Over the past several years I’ve often read or heard references to a decline in popularity for hunting and fishing. Nationally, that might be true, but the trend is just the opposite in North Dakota.
It’s not that North Dakota doesn’t have the same type of social pressures and competition for free time that exist in other states. North Dakota kids have the same access to video games, the Internet, and Saturday morning soccer as do kids in other states. North Dakota is also transforming from a rural to an urban society.
And yet, North Dakota fishing and hunting license sales in recent years are generally increasing. That’s good for the state, and it goes beyond the actual license dollars that help fund the state Game and Fish Department, or the windfall of economic activity generated by hunters and anglers.
We all need clean air and water. But the forests, prairies, rivers, lakes and wetlands that are so important to the state’s natural health are not as well appreciated by those who don’t spend their time enjoying the bounties of nature. Without development of future hunters and anglers to hold our leaders accountable for taking care of our natural resources, the eventual losses would be felt by everyone.
The old adage, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone, about sums it up.
For the moment, North Dakota statistics show we are fortunate to have new hunters and anglers entering the ranks. It’s not just youngsters, but many adults as well.
In 2004, 103,677 North Dakota residents bought general game stamps needed to participate in some type of hunting. That number is about 10,000 to 15,000 higher than in the late 1980s, and has increased every year since 1998.
With a state population of around 635,000, that’s also about one in six residents who hunt. I’d venture to guess that level of interest rivals, if not exceeds, any other recreational activity in the state, golf and softball included.
Well, except for fishing, which had more than 133,000 license buyers age 16 and older in 2004. That number is down slightly from 2003, but still about average for the last six years, and more than 30,000 higher than the number of resident fishing license buyers in the early 1990s.
While the Game and Fish Department has several programs designed to increase participation, the number one reason more North Dakotans are hunting and fishing is because we have high fish and wildlife populations. We have high fish and wildlife populations because we have good habitat.
The Conservation Reserve Program has provided about 3 million acres of grasslands spread across the state, and Mother Nature has filled thousands of previously dry water basins over the last decade or more. Some of these basins have become new fishing lakes, most of them have been a bonus for breeding waterfowl.
It’s this habitat component that needs to be emphasized. If I could talk to every hunter and angler in the state, I’d ask them to think about habitat each time they bag a bird or deer or catch a fish. What did it take to produce that wild animal or fish?
In almost every case it’s some combination of grass, trees and clean water, and those same habitat components can be good for society as well – and not just for producing game for hunters and fish for anglers.
CRP grasslands have prevented countless tons of topsoil from eroding into our rivers. Small wetlands can hold back a little more rain from already swollen creeks that threaten to flood the back 40, or worse yet, a dwelling.
Wetlands that store water also help recharge groundwater sources. In the Red River Valley discussions are ongoing about future drinking water sources, both above and below ground. Such statewide issues create a greater sense of awareness of the need for fresh, clean water.
Fortunately, in North Dakota we still have a great deal of habitat that we can conserve, which should maintain resident interest in hunting and fishing, and have some indirect benefits to the rest of our citizens as well.
