ASSOCIATION CONTACT — Arkansas Fur Trappers Association, P.O. Box 1681, Greenwood, AR 72936; 479-651-3597; arkansasfurtrappers@gmail.com
President — Brad McDaniel; 479-651-3597
Vice President — Greg Griffith; 479-774-1434
Secretary/Treasurer — Mark Alexander; 479-310-0692;
arkansasfurtrappers@gmail.com
General Organizer — Donald Wilcox; 479-997-8559
Membership Options:
• Individual membership without subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $10
• Individual membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $22
• Family membership without subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $13
• Family membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Lifetime membership with plaque (without subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller) — $100
• Commercial membership/sponsorship — Please contact an AFTA officer for pricing and information.
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
Arkansas Fur Trappers Association
P.O. Box 1681
Greenwood, AR 72936
SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORT
Arkansas Fur Trappers Association (AFTA) is a non-profit trappers association based in Arkansas. Our goal is to promote the sport of trapping and fur harvesting through education at schools, clubs and other organizations; through politics by being a voice in local and state governments; and through fellowship by encouraging trappers who live or work in a particular locality to organize themselves to promote the goals of AFTA.
As with any new association, we’re starting small and have been very busy with all the legal business to get this association started on a solid foundation. We hope to soon get on with the fun stuff like convention/rendezvous, workshops, fur sales, picnics and annual business meetings. We will soon have a website ready to pass information along to members but until then feel free to contact any AFTA officer using phone or email at the contact information listed above.
The following memberships levels are available: Single $10, Single with subscription to Trapper Predator Caller $22, Family $13, Family with subscription to Trapper Predator Caller $25. Send check or money order with your name, address, city, state and zip to address listed above. For family memberships, list names of each family member. If you are paying for a membership with a magazine subscription and you already have an active subscription, please indicate “subscription renewal” so that you don’t accidentally get two magazine copies.
Lifetime memberships are available for $100 and include a personalized plaque to display your support for the trapping lifestyle. Lifetime memberships do not include a magazine subscription although lifetime members can pay for an annual magazine subscription at a reduced rate.
Commercial memberships/sponsorships for businesses that appeal to trappers are available. Commercial memberships are non-voting memberships and commercial members may not hold an elected position. Please contact an AFTA officer for pricing and more information.
The AFTA believes in the saying “All politics is local”. Politics is no fun, any sensible trapper would much rather be out setting steel or stretching fur, but is necessary to make sure that future generations can continue to trap without restrictive regulations and with healthy furbearer populations. AFTA encourages members who live or work in a particular locality or as a matter of geographic convenience to organize themselves as an AFTA Chapter and promote the goals of AFTA locally. Each AFTA chapter gets one voting seat on the AFTA Board of Directors.
As an example of the events that AFTA would like to be a part of, last month two of our members ran a trapping station at a US Sportsmans Alliance Trailblazer Event for Girl Scouts at Camp Cahinnio near Booneville, AR. Approximately 60 girls came thru the station on a cold and rainy October day. They enjoyed touching and identifying the pelts of common Arkansas furbearers. They got a little education on the benefits of trapping, and how trapping isn’t just willy-nilly setting a trap in the woods, it involves intimate knowledge of the target species, specific selection of trapping equipment, hard work and dedication. These girls, mom’s and scout leaders may never set a trap but hopefully they remember the valuable fur resources that Arkansas is blessed with and that trapper guy’s hand didn’t get chopped off when he stuck it in the trap. Thanks go out to US Sportsmans Alliance, Howard Robinson and Girl Scouts of America for allowing us to participate.
Ok, what did I miss? Oh yeah, trapping season started in Arkansas last week! So is your pickup bed and trapping bucket a disorganized mess yet? Anybody got any clean clothes? So who’s calling their supply dealers for stuff they forgot to buy? Flat tires? Falling in the creek? Lost tools? Heck if it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Here’s a tip that might make things easier: bed those land traps solid. Wedge a small rock or stick under a jaw or spring lever, leave plenty of loose dirt on the bottom of the bed so the trap can be packed in tight. Whatever it takes to make a solid platform in case that first step doesn’t hit the pan. The slightest wiggle under a misplaced critters foot will take their attention off the dirt hole or scent post and onto the trap bed. Game over.
Well the game ain’t over here at AFTA, it’s just getting started. We hope your season is off to a good start and want to wish everyone a
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas. See ya next month! — Mark Alexander
