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Rodd Compson(left) assists seasonal workers Nathan Johnson (center) and Bryant Huso (right) erecting new boundary signs
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Much of my first work in the natural resources field was not the most glamorous duty. Pounding in boundary posts, replacing and repairing signs, and removing piles of debris from public property were not exactly what I envisioned when I signed up for a career in wildlife management.
Like a lot of people my age and older, my early image of a wildlife professional was the Marlon Perkins/Jim Fowler “Wild Kingdom” types who got to work directly with animals in exotic places. I got to do some of that, like dragging grass fields looking for duck nests, and counting breeding ducks in spring, but I also recall stringing miles of barbed wire and pounding posts for days on end in rain, across swamps, and by myself much of the time.
I bring this up now because autumn’s just about here and a lot of the young men and women who do this kind of work for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department have finished their summer mission are headed back to college.
The Game and Fish Department has about 150 full-time employees, but another 50 or so seasonal, temporary workers put in thousands of hard hours each year, and it’s not just putting up signs.
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Rodd Compson(left) assists season workers Nathan Johnson(center) and Renae Heinle(bottom) erecting new boundary signs
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Seasonal workers in the Bismarck office give dozens of tours interpreting the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site teaching visitors about natural resources and the flora and fauna of the prairie. Temporary workers also help enter data from tens of thousands of deer, turkey and antelope applications in preparation for lottery drawings.
Summer fisheries workers labored long and hard at maintaining or improving boat access at North Dakota’s major fishing waters. Others help with lake surveys, which sounds kind of fun until you have spend the better part of a 90-degree day detaching hundreds of small bullheads or perch from a survey net.
As you drive across the prairies this fall – or any time of year for that matter – you’ll see an array of signs that indicate public land, or private land opened to hunting access through a Game and Fish Department program. The signs are necessary so hunters can first find the land, and then know where the boundaries are so they don’t accidentally stray onto adjacent private land.
Between state-owned or managed fishing access areas, wildlife management areas, and land in the Private Land Open To Sportsmen program, Game and Fish needs to maintain hundreds of miles of fence, and thousands of boundary or regulatory signs. It’s such a big job that a lot of fulltime staff help out as well when necessary.
Most hunters and anglers probably don’t think about signs and fences much. But they probably would notice if they weren’t properly maintained. People would be confused about boundaries or where to park or any special rules for certain areas. Fences keep out livestock from adjoining lands, and keep vehicles from damaging valuable habitat.
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Renae Heinle adjusts a beaver proof culvert
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For many seasonal workers, summer work serves two purposes. One is gaining valuable experience to further a career in a natural resource management. It’s a highly competitive field so every little bit helps.
It’s been awhile since I pounded posts and fixed fence, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss it once in awhile. Because of that kind of field work I also had opportunities to observe a baby duck hatching out of an egg, witness a new born deer’s clumsy first steps, and develop camaraderie and friendship through cleaning out an old boundary fence.
This fall, when you hunt public lands, or launch a boat for fishing or other recreational purpose, it’s likely a seasonal worker helped make it possible.
To that I say, “Thank you.”
Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Dept. He can be reached via email: dleier@state.nd.us
Photo credits to the ND Game and Fish Department
