Deer hunters, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association need your deer hides for our Hides for Habitat program. Why? The money raised from the sale of raw hides works toward the purchase of habitat land for deer and other wildlife species. This program is supported by many of the large number of chapters around the state. Our chapter, Southern Gateway, of Freeborn and surrounding counties have made it one of our major fundraisers.

However, what was a profitable venture five years ago has fallen on hard times. In 2003 we collected more than 1,350 hides. This past year we were able to collect 550 hides. Again the question is, why? The deer kill over the past five years has been at or near record levels.

1. Hunters are trading their deer hides for an inexpensive pair of gloves.

2. Hunters are neglecting to tell their meat processors (locker plants or meat markets) to save the hides for Hides for Habitat.

3. In the past, locker plants would give most of the hides to Hides for Habitat but now sell them themselves to traveling buyers, cutting out what was once a good source of marketable hides down to very few.

4. Theft of hides from our collection boxes is another reason.

5. Some just don’t wish to bother.

This project for our chapter is the main fundraiser for raising funds to purchase additional wildlife property and to send your daughters and sons to a great environmental camp for a week during the summer called Fork Horn Camps.

Even marginal land has skyrocketed over the past few years, and sending young people to Fork Horn Camp costs from $250 to 400 per camper. We don’t cover the total cost, but we cover from $200 to $350 of the cost for the first eight campers.

We also have been instrumental in the purchasing of about 1,200 acres of land in the Freeborn County area for habitat, and it is open to public hunting.

But our funds that we counted on from the sale of hides has diminished considerably due to lack of hides, so, we can’t come up with the necessary funds for other projects. So please this year, locate our hide boxes, be sure that they have a Hides for Habitat poster on them (other hide buyers put out boxes near ours) and tell your meat processor to save the hide for Hides for Habitat. Maybe this year you might forego a pair of gloves to help send a young boy or girl to forkhorn camp.

We have to travel to our pickup locations. Each of two routes requires the covering of 75 miles around trip or 150 total miles per time of pickup. At the current price of gas, this becomes a major factor as the two drivers are reimbursed for mileage. This gets to be a big job — salting, stacking and salting the tails as these are kept separate. Help is needed if anyone is available. If you could help contact Clark Hammer, Tom Norby or me.

Jack Adams

president

Southern Gateway chapter

Minnesota Deer Hunters Association

Albert Lea