Several months ago, Fairbanks, Alaska trapper Marty Meierotto was featured on the cover of the special survival issue of Field and Stream. A cover shot for a trapper is pretty incredible – not just for Marty and his fellow Alaskans, but for all trappers in the U.S. and Canada. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an issue of F&S that featured a trapper. While the magazine covers hunting and fishing in great depth, trapping is often much more obscure.
Field and Stream’s Bill Heavey joined Meierotto on his Alaskan bush trapline this winter and put together an extensive story on Marty, survival in the Alaska wilderness, and trapping. The story appears to have shone trapping in a pretty good light, and surely introduced a number of folks to the fact that trapping is still pretty prevalent in the modern world.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had a story on Meierotto and the reaction to the F&S article. It’s a great read.
The article seemed well received. Hopefully the mainstream sporting magazines will begin to pay more attention to trapping as an important part of the outdoor lifestyle. We trappers could certainly use the support of our brothers and sisters in the mainstream sporting community.