Donate your deer hides to good cause

Published Thursday, October 29, 2009

We, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, ask you to give something back to the Minnesota deer herd — the hide off of the deer you harvest. Your donation, whether you are a member or not, will help preserve Minnesota hunting heritage. We send 700 12- through 17-year-old young hunters to Fork Horn Camps to learn how to hunt safely, ethically and how to survive in the woods. They also learn about ecology, biology and other environmental information.

We are a Minnesota-only organization, so all of our funds are spent here in Minnesota. Nearly $250,000 Hide for Habitat dollars are spent annually on public hunting land, habitat improvement and acquisitions including wildlife management areas.

Mills Fleet Farm and fur buyers will offer you a cheap pair of gloves or a chit good for a few dollars off on something they sell — this helps them — not the deer herd. Our chapter — Southern Gateway — and all chapters throughout the state volunteer our time and money, so we ask you to do your part by giving your hide (deer, elk, moose or mule deer; we can’t use antelope hides). Our boxes have Hides for Habitat signs on them. Hide buyers try to make their boxes resemble ours, so please don’t be fooled.

Our chapter has boxes at the following locations: Tom’s Taxidermy in Clarks Grove, Craig’s Taxidermy in Freeborn, Morgan’s Meat in New Richland, Jeff Miller in rural Kiester, Nick’s Meat & Grocery in Hayward; Conger Meat Market in Conger, Steve’s Meat Market in Ellendale, Old Norby’s Station on Main Street in Albert Lea, Geneva Auto Service Inc in Geneva, Short Stop Gas Station in Glenville, Nielsen’s Conoco Station in Hartland, Freeborn County Fairgrounds in Albert Lea, Karl’s Carquest Auto Parts in Albert Lea, Mansfield Locker (no box) in Mansfield and Hart Brothers Weaponry on Highway 69 in Albert Lea.

Over the last couple of years, hide prices have been higher, so there has been more pressure to get hides by fur buyers. We dropped from a high of 1,400 hides to less than 600. We put on the same miles to get considerably less hides. Again, I urge you to help us help deer hunting flourish in Minnesota. Donate your hides.

Our hides will be sold to Ubers in Owatonna, which was recently bought by a young Minnesota man named Jared Rinerson. He is working very hard to make this Minnesota business prosper. He is a friend of MDHA and a fine young man. He will add four new jobs because of the added volume. Four Minnesota jobs are four Minnesota jobs!

Clark Hammer

Geneva

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