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A program that pairs people with experienced trappers is accepting applications for its 2025 intake.
The Trapper Mentorship program, begun in 2022, helps NWT residents learn northern traditional trapline values and practices.
These include skills like winter travel, hunting, wood cutting, skinning and fleshing, and treating hides. Mentors are encouraged to share traditional knowledge and their stories.
Applicants with limited trapping experience will be given priority. They will also receive a starter kit worth approximately $1,500, the NWT government said in a news release this week.
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Mentors with extensive trapping knowledge and considerable time on the land will receive $2,000 to cover their costs over the course of the winter.
Eligible participants over 18 must be NWT residents, be eligible to hold a General Harvesters Licence and have an Indigenous or land claim right to harvest.
To participate in the program, applicants need to fill out the application form and secure a letter of support from an organization – such as a hunting and trapping committee, Indigenous government or renewable resource committee – which will agree to distribute the funds on behalf of the GNWT.
Beginner trappers are also responsible for finding a skilled mentor. Applications are due by October 6.
