Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance District 4 Director Report January 2026

Hello from Southern Oklahoma. I hope everyone had a good deer season so far. Well Christmas with the warm weather was different. There are trees that are starting to bud out and they may have to start over with the colder weather that is predicted. Would like to see some chilly weather for a change. I hope that everyone's fur season is going well, and you are catching lots of fur. If you are like me most of the ponds are down extremely low. I know that there some trappers that are hitting it very hard and making great catches.

The 2 Youth Camps that the OFBA put on at Christmas turned out great. There were 53 kids and their parents at the Lake Carl Blackwell camp. The food was great as usual. Thanks to the cooks Rhonda and David Marsh. They have been cooking for the camp for many years. Nobody left hungry. The young trappers caught many animals and made many memories. The instructors were Shannon Sheffert, Noah Smith, Matt Yocham, Evan Crosby, Dwight Keen, Bruce Duncan, Bill Alexander, James Crowell, Michael Taylor from Texas and R.C. Edgar. The weather was warmer than usual but there was still a campfire for the kids to set around and tell stories. The Lake Waurika camp had 23 kids and their parents. The weather was much warmer at this camp and the afternoons were tee shirt weather. The cook for this camp was Patricia England. She has cooked at last year's camp also. Lots of tasty food was provided and everyone was full and happy. Many animals were caught here also. The kids were incredibly happy. We appreciate Dane Polk, a retired ODWC Warden, for donating traps for the kids at this camp. The instructors were Noah Smith, Gary Jarman, Raymond English, Noland Sweetman, R.C. Edgar, Marc Scott, and James Crowell. The OFBA appreciates all the help at the Youth Camps and the kids smiles make it worthwhile. There are lots that goes into making the Youth Camps work. A big thanks goes to the cooks for making it easy for the instructors to do their jobs, otherwise we would be eating sandwiches all weekend. Thanks to everyone that helped at the 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. We also want to thank the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife for their help at the Youth Camps. Other thanks go to Bill Duke with Duke Traps for his support of the Youth Camps. Thanks to Michael Taylor and Dakota Harmon also donated bait and lure. 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.

Be sure to get your tickets for a .308 Diamondback rifle that will be given away at the Fall Convention. The tickets are $10.00 each or 3 for $25.00.

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.

Thanks, R.C. Edgar