For good reason, the State Game and Fish Department makes every effort to explain waterfowl hunting rules and regulations that hunters will need to know as they take the field this fall. This includes daily bag limits, species restrictions and how the process works.
This year, new rules are in place. While most of the publicity to date regarding the state’s aquatic nuisance species regulations has been directed at anglers and recreational boaters, these laws will also apply to many waterfowl hunters.
The challenge of preventing spread of ANS within or into North Dakota is great, and the responsibility lies with all of us who use state waters for recreation or work.
“It costs more than five times as much to battle a problem than to prevent it,” says Lynn Schlueter, Game and Fish Department ANS coordinator, “and this does not even include the manpower diverted from management activities to control ANS.”
Schlueter relates that these problems tend to creep up on us, and are not an obvious factor, such as a duck die-off from a disease like botulism. Rather, Schlueter says, ANS are more like a slow death, with a waterway being infected and slowly losing its integrity and value as habitat for producing waterfowl.
The change can be so slow that by the time we realize that ANS is a real problem, it is too late to do anything about it. In most cases, once a water is infested it will likely never be completely rid of the nuisance species. Not only does this degrade the water itself, it also makes the water a potential source for infestation of other areas.
All boaters and water recreators must understand that in North Dakota and other states, it is now illegal to transport aquatic vegetation.
Here's a rundown on how this applies to waterfowl hunters and fall anglers.
Remove all aquatic vegetation at the site. Period. Most people have no problem recognizing the "seaweed" on duck boat trailers or engine propellers, but all aquatic vegetation must be taken off before leaving; that includes decoy weights and strings that can easily transport a threat, and from waders that might be carrying plant fragments.
This rule does not include emergent (above water) vegetation like cattails and bulrushes used for making hunting blinds
Drain water from all places. This is not just for boat users. It could be a floating decoy with a hole in, literally anything holding water – the bottom of the boat, the decoy bag, even if you fall in with your waders, begin the dry- out process by emptying those out too.
Don't dump bait. And one last reminder for fall fishing, there's plenty of warm October days. At least we hope so, and even when nobody is looking, or the lake is all to yourself, please don't dump your bait into the lake. Most bait vendors do a great job of keeping the minnows free of ANS, but all it takes is one little bullhead or one seed from an unknown ANS to ruin a waterway.
As Schlueter reminds us, we want to leave a heritage of hunting, not a legacy of what hunting used to be. "This isn't about just hunters or anglers,” he said, “this about protecting the waterways for future generations, it's the right thing to do."
Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Dept. He can be reached via email: dleier@nd.gov
