Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 5 Director Report September 2024

Hello from a cooler Southern Oklahoma. The days are getting a little bit cooler and shorter. Man am I ready for the Fall and Trapping season. The persimmon trees are loaded, and the limbs are hanging down. I am starting to see more deer and young coyotes.

Gary Jarman and I were invited to the Grady County Kids Day at the Fair Grounds on August 23rd. We had about 480 kids come through. There were 30 to 50 kids in each group. We showed the OFBA fur and talked about how important that trapping was. We had several traps that were used on the Fur Bearers in Oklahoma. Everybody had a fun time. Mesa and Jace Payne from Youth Camp assisted us. After each that came through Mesa and Jace would play a Conservation game with the kids. We were treated to lunch with the kids.

Now is the time to start thinking about getting everything ready for fur season. Get your peatmoss dried or your waxed dirt made while it is still warm enough to make it. Do inventory on equipment and supplies and make a list. Call the vendor of choice that is going to be at a convention and have them to bring your supplies to save on shipping charges. Repair everything before season. Dye or paint or wax early so that the smell is gone before season. Get your drowners together and replace the conibear triggers that NEED TO BE REPLACED. As beaver was doing good at the March fur sale.

The OFBA will have a table setup at NTA Southeastern Convention. The convention will be at Mulberry Arkansas on September 27-28. Come by and say Hi. There will be some Great Demos there.

The Fall Convention will be at Perry Oklahoma at the Fair Grounds. We have a scheduling conflict with Okmulgee. It will be on October 11 and 12, 2024. Sorry for the move and inconvenience. We have a raffle going on for an Anderson Manufacturing AR15 in .223. The tickets are $10.00 each or three for $25.00. You can call Evan Crosby for tickets. We have several vendors and s everal demos and adding more. The vendors are Okie Cable and Trap, Gaylen Oppel, Minnesota Trapline, Pine Holler Trapping and Supplies, and Gary Kistler. Demos will be from Gaylen Oppel, James Lord, Noah Smith, Dustin Ratchford will be doing a demo on hog trapping, Brian Burrow from Arkansas Beaver demo and Mike Yancey Coyote, Kristy Yancey Bobcats and Gary Kistler. There will be more as we get closer to the convention. Matt Yocham will be doing the demo area again this year and he always does a great job. He always puts a great deal of thought into it. We will have a fish fry Friday night and then the Auction. We ask that you bring a covered dish for the fish fry. The Auction helps to pay for the building and goes to help with the Youth Camps. Please help by donating to the auction. It does not have to be trapping related. There are no camper hookups at the fairgrounds. You can setup a camper or tent without hookup if you want to camp there.

Start thinking about the Youth Camps this year. They usually are the weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Christmas. The camps are held at Lake Carl Blackwell December 21-22 at Stillwater and Lake Waurika December 27-29. 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. If you would like to help out at the camps as an instructor or anything else please get in touch with Shannon also.

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

Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 5 Director Report July 2024

Hello from a very Hot and Dry Southern Oklahoma. All the rain that we received in May and June has been used up. We are very hot and dry. Our pastures are beginning to start to turn brown. I don't remember a June that was this hot in a long time. We need rain badly. I am seeing a lot of young turkeys and deer moving.

The Fall Convention will be at Perry Oklahoma at the Fair Grounds. We have a scheduling conflict with Okmulgee. It will be on October 11 and 12, 2024. Sorry for the move and inconvenience. Let us know what you would like to see as demos and vendors, and we will try to accommodate you. We have a raffle going on for an Anderson Manufacturing AR15 in .223. The tickets are $10.00 each or 3 for $25.00. You can call Evan Crosby for tickets. We have several vendors and several demos and adding more. The vendors are Okie Cable and Trap, Gaylen Oppel, Minnesota Trapline, Pine Holler Trapping and Supplies, and Gary Kistler. Demos will be from Mark Connor water trapping, Dustin Ratchford will be doing a demo on hog trapping, Brian Burrow from Arkansas Beaver demo and Mike Yancey Coyote, Kristy Yancey Bobcats and Gary Kistler. There will be more as we get closer to the convention. Matt Yocham will be doing the demo area again this year and he always does a great job. He always puts a great deal of thought into it. We will have a fish fry Friday night and then the Auction. We ask that you bring a covered dish for the fish fry. The Auction helps to pay for the building and goes to help with the Youth Camps. Please help by donating to the auction. It doesn't have to be trapping related. There are no camper hookups at the fairgrounds. You can setup a camper or tent without hookup if you want to camp there.

Start thinking about the Youth Camps this year. They usually are the weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Christmas. The dates have not been made yet, but we will let you know as soon as we can. The camps are held at Lake Carl Blackwell at Stillwater and Lake Waurika. You will need to get in touch with 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.

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

January 2024 Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 5 Director Report

Hello from cold southern Oklahoma. Got up this morning and it was 5 degrees and by 8:00 am it was down to 1 degree. Spent most of the day taking care of livestock feeding hay and chopping ice. I sure will be glad when this is over with. I hope that fur season has been good for everyone.

Youth Camps were a big hit again. There were approximately eighty-five kids that attended the two camps and about forty parents. I would like to thank our cooks Rhonda and David Marsh and their Grandson Kyler Damron for keeping everyone fed at the Stillwater camp. The cooks at the Waurika camp were Judd Bean, Marc Scott, Jared and Michelle Dyer. Without the great cooks we would still be hungry. The camps saw catches of beaver, coons, coyotes, opossums, and skunks. There was a couple of armadillos that the kids chased down and caught. The instructors were Noah Smith, Gary Jarman, Evan Crosby, Shannon Sheffert, Tom Mitchel, James Crowell, Dustin Shulte, Mike Bond, and Nolan Sweetman. Excuse me if I missed anybody that helped. The Youth Camps have always been special to me because we are able to help the kids better their skills at trapping. We will be putting on two camps again this year around Christmas.

The OFBA Fur Sale will be March 9, 2024, at the Okmulgee County Fair Barns at Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The doors will open at 7:00 and the sale will start around 9:00 am. You will need to call John Weygandt at 918-645-5667 or Evan Crosby at 918-964-1554 to get your lot numbers. The market for beavers and bobcats will be good this year. There will be a director meeting March 8, 2024, after we get the building setup.

The Fall Convention will be at Perry Oklahoma at the Fair Grounds. We have a scheduling conflict with Okmulgee. It will be on October 11 and 12, 2024. Sorry for the move and inconvenience. Let us know what you would like to see as demos and vendors, and we will try to accommodate you.

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