Bismarck Tribune Letter to Editor

Mr. Lehr does a nice job of predicting the future, but he loses his logic along the way when he thinks something like the HPC is the solution. The solution is to ban commercialized hunting operations, prohibit the leasing or ownership of lands by commercial outfitters and others for hunting purposes, and probably restrict the rights of non-residents to purchase or to own ND land. If the landowners are local, and can't "cash in" on the game that lives there, people who want to hunt will most likely have easier access and places to hunt, and the locals will probably get a preference over nonresidents from the farmers who own the land, if they have good relations with their country cousins. (The locals would certainly be in a better position to create a good relationship with the farmer-landowner than some dude from New York.) HPC is only a band-aid, and if commercial outfitters can lease up 100,000 acres at a time, will it matter whether you are from ND or NY when it comes time to get on that tract? No!! It'll be how big your pocketbook is. North Dakota is going the way of Texas and Arkansas with its band-aids. Ban the commercialization, in all aspects, or you lose.