North Dakota Fur Hunters & Trappers Association October 2013 Report

President — Rick Tischaefer, P.O. Box 334, Butte, ND 58723-0334; 701-626-7150; tischrc@ndak.net

Vice President — Glen Baltrusch, 312 Alder Ave., Harvey, ND 58341; 701-341-1261

Treasurer — Linda Penry, 3235 Crested Drive N., Mandan, ND 58554; 701-667-9380; lpenry@wildblue.net

Fur Harvester Education Program Coordinator — Rick Tischaefer, P.O. Box 334,Butte, ND 58723-0334; 701-626-7150; tischrc@ndak.net

 

Membership Options:

• Junior (14 and under) membership with subscription to T&PC — $12

• Adult membership with subscription to T&PC — $20

• Family membership with subscription to T&PC — $20

• Lifetime with subscription to T&PC — $250

• Lifetime (62 and over) with subscription to T&PC — $150

 

Complete membership application on first page of the association news section and send dues to:

NDFHTA, Treasurer

Linda Penry

3235 Crested Dr. N., Mandan, ND 58554

http://www.ndfhta.com

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Greetings everyone!

1. The rendezvous on August 24th was yet another event for the association record books. The farmstead owned by Mark Rheinhart proved to be an awesome location for the event, and we thank Mark dearly for allowing us to use his property and handle some of the logistics involved with such an event. Here is a sample of what 90+ folks got to see and do while they were there: learn how to trap fisher with Nat Bornson; learn how to build your own wood cubbies from pallets with Bill and Jake Boozenny; learn the grading techniques and marketing strategies for the upcoming season from Dave Bewick of NAFA-Winnepeg; learn about using cable devices for coyotes and see some of the techniques that may help folks be more successful; enjoy some free ice cream; learn about speed setting platforms for muskrats from Ron Gore; watch Daniele Gore skin and put up a few muskrats; learn about how things are going with the muskrat float study from RJ and Susan; enjoy a discussion on marksmanship and rifle maintenance with Dean Janzen; send some rifle rounds down range; and be a volunteer firefighter – all in one day! In addition, many young trappers had an opportunity to win some great trapping equipment to use on their future traplines, and shoot a bunch of holes in targets with their .22’s. Wondering about being a volunteer firefighter? Some of the tannerite targets caused a grass fire where a great deal of boot stompin’ occurred. Thanks to each and everyone for sharing your knowledge; helping where you could; and taking the time to attend and support the association. District 3 (southeast part of the state) is on deck for next summer – contact Chris Flann with your ideas and offer to help.

2. We need some help at the state level for an association Secretary. Charles Naze recently moved to Billings, Montana and we’ll need a volunteer to serve out the rest of his term (2015). If you are interested in serving as Secretary, let me know.

3. As I mentioned last month, August was going to be a whirlwind of activity. Not only the rendezvous, but there were two fur harvester education classes and three public education opportunities. Every one of these requires a great deal of hard work and volunteer time, fuel, and expenses to make them happen. Thanks to all of the instructors and volunteers that helped make the difference – know that our future is better for your sacrifices and effort.

4. September is a pretty tough month for raccoon. More raccoon are killed by cars and die from distemper than any other month of the year. Some of the car kills can be attributed to dispersal and maybe a lack of good food sources. Roadways provide a smorgasbord of food for scavengers, but it is also a deadly place to visit. Distemper in raccoons is a three day terminal disease. Your scouting trips may show sign of a good population, and a month later when you begin to trap, no raccoon are to be found. It may that the food sources are no longer there, but could also be distemper. Once it hits, it’s like wildfire and is a “transfer by contact” type of disease. The raccoon die in such a short time period, it’s rare to actually see one infected. If you do, the raccoon will appear intoxicated and have nasty goo around the ears and mouth, and yes, any unvaccinated pets are just as susceptible. This may help in answering some questions as to what you may run into this fall.

5. Our most important time of the year is fast approaching. Take the time to be prepared, both mentally and physically, and have your equipment ready to perform as needed. You need to be a risk manager on your trapline every day of every season. Risk management is weighing what is good and productive against what is bad and would be unproductive. Being in the news or appearing on a newspaper headline with an incident that has a negative impact on what we do would be a risk. You are in charge; you are responsible; and what you do affects us all. Using risk management won’t control everything, but it will control what we can control – understand? Know what risk is; assess your line for risk every day; and do everything to avoid risk. If we all use risk management, we should have a very uneventful season in regards to negative news.

Remember to keep your membership current so you stay informed. Until next time, take care and be safe.

Catch ‘ya. — Rick

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