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
The past couple of months have been a busy time for folks who enjoy family and the outdoors. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas and a good start to hunting and trapping season. Trapping season goes to the end of February this year in Arkansas, with beaver, muskrat and nutria extended season closing at the end of March.
It was a nice surprise to see NAFA selling some fur in October. Some Arkansas trappers saw checks with rat prices over $10 and otter over $80. These furs were holdovers from last year. With the lack of rainfall we’ve seen this winter, beaver, otter and rat trapping locations may be feast or famine.
There’s been reports of an increase in law enforcement activity on the Ozark National Forest by US Forest Service officers. If you’re trapping public property double-check your equipment and make sure you’re up on all the regulations. Trapping is a highly regulated activity and there’s lots of minor details to stay within the law. Officials who deal mostly with deer hunters and ATV riders may not be aware of exactly what is and isn’t legal in regards to fur trapping. If you meet up with a USFS official and feel you were treated unfairly, speak up to someone. Public property is for use by trappers just as much as it is for hunters, hikers, motorcycle riders, kayakers and everyone else.
In association news, AFTA now has a website at http://arkansasfurtrappers.org where you can get the latest information about the association, contact information for officers, membership forms and general trapping news. We’ll be adding more content as time allows. If there is something you’d like to see on the website, call or email and we’ll see what we can do. At this time, our general contact email address is arkansasfurtrappers@gmail.com.
Life members should be receiving their plaques soon if you haven’t already. These are very nice 8×10 stained wood plaques that display an open 1-1/2 coilspring and 3”x6” two-color identification plate. Life memberships are $100 and include the plaque, a paper certificate and a membership card. Subscriptions to Trapper Predator Caller can be purchased by life members at the discounted price of $12/year.
Anyone wishing to start a AFTA chapter so that you can have a voice in your local area, contact an AFTA officer for more information. We have a Bylaws for Forming a Local Chapter document available to help gets things started. Chapters get one seat on the AFTA Board of Directors.
That’s all for now, see ya next month. Our phone and email are always open for anyone with a question or comment about AFTA. Happy New Year to everyone, good luck on your line for the remainder of the season, take a kid trapping! — Mark Alexander