Our 14th annual CWCOA Conference, February 9, 2018, in Denver, was a blockbuster! We had a great line-up of speakers, topics and representation from multiple government agencies. 2018’s keynote speaker, Stephen Vantassel, NWCOA Western Director, owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC and Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Dept. of Agriculture, gave a great keynote address “What’s happening? – The Industry, NWCOA and the Future” which was well received by attendees. Stephen gives a no-nonsense, truthful assessment of where we are, where we are heading as an industry and talked openly about sensitive issues facing our industry.
Gary McElroy (Colorado Dept. of Ag – CDA) gave a presentation on Laws & Regs “CDA Update” and CEC’s (2 – Laws & Regs) were provided.
Martin Lowney (State Director USDA Wildlife Services – APHIS) gave very helpful and valuable information on how his agency helped to assist through research and fact-based use of various traps and devices that were affected by Chapter 14 Amendment and how their science-based / fact-based research supports their use as effective methods of capture and control and how this research contributed to authorizations by the CPW for their use given special circumstances (to be later discussed by Dan Gates).
Stephen Vantassel gave a presentation on “Euthanasia – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” worth 1 CEC (Applicator Safety)
Crystal Chick (CPW Denver Area Wildlife Manager / New Liason for CWCOA) along with Dan Gates (Colorado Rid-A-Critter / President of CTPHA Colorado Trappers, Predators, Hunters Assoc) gave a presentation on “CPW Update & W-17 Trapping Regulation Revisions”. The efforts of Dan Gates as well as Martin Lowney and the CPW have resulted in expended use of additional control devices in special situations, through a permitting process. It is quite evident that the efforts spent on this collaboration have resulted in tools that can be utilized that were not known to be available to use by our industry post Amendment 14. This effort and cooperation by these folks are a huge benefit to our industry. We would like to thank these individuals involved for their time, efforts and energy spent making these changes possible and the process understood and documented.
Dr. Jennifer House, State Public Health Veterinarian DVM, MPH, DACVPM as well as Dr. Natalie Marzec, MPH Zoonosis. Epidemiologist along with Tracy Woodall from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment gave an excellent presentation “The Latest on Colorado Zoonotic Diseases” worth 1 CEC (Use of Pesticides). They gave very pertinent and important information on zoonotic disease potential, safety measures, and resources on dealing with public health issues.
Rachel Mulder, Executive Office Manager (Whitmore Pest & Wildlife Control) gave a great presentation on “In With The New – Going Paperless). This presentation focused on our ever-changing technological world and how companies can become more efficient through technological advances in data management.
Stephen Vantassel gave another presentation on “Field Fumigation for Management of Vertebrate Pests” worth another 1 CEC (Use of Pesticides)
Our conference offered a total of 5 CEC’s applicable to the Colorado Department of Agriculture Pesticide Training Requirements.
Food and beverage selections were excellent, and attendees had a great opportunity for networking and building relationships with other key players in our industry.