Recapping 2007 in North Dakota

February 4, 2009 by admin

By Doug Leier

The drought, lack of local numbers, pressure, and a late migration made 2007 one of the toughest duck hunting seasons in decades.

Over the last five years or so, I’ve written many times that we are living in an era that most anyone else with an outdoors interest will remember as the good old days, at least as far as hunting goes.

As I look back at the last 12 months, it seems that 2007 will still fall into that category, but as for next year or 10 years from now, who knows. As most people agree, the only sure thing is that things will change. Maybe for the better. Possibly for the worse.

We only need to look at North Dakota fishing, which had one of those “good old days” periods come to an end a few years back, for a good example of how things change over time. We still have good fishing, of course, but on a statewide basis things have leveled off some from the peak years around the turn of the century.

About the same scenario is true for ducks. Duck populations are still high, just not as high in North Dakota, because several dry years in a row have taken their toll on shallow wetlands in many parts of the state. Don’t be misled, however, as many waterfowl hunters enjoyed about as full of season as possible in 2007with a more gradual migration and open-water hunting opportunities still available well into November.

On the other hand, many of those dry wetland basins now have vegetation that is serving as useful habitat for pheasants and deer.

The federal farm bill now under consideration, which establishes agriculture and conservation policy and spending for the next five years, will influence habitat for an array of fish and wildlife concerns. While a finalized version is not yet cemented, it appears the Conservation Reserve Program will remain an option. However, with higher commodity prices and rental rates for agricultural lands, simply having a CRP option may not be enough to maintain landowner interest.

Mild winters continue resulting in a booming pheasant population all over the Dakotas

While efforts to maintain a high level of CRP were a continuing challenge this year, the Game and Fish Department also spent a good deal of time trying to manage the elk population in the western part of the state. Part of that was related to possible solutions for reducing the elk population in Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit.

The Department strongly supported the use of qualified volunteers as a way to reduce the park’s elk population, but this option was not included on a list of possible management choices. As of this writing nothing has been decided as to the future management of elk by the National Park Service.

Outside the park, however, Game and Fish developed an extended elk season and added a significant number of licenses in a response to concerns over elk numbers.

On the fishing side, while a decade of water issues within the Missouri River System continue, a new threat to the Devils Lake region developed. Aquatic nuisance species namely carp, worked their way into the upper end of the Devils Lake basin.
Game and Fish biologists spent considerable time and effort in a small drainage north of Devils Lake called Edmore Coulee, to assess the extent of the carp movement and eliminate those fish. It appears the effort was successful as netting efforts throughout the fall did not turn up any more young carp.

Work continues on developing a plan for a permanent earthen berm that would prevent mixing of water between the Devils Lake basin, which has no carp, and the Red River basin, which does have carp. Landowners, water districts and other government bodies are hoping to get this barrier in place as soon as possible because maintaining a carp-free Devils Lake is critical to sustaining this important fishery.

All these important issues aside, 2007 was a great year outdoors — one that will likely be remembered many years down the road.