Roggenkamp’s father was a trapper for nearly 60 years. Now 50 years old, Roggenkamp has trapped most of his own life, running mink lines as big as 300 sets that required constant work from dawn until dusk. Trapping is something that has connected him to the outdoors from the first long-tailed weasel he and his father caught that Christmas break 44 years ago.
“It’s very hard to put into words what it’s done for me,” Roggenkamp said. “Trapping, hunting, any of those outdoors pursuits — it’s about the experience. It’s about what you get to see, what you get to learn … I’ve seen all sorts of different species. To see that going on in its natural setting, it gives you a sense of your place. I think you can learn so much from it.”
Roggenkamp, who lives in Breezy Point near Brainerd, is the president of the Minnesota Trappers Association. He is also the assistant director of education for the Safari Club International Foundation, where he develops programs and teaches about how hunting plays a vital role in conservation.
John Erb of Grand Rapids is similar to Roggenkamp in that trapping played a vital role in how he chose to live his professional life.
Erb is a furbearer/wolf research scientist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He was 15 years old growing up surrounded by agriculture fields in north-central Iowa.
There were just enough drainage ditches and little farmsteads for him to trap muskrats, raccoons, minks and a few foxes. Erb did not come from a trapping family, but his involvement in it spurred a curiosity that got him excited about wildlife management.
Grand Rapids’ John Erb (right) and his son, Spencer, with a catch of muskrats and beaver they took trapping. John, a furbearer/wolf research scientist with the Minnesota DNR, credited his younger days of trapping as a 15-year-old in Iowa as spurring a curiosity that got him interested in wildlife management. (Contributed photo)
“It’s hard to explain to people,” Erb said. “Some don’t like trapping, but to me, there’s a deeper value and meaning. It never is about the killing. It’s part of my lifestyle, what I see as my culture. We certainly take the issues that concern other people, and we take them seriously.”
Dwindling participation
Erb and Roggenkamp are…
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