Oklahoma Furbear Alliance September 2009 Report

President — Shannon Sheffert, 1301 Old Bumpy Rd., Stillwater, OK 74074; cell phone: 405-742-7884; e-mail: ssheffert@odot.org

Vice President — Janice Johnson, 18197 S. 337th W. Ave., Bristow, OK 74010; phone: 918-367-3810; e-mail: jjohnson6431@sbcglobal.net

Secretary — John Weygandt, 4720 S. 26th W. Ave., Tulsa, OK 74107; phone: 918-645-5667;
e-mail: j.weygandt@maccor.com

Treasurer — Vivian Scott, P.O. Box 179, Alderson, OK 74522; phone: 918-426-6918; e-mail: littlerockmeme@msn.com

FTA Director — Terry Thornton, Rt. 2 Box 71, Hartshorne, OK 74547; phone: 918-297-2073

NTA Director — Darrell Woodward; P.O. Box 580416, Tulsa, OK 74134; phone: 918-625-3891;
e-mail: ibtrapn@aol.com

Membership Options:

• 1-year membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
• Family membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Lifetime (Over 70) with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $150
• Lifetime with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $300
• Youth membership — $10

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

OFBA, Treasurer
Vivian Scott
P.O. Box 179, Alderson, OK 74522
918-426-6918; littlerockmeme@msn.com
http://oktrapper.com

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

I started my last report with typical summer doldrums, but this time, due to the temporary cool down and nice rain the past couple days, there is hope at the end of the summer that we are going to get some cool weather and hunting season will start soon. My unofficial furbearer survey shows that we should have lots of raccoons in the woods.

Rather, we would have if there were not so many that are being hit by cars all over the state. My travels around the state working with the County Commissioners gives me an opportunity to see lots of habitat, from wooded areas, farmland, to plains, to the high desert of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Everywhere I travel, I have seen lots of animals that fall victim to automobile collisions and it seems that the number one furbearer that I see are raccoons. I also see lots of other animals that fail to make it across the roads including foxes, ’cats, mink, muskrats, skunks and possums and most recently, an otter that was at the upper end of Grand Lake near Miami in Northeastern Oklahoma.

This otter shows that the population is expanding either from the south, or from the east out of Arkansas or from the NE from Missouri. We may eventually see otters across the state as they re-colonize the suitable rivers and streams. On that note, we are still working on the request for an increase or removal of the raccoon limit in Oklahoma.

Hopefully you have already gone through your traps, tuned them up and dipped or dyed them and are ready for the season. If you are needing additional traps or supplies, please come to our fall meeting where there will trap and supply dealers on site to refurbish your equipment. The fall meeting will be on Oct. 17 at the Okmulgee County Fairgrounds in Okmulgee. We will have our general business meeting and our election of new officers. We will also have a youth “Best Set” contest with a set of their choice, a calling demo by the Oklahoma Predator Hunters Association, fur skinning and handling demo by Terry Thornton and a Dog and ’Cat trapping demo by Scott Gladden of Hot Springs, and finally a Youth Calling competition.

Please be aware that we are going to have a “Pot Luck” luncheon so please bring dish to help feed the crowd. We are also going to have a OFBA Benefit Auction so we are looking for any donations. Any items are welcome, trapping, hunting, ladies items, or especially kids items. You will be recognized for your donations on the OFBA Web site and any participation is welcome.

As I said earlier, we will be holding our elections for officers this fall so you will see a ballot in the mail soon. Please fill out the ballot, mail it back in or bring it to the fall meeting. Just in case you are not able to come to the meeting, please try to mail the ballot in as soon as you make your decisions on who you would like to see holding offices.

Please remember to mail or bring to the fall meeting three of your trap tags for the memory boards that Tom Peterson is putting together for our association. Remember one will be for open auction, one will be given to the participants in a drawing and the third, we don’t know yet. The trap tags will be put on a stretcher board and this will be a great collectors item for our association. I have also gone to some families of our past members to get some old trap tags and if you know anyone or can get some of the old timers tags, please get them for our boards.

I would also like to thank the Arkansas Trappers Association for the FTA meeting that they held in Mena, Ark. back in June. They had a good convention and it was wonderful to see all the Oklahoma members who attended. The only problem with the conventions in the summer is that I pick up some tips on trapping and then have to wait six months to put them to work. I have a hard enough time remembering what I had for breakfast, much less a coyote trapping tip six months ago. Anyway, I am ready to start getting some sets out.

Hopefully we will see you all at the wildlife department’s Outdoor Expo the last weekend of September, Friday through Sunday, the 25th through 27th. We can use anyone to help man the tables. We will have the furs, traps, skulls to show and trapper magazines to give out to the public. This is always a fun and educational event. If you are able to participate, please call me ASAP so we can get a participants t-shirt ordered for you.

We look forward to your attendance at the fall meeting. If you have any questions about the meeting, see our Web site at www.oktrapper.com, or please feel free to call me or Reginald Murray.

Thanks and good luck during the fall hunting season.

— Shannon Sheffert

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