Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 4 Director Report November 2025

Hello from Southern Oklahoma. I hope everyone had a good deer season so far. My grandson killed a nice 8 point the second day of muzzleloader season. We saw lots of deer and the bucks were starting to chase the does.

The Fall Convention turned out great. There were a lot of good demos and lots of vendors. I would like to Thank Tina, Penny, Brenda, and Peggy the girls at the Roadkill Café who kept everyone fed. They do a great job. They appreciated everyone that stopped in for their meals. The OFBA presented Jim Powell an award for his enduring commitment to education to Trappers. His gift of knowledge, time, and help can never be repaid. Everyone appreciates what he has done. The OFBA and Gaylen Oppel with Bittercreek Fur Company presented Miss Landry Layton 2026 Miss Rodeo Oklahoma with a Coyote coat. She will represent the OFBA with the coat. To quote Miss Layton "Your generosity and craftsmanship mean so much. This piece is not just something I will wear throughout my year as Miss Rodeo Oklahoma 2026, it is a timeless treasure I will cherish for the rest of my life." She thanked the OFBA for your dedication to keeping these values alive and for your support. Dwight Keen and Matt Yocham cooked the fish for the fish fry Friday night, and it was great. Matt Yocham did the fund-raising auction Friday night and built the demo area. Matt Yocham and Dwight Keen always do a fantastic job with whatever they do. We appreciate all the vendors and everyone that did demos. The lucky gun raffle winner was Terry Spivey. We also want to thank Steve Shepherd for the donation of a trip on his air boat. And the winner of that was Gearld Stewert. I hope they both enjoy their prizes.

Get your kids signed up for the OFBA Youth. They usually are the weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Christmas. The North camp will be at Stillwater, Oklahoma on Lake Carl Blackwell. The South camp will be at Lake Waurika in southwest Oklahoma. You will need to contact Shannon Sheffert at 405-742-7884 to get signed up. We will show the basic land and water sets, how to skin and how-to put-up fur. Meals will be provided by some of the best trapline cooks there is. I would like to thank Jerrod Davis with the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife for everything that they do for trapping the Youth Camps. A big thanks goes out to Bill Duke for the traps that we use and give away to the kids at the Youth Camps. Also, thanks to Cletis Richards with Appleroad Bait, Michael Taylor, and Dakota Harmon as they donated lure and bait to the Camps. Cletis Richards has always helped the kids out. We also want to thank the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife for their help at the Youth Camps. Another thanks goes to Bill Duke with Duke traps for his support of the Youth Camps. There are many more that give their time and knowledge to help the kids get started trapping or improve their skills.

The 2026 OFBA Fur sale will be March 14, 2026, at the Noble County Fairgrounds in Perry Oklahoma. The doors will open at 7:00 am Saturday morning. Please get with Evan Crosby at 918-964-1554 to get your lot numbers or if you have any questions about the sale. There will be someone there to tag your cats and otters. There will be a directors meeting on Friday night. The Roadkill Sisters Café will be open for Breakfast and lunch Saturday. Be sure and stop in and get something good to eat and drink.

Evan Crosby has asked if you have any stories or pictures that you would like to share, please send them to Evan to post them on the OFBA website. His email is Evan Crosby ofbasec@yahoo.com and he will get it posted.

I hope that everyone has a great fur season. Remember to get a kid involved with trapping as they are our future. Thanks, R.C. Edgar

Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 4 Director Report September 2025

Hello from Southern Oklahoma where the grass is still green. I do not remember a summer where the grass has stayed this green and growing. There is plenty of hay here and I have been seeing lots of young turkeys and lots of fawns. The young coyotes are learning that when you hear a tractor running in as hay field it means an easy meal. There was a pair of Red Foxes that raised two pups at my mom's house under an outbuilding. We would see the parents setting on the round bales at the barn in the evenings. Pretty neat when that happens. Gary Jarman and I helped at the Grady County Fair Kids Day. We brought fur and traps for the kids to see. There were 391 kids that came by our booth. I would like to thank Noah Reaves, Josiah Witt, Nathaniel Witt, Mesa Payne and Jace Payne for the help. The kids did most of the demos and explaining what traps were for what animals. They also showed what fur was from what animal. They had a game that was played after the demo. Mesa Payne came up with this game. It was about animals, shelter, and water/food. The Kids Day had archery, horses, and many other things on a farm. We were treated to lunch at the Fair. Becka Payne has done a wonderful thing for the home school kids around the Chickasha area. The kid has been coming to the Waurika Youth camp for quite a while, and they are active in getting more kids involved in the youth camps

By the time you get the magazine the OFBA Fall Convention will be over. I hope that you got to see demos, get supplies and eat. I will let you know how it went on the next write up. Get your kids signed up for the OFBA Youth. They usually are the weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Christmas. The North camp will be at Stillwater, Oklahoma on Lake Carl Blackwell. The South camp will be at Lake Waurika in southwest Oklahoma. You will need to contact Shannon Sheffert at 405-742-7884 to get signed up. We will show the basic land and water sets, how to skin and how-to put-up fur. Meals will be provided by some of the best trapline cooks there is. I would like to thank Jerrod Davis with the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife for everything that they do for trapping the Youth Camps. A big thanks goes out to Bill Duke for the traps that we use and give away to the kids at the Youth Camps. Also thanks to Cletis Richards with Appleroad Bait as he always donates lure and bait to the Camps. He has always helped the kids out. There are many more that give their time and knowledge to help the kids get started trapping or improve their skills.

Evan Crosby has asked if you have any stories or pictures that you would like to share, please send them to Evan to post them on the OFBA website. His email is Evan Crosby ofbasec@yahoo.com and he will get it posted.

Remember to get a kid involved with trapping as they are our future. Thanks, R.C. Edgar