President — Don Miller, Box 15, Loup City, NE 68853; phone: 308-745-0572; cell 308-440-2951
Vice President — Joe Jack, Box 303, Wood River, NE 68883; phone: 308-583-2720
Secretary — John Self, 2072 CO RD K, Hooper, NE 68031; phone: 402-654-2913
Treasurer — Jim Cronin, RT 1, Box 405, Loup City, NE 68853; phone: 308-754-0474
Legislative Representative — George Wagner, 201 Main Ave., Winnetoon, NE 68789; phone: 402-847-3398
Public Relations Director — Ben Walker, 73059 Rd. 436, Bertrand, NE 68972; phone: 308-472-5227
NTA Delegate — Chris Pool, 202 Alonzo St., Wilcox, NE 68982; phone: 308-478-5312
FTA Delegate — Roy Greenfield, 16535 145th Rd., Amherst, NE 68812; phone: 308-826-5155
Web Site — Tom Riblett, tmrs@gpcom.net; http://www.nebraskafurharvesters.com
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Junior (Rat Pack) dues (14 & under) — $16
Complete membership application on first page of
association section and send dues to:
Trompke Bookkeeping and Business Services
PO Box 89, Loup City, NE 68853
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Hello Everyone. This might seem rather rambling, but I have several things to report and to ask for your help. Hopefully I remember them all even if not in a sensible sequence. The deadline for this report is here.
First off, by the time you get this issue, I hope LB5 is headed for the Governor’s signature. Thanks to the efforts of many people, LB5 passed out of Select File with a 30-8 vote. I hope you have thanked your legislator if they voted for it; if not, please thank them now. The legislation still has a final reading, usually a formality, but we cannot count on that — especially with the determination of the few opposition members and the Humane Society.
Also, the bill has an amendment allowing Counties to restrict or prohibit trapping on the County right-of-way. I would say you need to be acquainted personally with some of your County Board. Some counties will probably not do anything; some counties, due to all the noise this has generated, might decide to just jump and prohibit trapping. A little education and persuasion should take care of this. But, I would hope everyone would know their County Board’s personal feelings. Some County Boards may not even be aware of the legislation.
One thing is for sure — if we are trapping the right-of-ways this coming fall, we had better know the regulations and we had better use restraint and good sense. Just one bad incident like back in 2006 and I can guarantee that the legislators who opposed LB5 would gladly introduce another bill that would take away even more than this last one — and with support from newspaper articles. Remember the articles that hit the headline when LB299 was going through?
Our Web site, www.nebraskafurharvesters.com, www.trapperman.com and www.huntnebraska.com will all have updates on this matter. These Web sites will also have Spring meeting information posted.
In regards to the Spring meeting, Dave Hastings will have a good event planned. Also, important business will be acted on. This is election year — be thinking about this. This is your association, and you might have some things that you would like to see done. You need to be a candidate or maybe you know someone who would be good in an office. Twist his arm to accept a nomination. We should have a couple of candidates for each office.
Also, those of you who would like to host a convention, bring a bid to the Spring meeting for the 2010 Convention. You should have a facility (usually a fairground facility), cost, capacity, camping availability, motel availability, travel routes, etc.
Post Script to President Report, 02/27/09, 11 a.m., Senator Mark Christensen just called me and said that LB5 had just passed final reading and now awaits the Governors signature. He thinks that it will be signed within 10 days. It would be 90 days before it goes into effect.
See you at the spring meeting.
— Don Miller
FTA DELEGATE’S REPORT
LB 5 has passed. I take my hat off to Senator Christensen for supporting sound wildlife management! Yes, it was quite controversial when Senator Hudkins railroaded the ban on right-of-way trapping through the Nebraska Legislature. Every trapper who attended the legislative committee hearings to testify or show support for overturning the misconceived regulation is to be given a pat on the back. Countless people contacted their senators expressing support of LB 5, which shows the effect of grass roots activism. The emergency clause overturning the previous law was not accepted so the new regulations pertaining to ROW trapping go into effect 90 days after the end of this year’s seasons. We must attempt to educate every person with traps that regulations are in place for a reason.
I know times are tight, but if at all possible plan to attend the NFH spring meeting. Dave Hastings is hosting the event on Sunday, April 19. His instructions in last month’s news indicated the Karp & Krow grounds are located on Springdale Road east of Ord. Take HW 70 to the northeast corner of town and follow the highway as if you were going to Erickson. After you cross the North Loop River at the edge of town you will take the county road to the right, heading east. The Karp & Krow grounds are a couple of miles down the road to your right. Dave is asking for suggestions for the AM demos so do not be bashful if you have questions on harvesting subjects. I hope to see everyone there.
This year’s FTA National Rendezvous is being held in Mena, Arkansas. The west central location is less than a day’s drive from here and promises to be one not to miss. The event chairperson Don Hoyle tells me there is plenty to keep the family busy. It sounds like this is prime fishing country to boot. Plan to attend and take a couple of extra days to enjoy the trip.
— Roy Greenfield
