I Am Conservation

Steve Fisher sets an early season beaver trap with his son Corey at a wetland pool at Fountain Grove Conservation Area in Linn County. A trapper for nearly 30 years, he got his start while in grade school. ”I started out tagging along with my three older brothers as we trapped raccoons in the creek on our family’s and neighboring farms,” says Fisher. “Early on, it was a way for me to earn a little money and be like my older brothers.” Fisher says he enjoys many different outdoor sports, but trapping is his favorite. “You’ve got to learn everything you can about your intended quarry, their haunts, habits, instincts and natural tendencies,” says Fisher. “It is a challenge, and just when you think you have it figured out, some really smart specimen throws you a curve and you can’t get him caught! For an outdoorsman and nature lover, trapping is just a whole lot of things all wrapped up in one activity.” Fisher says he is teaching Corey how to trap because it was such an important part of his own childhood. “It was the first consumptive outdoor sport I could take part in when I was too little to shoot guns or bows and couldn’t really go fishing in the winter,” says Fisher. “It builds character and develops your problem solving skills.” —Photo by David Stonner