Being
an active member of a Trapper's Association
Article from Sep
- Oct 2000 Buckeye Trapper
by Michelle
L. Richards
Editors Note: The OSTA wishes to congratulate
Michelle L. Richards, who is this year's winner of the $500.00
"Charles L. Dobbins Memorial Scholarship"! The following
article is her winning essay on the topic of "What are the
benefits and advantages of belonging to a Trapper's Association
and the importance of being an active member?"
Michelle's grandfather, William E. Frey who is a member of the
OSTA, is her sponsor. Michelle is majoring in early childhood
education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she is a junior.
After graduation her plans are to become a teacher.
It is important for people to participate in what they believe
in. Being an active person in our world today is one way to become
aware of the activities that are occurring and available about
your interests. Many people who are oblivious to the world around
them, are unable to understand why things work the way they do.
An example of being involved in your community and the activities
it supports is belonging to a Trapper's Association. There are
many benefits and advantages to becoming an active member to this
association.
Participation
Being able to participate in your beliefs and interests is an
important part of understanding the world today. Trapper's Associations
are able to give people that opportunity. You are able to be involved
with the other members and major decision-making processes. It
also allows you to be up-to-date on many new ideas and equipment.
Participating can be as simple as being current on the trends
and rules, or as involved as serving on a committee or writing
for the magazine. It is your choice for the level of involvement
that you would like to participate at. The main point to remember
is that participation in what you believe in shows support.
Involvement
Many times Trapper's Associations have committees that members
can reside on. By doing this, you are able to be involved in decisions
that may be made about rules or new regulations for trapping.
This is an important and resourceful duty that will enable you
to learn more about this sport. Just like any other sport, involvement
is one of the main ways that you learn more and increase your
ability in the sport. By being involved and residing on the committees
you may be able to change some of the things that you do not agree
with. You are also able to make some things better. Committee
members act on what they experience and feel. This is the main
way to making plans go into action and getting tasks accomplished.
Being a part of the decision making team is a major benefit to
belonging to a Trapper's Association because you are given the
inside tract to many ideas.
New Ideas and Equipment
Trapper's Associations release articles in magazines about new
equipment or procedures that are tested to work the best overall.
By belonging to a Trapper's Association you are able to gain useful
information that you will be able to use to your advantage. This
also insures that you are up-to-date in the newest trends to enhance
your ability at this sport. Many times you are able to get better
deals on equipment and new products by being a member. You are
also given the opportunity to share some of your thoughts or ideas
with other trappers. This allows the communication between trappers
to grow and become strong. It creates a trustworthy group of people
with similar interests.
Community of Friends
Trapper's Associations allow you to have a community of friends
that enjoy the same ideas that you do. This is a way to exchange
information about ideas, the best trapping sports, or just friendly
thoughts. Information about different contests, activities or
shows can also be exchanged through this group so that everyone
is given opportunities for involvement and can gain knowledge.
Without a Trapper's Association, many people would be left alone
to figure out their own techniques and ideas. Through this group
people are given more opportunity to collaborate.
The community that is created is a group involved in the same
interests, and understands the ways trapping is most beneficial
to our society. This community is then able to help the rest of
the world understand the many benefits of trapping and belonging
to Trapper's Association.
Education
Educating other people about trapping is a major goal in our
world. By belonging to a Trapper's Association you will be able
to learn the rules, regulations, rights, and wrongs of trapping.
These things will help you understand the benefits of trapping.
This will help you educate others about how trapping is good for
our economy, food chain, and the general population of people.
Being educated allows people to accept different points of view
or different ideas that they may not ordinarily support. If they
are able to obtain the knowledge about different ideas then they
will be more accepting. This is the main reason that educating
people about trapping is important.
Economy
By having an understanding of trapping you can help educate people
about how it helps our economy. Trapping helps keep the cost down
on furs and animal products that are used around the world. By
belonging to a Trapper's Association you are able to be an active
member in the stimulation of our economy and help it grow. This
is important because we need animals to help our world remain
stable. If we have trappers in our country, then we are cutting
down on dependence of other countries for furs and animal resources.
This helps stimulate our country's economy.
Food Chain
The food chain is also affected by trapping. Many times there
are an abundance of certain kinds of animals in our world. Trapper's
Association's are able to help keep the food chain balanced by
setting limits on the number of animals you are allowed to catch.
This ensures that all animals will be able to have food. This
can also work the other way around. Trapper's Associations also
help keep the number of animals down when there is abundance.
Trapping helps to keep the balance of the food chain.
Population of People
Population is also affected by trapping. Trapper's Associations
set different seasons for trapping. An example of this is during
farming seasons. If there are too many raccoons then all of the
crops will get destroyed and eaten by them. Trapper's Associations
help to keep this from happening. One current event that is occurring
is that raccoons are getting rabies. If the raccoons are not kept
at low numbers right now, then many other animals will get rabies
and other diseases. This will affect farmers, gardeners, and the
fur population. It becomes a trickle down effect.
Conclusion
Belonging to a Trapper's Association has numerous benefits to
its members. Participation, community, and education are not the
only benefits to belonging to a Trapper's Association, they are
just the ones highlighted in this paper. It is important to be
involved in your interests and to share the ideas with other people.
This helps you stay current on trends and resources about your
interests. It also enables you to feel comfortable in educating
others about your beliefs. Most importantly it shows your support
for your interests and sport in trapping.
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