submitted by Sherry Bowman-Kluck
Joshua Kluck of Petersburgh had the opportunity to attend a Youth Trapping Camp at Pack Forest in Warrensburg, NY, recently. The camp ran for three nights and three days on the weekend of October 10 and was overseen by the Sportsman Education Program with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
The camp is held periodically and is designed to increase awareness of a youth trapper’s responsibilities as well as introduce beginning trappers to acceptable trapping methods, ethics and responsibilities, laws and regulations, natural history and basic wildlife management principles.
As a requisite to the course, Joshua and other aspiring campers were required to read the manual, “Trapping Furbearers: An Introduction to Responsible Trapping,” and complete a detailed homework sheet. An exam was administered following an active and hands-on weekend of trapping instruction. Upon passing the exam, Joshua was awarded his New York State Trapper Education certificate. His best memory, however, was the 53½ pound beaver he trapped in the marshes of the 2,500 acre Southern Adirondack camp.
Joshua, at the age of 14, has been motivated to take as many wildlife and outdoor educational courses that he possibly can. In addition to his newly acquired trapping certificate, he currently holds a rifle and bow hunting certification. Joshua also attends camps operated by the DEC each summer and spends the majority of his free time honing his survival skills in the outdoors. Why the inclination? Joshua’s goal is to become a fish and game warden in Alaska or the northern part of Maine. He said, “The more I know about wildlife, the more equipped and ready I’ll be to achieve my goal in the future.”