ELLERBE - Taxidermist Matt Vincett knelt on the concrete floor of a large screened-in shelter, skinning a raccoon carcass with a scalpel. A mounted mallard drake, a porcupine, an opossum and a full-body mount of a nine-point buck were displayed on a nearby table. Twelve kids hovered, peppering Vincett with questions about his craft.

In the distance, the muffled blasts of shotguns mixed with the shouts of swimmers in a pool.

Not exactly your typical summer camp. Nor is it intended to be.

Welcome to the 25th Fur, Fish 'n Game Rendezvous, a five-day, six-night camp that draws young people ages 12 to 15 to the remote Millstone 4-H Center for an education in natural resources and conservation.

This year's camp, held July 22-27, included 80 campers, 65 of them beginners (first year) and 15 advanced (returnees). Classes included traditional summer-camp fare, such as first aid, archery and canoeing, along with topics such as bird dogs, falconry, taxidermy, trapping and tree-stand safety.

"They love it," Vincett, from Rockingham, said as his class exited to the ringing of the camp bell and unscheduled spectators filtered in to watch him "flesh out" another raccoon pelt. "They have a good time. As you can see, they'll sit in here until lunch."

Nearby stood Chris Moorman and Renee Strnad, faculty and staff members, respectively, at N.C. State. 4-H is a branch of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service based at N.C. State and N.C. A&T.

"About 60 years ago, some folks from Forestry [at N.C. State] started a Forestry and Wildlife Camp," Strnad said. "Twenty-five years ago, the faculty in the Department of Zoology, the N.C. Wildlife Federation and others [from the community] started this specific camp. They took it to the next level."

The center covers 320 acres of woodlands and is located within the 60,000-acre Sandhills Game Land.

Strnad said about 50 percent of the campers attend on scholarships sponsored by groups or individuals who foot the $300 bill per camper.

One of the people from the community who took it to the next level was Alan Basala, 61, of Cary, who leads campers in an outdoors ethics class. As a member of the Wake County Wildlife Club, he was on board 25 years ago to help launch the camp.

"This is not about blood and guts," said Basala, who works at the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park. "Hunting is a privilege, not a right. I'm teaching ownership of the situation.

"Through our [outdoorsmen's] dollars, we provide research money, education and enforcement."

Basala's club sponsored 30 youngsters this summer.

"Kids that want to come, we make sure they can come," he said. "People have gone through this camp and became wildlife refuge managers and leaders of wildlife organizations."

The mess hall buzzed with campers lunching on pizza, corn, milk and punch, with cake for dessert. At one table, three girls talked about their experiences.

"My uncle [Steve Johnson of Raleigh] and my friend Casey [Thomason] got me into it," said Kathryn Frye, 14, a ninth-grader at Westchester Country Day School in High Point. "I had done a little fishing [before coming to camp] but not much.

"I've learned a lot about animals. It's changed my opinion on a lot of things, like the ethics of hunting and trapping. My favorite thing is archery. I learned I was left-eye dominant, so now I shoot left-handed."

Frye and Thomason, 14, of Lexington have been friends for nine years.

"I like canoeing," Thomason said. "I'd never canoed before I came here. I haven't dumped it yet, knock on wood."

Next page >