The Best American Winter Activity Many people see winter as being a cold, boring, and a time to be lazy. For the few people that get out and do things find winter a very fun season and look forward to it. There are many activities one can do in the winter, but one of the most popular in this particular part of the country is trapping various rodents. There are many types of animals to trap such as raccoons, opossums, and even coyotes or beavers. The varmint that is caught the most, in this little corner of Minnesota, is the raccoon. According to veteran trapper Jed Burgers, the price of one raccoon pelt has declined over the past few years. Burgers says he can get a high of 6 dollars per pelt and it is usually lower because of a high number of raccoons, so the demand for the furry rodents has gone down. One might ask, "How do you catch one of these animals?" Well, it is simple. There are many types of traps available for use. Live traps and DPs (above picture) are the most popular traps used by trappers in the community. Live traps are a metal cage with bait on one end of the trap and a door that slams shut when the animal enters the cage on the other end. An advantage of the live trap is that the animal can't escape, but a disadvantage is that you may catch unwanted animals that can fit into the trap. DP stands for dog proof. A dog proof trap is a metal tube that is small enough in diameter so a dog cannot fit its paw into it. Bait goes inside at the bottom of the tube and when the animal reaches down to get the bait, the trap is sprung and clamps down onto the animal's paw. An advantage of DPs is obviously that dogs cannot reach inside it, and the disadvantage is that if you get a big enough raccoon, it sometimes can pull the trap out of the ground. Burgers says his favorite trap is the DP because it is easier to maintain and the mechanics of the trap are not as touchy as a live trap. Wild animals will take almost anything as bait, it's free food that they can't turn down. Burgers has found over the years that raccoons like sweet things, so he uses marshmallows with a little bit of jelly on top. If you are out of these baits, Burgers said that cat food, anchovies, or sardines will also work to attract raccoons. Many people are probably wondering why you would waste time trying to catch an animal that gives little or no money such as the raccoon. There are other animals, however, that do give quite a bit more money than a raccoon does. Burgers says that muskrats or coyotes will bring more money. He says he can get around ten dollars for a muskrat and 20 dollars or more for a coyote depending on how high of quality the fur is. He sells his pelts to Groenewold Fur and Wool Company based out of Illinois. They make stops in Brandon where Burgers brings the pelts. Burgers thinks it somewhat easy to find where muskrats are if they are in the area because it is easier to track their pathways to find where their dens are, whereas coyotes are sly animals that are hard to trace. Either of these animals can be found almost anywhere around here as long as there is a water source, a food source, and shelter. If you know of an area that has these conditions, I strongly consider trapping there if you are interested.
Future Plans of an H-BC Senior This year is flying by as we are almost half way through the school year. Many of us are excited that we are this far so we can relax during the summertime. But the H-BC seniors, however, are looking forward to much, much more. After this school year, they will be off on their own in the real world. Many will go to college and some will work right away. But for one senior, he chose neither of these. When Dylan Forshey graduates, he is planning on serving our country and joining the United States Air Force. Forshey has chosen the Air Force because they seemed like the right fit for him. After speaking with the other branches, Forshey had his choices narrowed down to the Air Force and the Army. In the end, he chose The Air Force. "The Army made it seem like they didn't care if I signed up or not," said Forshey. He says he felt the Air Force needed him, which led to his decision. The first part of Forshey's journey will start with Basic Training, which is located right outside of San Antonio, Texas. Forshey says he needs to keep in physical shape and to keep running so he's ready for anything the Air Force throws at him during Basic Training. He hopes to leave for Basic Training this June, and he will train there for 6 weeks until he has completed it. From there Forshey will have to decide what career or specialty he wants to do in the Air Force. There are a wide range of opportunities for Forshey to pick from. The specialty that Forshey hopes to do is security forces, which is like military police. If not security forces, then Forshey would like to do something called TACP, or Tactical Air Control Placement. In TACP, Forshey would be working a lot with the Army. His main job would be to communicate between the Air Force and Army. Extra training is required for these specialties which will be about a year more of training. After this final training Forshey will be stationed on an Air Force base somewhere around the world. He thinks the chances of being stationed in a different country are likely, and he's willing to go anywhere. Forshey does not know how long he wants to be in the Air Force yet. He says he will either sign a four or six year contract to begin with. When that contract is up, Forshey will then decide if he will leave the Air Force or if he will make it his career.