Texas Trappers and Fur Hunters Association March 2010 Report

President — Bill Applegate, Box 883, Marfa, TX 79843; phone: 432-729-3349; fax: 432-729-3623

Vice President — Dan Hepker, P.O. Box 399, Bastrop, TX 78602; phone: 512-303-1995

Secretary — Ricky Cox, 1329 CR 314, Lexington, TX 78947

Treasurer — Keith Jackson, 306 CR 2717, Alto, TX 75925; phone: 936-675-2047

Membership Administrator — Tasha Jackson, 306 CR 2717, Alto, TX 75925; phone: 936-858-3384

Public Relations Officer — David Pilgrim, 1323 RR2341, Burnet, TX 78611

NTA Director — Mark Davis, P.O. Box 1023, Athens, TX 75751; phone: 903-489-3080

Membership Options:

• Family lifetime (husband & wife) — $300
• Lifetime (payable $25 monthly) — $250
• Lifetime oldtimer (age 70 or over) — $25
• Business membership — $25
• Family membership (2 members) — $20
• Single membership — $15
• Junior membership (under 16) — $5
• 1-year subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller (members only) — $10

Payments for dues are non-refundable.

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

TTFHA, Membership Administrator
Tasha Jackson, 306 CR 2717, Alto, TX 75925

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Please be advised that we have new procedures regarding trapping tip submissions and prizes as well as display advertising. Look for them in the January issue of the Texas Fur Trails. The Association’s spring rendezvous will be held in Jacksonville next April. We are always looking for new and interesting ideas to incorporate into our gatherings so do not hesitate to share your thoughts with any board member. Consider bringing a youngster or two to the next rendezvous as well as the entire family; everyone is welcome.

The youth are the future of our organization and they must be identified, recruited and trained now to lead the charge when the rest of us have been put out to pasture. I realize how hard it is to interest or motivate people when fur prices are low and that is one reason to focus on nuisance animal work. Your Association has established a Nuisance Animal Control program for its members. The names and contact information of trappers willing to participate are provided to state agencies as well as individuals and companies looking for someone to help them out. We also post this list on our Web site. I have personally received work from this program. Contact Ricky Cox if you have an interest. Members, don’t forget to take advantage of free classified advertising in the Texas Fur Trails.

The Convention of Parties are scheduled to meet this summer to consider worldwide wildlife policies. I am not aware if the USFWS has submitted a request to de-list the bobcat or not. I encourage each state organization to ask your game department what is going on with this matter. It is going to take the continued effort from everyone if we are ever going to eliminate tags for bobcats or river otters in the USA.

Consider providing skull samples to Wildlife Services and the Texas Department of Health for rabies testing. This may help us in the future with some of the problems we are experiencing now. Dave Hastings still needs your stories, news, pictures and anything else of interest to keep the Texas Fur Trails first class.

Material from all across the country is welcome. He is particularly looking for some Texas photos to be used for the covers of future issues of the magazine. We really need you to send in something for the magazine; some of us are pretty well tapped out on ideas and stories. I would really hate to see the quality of the magazine deteriorate, but this is likely to happen if the members don’t help out. Everyone has at least one story of an event that took place during his or her lifetime. Dave is willing to work with anything, even a story handwritten on toilet paper. He will make sure that all submissions are professionally presented in the magazine. This really is a growing concern or I would not be begging for material. If you have any reservations or concerns about sending in something, call Dave or call me and we will do our best to put you at ease. Share your thoughts with any board member regarding what you would like to see our Association accomplish. Many of the achievements we have made are results of membership input.

Texas Parks and Wildlife did not hold an expo in 2009 and I have been told it will not take place in 2010 either due to low participation. Our Association has derived quite a bit of our operating income from this event. We now must look for other income sources to restore a sufficient income level. Board members will be selling raffle tickets on behalf of the Furbearers Unlimited for chances to win a .308 rifle. This rifle will replace the Ruger “Predator Hawkeye” HKM 77RZ .204 caliber rifle that we originally intended to sell tickets for. I have not received the details on the new rifle at this point. Tickets will be limited to 100 and be $20 apiece. The FBU will share 50 percent of the profits with the association. Give your officers and district directors a hand and call them up to request a ticket or two. If you have any questions about this offer, contact Mark Davis at 903-681-4230 and he will gladly answer them.

I will be tagging bobcats again this year, so contact me if you need ’cats tagged. If you are ready to help out with promoting and preserving trapping, let us know. We would like to put your unique talents to work for the benefit of all and future generations.

— Bill Applegate

Related Posts

  • No Related Posts Found

Leave a Reply