“I enjoy being outside and seeing and learning about wildlife,” said Lou Karlberg, a Ptarmigan Hall resident advisor in charge of trapping club every Sunday afternoon at the Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) along with dorm aide Nathan Ruble.

The students in the club are Brenton Benjamin, Chris Jerue, Bryan Oney, Michael Owletuck, Patrick Newland, Brenden Fuson, and Harley Ruckman.

“I want to give kids a chance to get out and do something they love and something that reminds them of their home and culture,” said Mr. Karlberg.

So far this season, the trapping club have caught one beaver, two fox, one lynx, one mink, two martin, one muskrat, three snowshoe hares (rabbit), and two ermines.

The student trap line is in a small loop in the woods on the other side of the dike behind the dorms. The types of traps they use are snares, footholds, and conibears, which snaps on the animal’s head.

After the animals have been caught, the students skin the animal, flesh the hide to get extra flesh off the skin and put the hide on a stretcher board to be tanned. After they are done with the hide, they can keep the fur or sell the fur to the sewing club.