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A Letter to a Young Trapper

A Letter to a Young Trapper DEAR JOHNNY: It was mighty good to see you last Saturday, and I was pleased to hear your mom say that you were planning to go into wildlife work. Wonderful! But remember how your dad and I laughed at the way we were dressed? He was wearing a new suit and I had on an old canvas Filson coat and faded jeans. Well, that's one difference between a successful newspaperman and a seedy wildlifer! If your compass needle really is swinging toward a career in wildlife biology, let me sound off a bit. The two most important moves in your life are marrying the right girl and marrying the right job. Well, marrying the right girl is like good wingshooting -it's wonderful to do, but impossible to explain. So let's talk about the second point; it's a lot simpler. In any line of work, you get what you pay for. Nothing worth having ever "jest comes"-it's gotta be fetched. In terms of the wildlife profession, that means all the schooling that you can get, and some pretty tough schooling it is, too. 179 A Letter 10 a Young Trapper OU. JOH....Y: It was mighty good to lie" needle really is swinging towMd a CMee. in wildlife biology. let me sound off a bit. The two most important moves in your life are marrying the right girl and marrying the right job. Well. marrying the right girl is like good wingshootiJ \&~it's wonde.ful to do, but impo5'ible to uplain, So let's talk about the _ond point; it's a lot simpler. In any line of work, you get what you J>oly fo•. Nothing worth having ever "jest comes"-it's gatta be fetched. In terms of the wildlife prof","ion, that means all the schooling that you Un get, and SOme p.etty tough schooling it ii, too. A Letter 10 a Young Trapper OU. JOH....Y: It was mighty good to lie" needle really is swinging towMd a CMee. in wildlife biology. let me sound off a bit. The two most important moves in your life are marrying the right girl and marrying the right job. Well. marrying the right girl is like good wingshootiJ \&~it's wonde.ful to do, but impo5'ible to uplain, So let's talk about the _ond point; it's a lot simpler. In any line of work, you get what you J>oly fo•. Nothing worth having ever "jest comes"-it's gatta be fetched. In terms of the wildlife prof","ion, that means all the schooling that you Un get, and SOme p.etty tough schooling it ii, too. 180 JOHN MADSON Just because you like to hunt, fish, and trap doesn't mean that you're cut out for wildlife work, although it's a good tipoff. That's what drew most of us into it. For the life of me, I can't savvy why a man would want to be in wildlife work if he doesn't like to prowl around in the boondocks. Besides, real outdoor experience and the thousand skills that go with it is a basic requirement for a successful wildlife career. Your dad is a fine outdoorsman and can teach you a lot, so listen to Big John-he's your first real prof and the outdoors is your first classroom. But just liking to hunt and fish aren't enough. You must want to dig deeper and be willing to study hard, and have a burning curiosity about what makes wild critters tick. That means field work. Days, months, years, a lifetime of intense field work, in all seasons, in all weather. And before, during and after that field work, you must never stop studying. You're in high school now, and you'll need all the math, chemistry and biology you can get. Hit'em hard, but at the same time don't neglect that English. Two of the greatest writers of our century were game and fish biologists: Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson. The richest rewards in wildlife work today are for the men and women who are trained field biologists with a lot of outdoor mileage, and who know how to tell the story. From here on, go after grades. Those C's won't do you much good. If you're really serious about a wildlife career, you'll want high school report cards loaded with...