Post by Mike on Feb 17, 2021 9:08:08 GMT
President's Message Jan-Feb 2021 American Trapper
The winds of change are blowing. It may be a light breeze or hurricane force. How devastating would it be not to be battened down and prepared for the worst. A shed full of wood and supplies in the smokehouse makes a trapper sleep easier when the blizzard winds blow.
It appears 2021 will see a new head of our country and many new faces in state and political arenas. Time will tell how this will affect trapping.
Many times I’ve heard it said that the antis have more money to push their agenda, and that’s true. It’s true because the believers of their cause step up to the plate, and they do so, not to gain a profit in the end but to stand behind their cause.
Wow, that’s impressive.... They stand behind their cause, give their time and their money for what they believe.
With almost a quarter of a million trappers in North America, less than ten percent belong to a national organization – the organizations that are there standing up for their rights and their freedom to trap. Less than ten percent of the trappers in this nation are bearing the burden and standing between the trappers and the entities that are trying to make them ever extinct.
Teddy Roosevelt said “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Not one single trapper who has ever gone into the woods or streams and set a trap can truthfully say that they have not profited from trapping. Whether it be in the form of memories, a fur check, or the few but fortunate that have made it a business successful enough to feed their families, every trapper that has set a trap has profited. Yet, approximately 90 percent are allowing themselves to be outgunned by a foe that receives no gratification other than the demise of trappers and trapping.
Every person who can afford to buy a license, traps and other equipment, gas and time to run a line can afford the price of a membership to defend their trapping future. Each year when you are putting your budget together the cost of a national membership should be included right there along with lures, peat moss, and other possibles that it takes for a successful season. Without it, it’s not if we will lose our trapping rights, but when.
Today, December 9, 2020, was a historical day for trapping. On this day, a team made up of representatives of the National Trappers Association and Fur Takers of America jointly gave a pro-trapping presentation at the 2020 NASC (National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses) Summit. The audience was made up of senators, congressman, representatives and professionals of the wildlife management field. As far as I know this was the first time in the history of both the NTA and FTA that the two groups delivered a message as ONE, representing all the trappers of North America before an assembly of any kind.
I’d like to repeat, the team spoke on behalf of ALL the trappers of North America and not just the ten percent that are doing their due diligence to defend the other 90 percent.
A few weeks ago, I gave testimony in defense of the trappers of Oregon who were in opposition of a petition that was recommending a ban of all beaver trapping on public and federal lands in Oregon. The petitioners were made up of credentialed individuals and business owners who were alleging that the few beaver trapped by the trappers of Oregon were contributing to forest fires, global warming, and failed profitability of their businesses. Did they truly believe this or did they think that everyone else was so naive that they would believe this because of the letters after their last name?
I believe that history has taught the antis that the average well-meaning person will fall for these ploys so long as the persons delivering the information are credentialed.
They make these allegations believable without a shred of hard data to back it up.
How long can the ten percent be successful in defending our heritage and trapping rights for the other 90 percent?
Make a decision to step up and DO SOMETHING. Don’t let your heritage disappear because you did nothing.
John Daniel
NTA President
The winds of change are blowing. It may be a light breeze or hurricane force. How devastating would it be not to be battened down and prepared for the worst. A shed full of wood and supplies in the smokehouse makes a trapper sleep easier when the blizzard winds blow.
It appears 2021 will see a new head of our country and many new faces in state and political arenas. Time will tell how this will affect trapping.
Many times I’ve heard it said that the antis have more money to push their agenda, and that’s true. It’s true because the believers of their cause step up to the plate, and they do so, not to gain a profit in the end but to stand behind their cause.
Wow, that’s impressive.... They stand behind their cause, give their time and their money for what they believe.
With almost a quarter of a million trappers in North America, less than ten percent belong to a national organization – the organizations that are there standing up for their rights and their freedom to trap. Less than ten percent of the trappers in this nation are bearing the burden and standing between the trappers and the entities that are trying to make them ever extinct.
Teddy Roosevelt said “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Not one single trapper who has ever gone into the woods or streams and set a trap can truthfully say that they have not profited from trapping. Whether it be in the form of memories, a fur check, or the few but fortunate that have made it a business successful enough to feed their families, every trapper that has set a trap has profited. Yet, approximately 90 percent are allowing themselves to be outgunned by a foe that receives no gratification other than the demise of trappers and trapping.
Every person who can afford to buy a license, traps and other equipment, gas and time to run a line can afford the price of a membership to defend their trapping future. Each year when you are putting your budget together the cost of a national membership should be included right there along with lures, peat moss, and other possibles that it takes for a successful season. Without it, it’s not if we will lose our trapping rights, but when.
Today, December 9, 2020, was a historical day for trapping. On this day, a team made up of representatives of the National Trappers Association and Fur Takers of America jointly gave a pro-trapping presentation at the 2020 NASC (National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses) Summit. The audience was made up of senators, congressman, representatives and professionals of the wildlife management field. As far as I know this was the first time in the history of both the NTA and FTA that the two groups delivered a message as ONE, representing all the trappers of North America before an assembly of any kind.
I’d like to repeat, the team spoke on behalf of ALL the trappers of North America and not just the ten percent that are doing their due diligence to defend the other 90 percent.
A few weeks ago, I gave testimony in defense of the trappers of Oregon who were in opposition of a petition that was recommending a ban of all beaver trapping on public and federal lands in Oregon. The petitioners were made up of credentialed individuals and business owners who were alleging that the few beaver trapped by the trappers of Oregon were contributing to forest fires, global warming, and failed profitability of their businesses. Did they truly believe this or did they think that everyone else was so naive that they would believe this because of the letters after their last name?
I believe that history has taught the antis that the average well-meaning person will fall for these ploys so long as the persons delivering the information are credentialed.
They make these allegations believable without a shred of hard data to back it up.
How long can the ten percent be successful in defending our heritage and trapping rights for the other 90 percent?
Make a decision to step up and DO SOMETHING. Don’t let your heritage disappear because you did nothing.
John Daniel
NTA President
