Fellow deer hunters:

The Southern Gateway Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is, again, asking you to donate your deer, elk and moose hides to us so we can use the proceeds from their sale to send local kids to Forkhorn Camps. At camp, our youth learn hunter safety, ethics, survival skills, ecology, biology and other important outdoor skills.

Our local chapter sent nine boys and girls to camps this year. Statewide, about 700 young people went to these impressive camps located around Minnesota. The hide dollars also are spent on hunting land habitat improvements for public hunting. Nearly $250,000 is spent annually on improvement and acquisitions including wildlife management areas.

We won’t give you a cheap pair of gloves made in China for your donation like some hide buyers, or a $5 or $10 gift certificate like a chain fleet farm store does to get you to shop with them, but we will put the money made from the sale of your hide back into our children and our habitat to help keep deer hunting thriving in our state and available to all.

Our hide boxes are at the following locations: Tom’s Taxidermy, Clarks Grove; Craig’s Taxidermy, Freeborn; Morgan’s Meats, New Richland; Jeff Miller, Kiester; Nick’s Meat & Grocery, Hayward; Conger Meat Market, Conger; Steve’s Meat Market, Ellendale; Old Norby’s Station, Main Street, Albert Lea; Geneva Auto Service, Geneva; Short Stop Gas station, Glenville; Nielsen’s Conoco, Hartland; Freeborn County Fairground Entrance, Albert Lea; Karl’s Carquest Auto Parts, Albert Lea; Mansfield Locker, Mansfield; Hart Brother’s Weaponry, Hwy 69 S, Albert Lea. Our Boxes have “Hides for Habitat Drop Station” signs on them.

Thank you.

P.S.: We can use new members, young and old! We also have no outlet for heads and legs.

Clark Hammer

hides chairman

Geneva