issues, humane trap research and development and furbearer conservation in Canada and the U.S.
As a certified provincial trapping instructor for the province of Quebec and Affiliate Professor in Biology at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, Serge is always striving to teach others about trapping and hunting and fishing. He is the Director –General for the Cree Hunters and Trappers Income Security Board, an organization that helps to ensure that hunting and trapping is a viable way of life for the Cree people of James Bay, Quebec.
Phil Patterson, Independent Director
Phil Patterson lives in Carman, Manitoba and has been involved with NAFA since its early days as the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). He joined HBC in 1958 as a clerk in training. Forty one years later, Phil retired as a ‘Director’ of Fur Marketing of the North West Company, which had bought out Hudson’s Bay Company.
Throughout Phil’s career as a fur grader, buyer and trainer of wild fur grading, he has lived and travelled Canada’s north, the Northwest Territories and Yukon, with side trips into Alaska. Since retiring in 1999, he has remained in the fur industry as a private fur broker.
Bill Mackowski, Treasurer
Bill Mackowski is a founding member of the WFSC and served as its chairman for seven years and is its current treasurer, representing Region C. Bill has also served on the NAFPI and NAFA board of directors. He began trapping muskrats as a boy of seven and this will be his 55th year on the trap line. He graduated from the University of Maine in the early 70’s where he majored in Wildlife Biology and Ecology. Since then he has worked at a variety of crafts including commercial fisherman, farmer, full time trapper, greenhouse grower and bush pilot.
He is active in land conservation and has served in a variety of capacities with the Downeast Lakes Land Trust. Bill lives in Milford, Maine with his wife Francine and seven year old great granddaughter Maddy. He currently earns his living crafting ash packbaskets, fishing creels and snowshoes, growing pumpkins, crafting Christmas wreaths and, of course, trapping.