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Poor Richard's Almanac from the January 15 paper - www.bensoncountynews.com
The issue of limiting out-of-state hunters from coming to North Dakota will be played out in the State Legislature this winter.
The first shot was fired by the so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota who forced Gov. John Hoeven to back down from a proposal on pheasant hunting. After caving in to the intense pressure they showed they could deliver, Hoeven gave them what they wanted: a limit on the number of out-of-state waterfowl hunting licenses the state will issue.
This limit caused the loss of many thousands of dollars to businesses in this area. You don't believe it? Call Kyle Blanchfield at Woodland Resort at 701-662-5996. Call Randy Frost at the Lake Area Chamber of commerce at 701-662-4903. Call Steve Chase at Spirit Water Inn in Minnewaukan at 701-473-2587. They'll tell you how this limit took money out of the pockets of struggling businesses.
Not being satisfied with Hoeven's ill-conceived limit, so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota now want to apply something called the hunting pressure concept to granting waterfowl licenses to out-of-state hunters. If habitat is good, the limit will be something like what it is now. If habitat is not so good, the limit will be less.
It sounds reasonable, but it's merely an excuse to impose more stringent limits. The hunting pressure concept results in pressure on the governor to keep the limits on out-of-state hunters artificially low so there is less competition for resident hunters.
If wildlife were threatened, I could see the merit of the hunter pressure concept. Imposing it under present conditions is not only totally unnecessary, it is unwise from an economic standpoint. There are some areas of the state which may have more hunters than property on which to hunt, but that is not the case in this area, according to what I've been able to gather.
The argument that these so-called sportsmen's groups make is that they are attempting to conserve our wildlife resources. Yeah, right. There are so many Canadian geese they are destroying their habitat. A spring goose season was instituted to reduce their numbers. It hardly made a dent. I've never seen so many ducks, coots and deer.
The fact is that our waterfowl resources are not anywhere near in danger. What is in danger is the rural North Dakota economy.
We have something called the hunter economic impact concept operating in our little towns in the Devils Lake Basin. Devils Lake has been flooding us unmercifully. But with Devils Lake lapping at Minnewaukan's shores, a tourism industry catering to hunters and fishermen has suddenly sprung up. We have a cafe again. Our bar remains open. A bait shop was established. A motel-resort was created. Our store, which sells gas, finds boats lining up to fill at the pump. A lot of this activity is related to fishing, but a good deal of it is also related to hunting.
Don't get me wrong. These businesses aren't thriving. They're hanging on. They're surviving. Take away one-quarter of their customers and they'd probably all fold. That's what the hunter pressure concept will do to our struggling businesses. The so-called sportsmen from thriving Fargo have no feeling for the mom and pop store owners who go broke in the small towns. They can easily be sacrificed so urban North Dakota hunters can have hunting fun without competition from out-of-staters.
When the so-called sportsmen's groups applied their pressure to Hoeven with threats, that was all well and good. When I said there would be a severe backlash if these so-called sportsmen's groups succeed in placing further limits on out-of-state hunters, a letter writer in The Forum at Fargo (Saturday, Jan. 11 issue) said I was trotting out a "dirty scare tactic." The letter writer said we should "compromise." Rural North Dakota has already paid dearly with Hoeven's limit. We are supposed to "compromise" by giving up more.
I don't think so. I read recently about landowners in Idaho banding together and posting more than 100,000 acres as a result of displeasure with state policies. That could easily happen here if our backs are pushed further against the wall.
We are fighting for our survival. And we're damned mad that these so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota are trying to gain advantage for themselves by stifling what little economic growth we are seeing.
In 2001-02 hunters and fishermen spent $260 million in rural North Dakota. Of that figure, $48.4 million came from nonresidents.
Make no mistake about it. If the so-called sportsmen's groups manage to further damage us we will fight back.
At a time when the state desperately needs more economic activity why would the State Legislature want to curtail much-needed business in North Dakota? Testimony on the hunter pressure concept will be heard in the State Senate Jan. 23. The so-called sportsmen's groups are united and will be in attendance in force.
Will rural North Dakota businesses and landowners stand up for their rights, or will they allow these groups to take them from us?
The issue of limiting out-of-state hunters from coming to North Dakota will be played out in the State Legislature this winter.
The first shot was fired by the so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota who forced Gov. John Hoeven to back down from a proposal on pheasant hunting. After caving in to the intense pressure they showed they could deliver, Hoeven gave them what they wanted: a limit on the number of out-of-state waterfowl hunting licenses the state will issue.
This limit caused the loss of many thousands of dollars to businesses in this area. You don't believe it? Call Kyle Blanchfield at Woodland Resort at 701-662-5996. Call Randy Frost at the Lake Area Chamber of commerce at 701-662-4903. Call Steve Chase at Spirit Water Inn in Minnewaukan at 701-473-2587. They'll tell you how this limit took money out of the pockets of struggling businesses.
Not being satisfied with Hoeven's ill-conceived limit, so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota now want to apply something called the hunting pressure concept to granting waterfowl licenses to out-of-state hunters. If habitat is good, the limit will be something like what it is now. If habitat is not so good, the limit will be less.
It sounds reasonable, but it's merely an excuse to impose more stringent limits. The hunting pressure concept results in pressure on the governor to keep the limits on out-of-state hunters artificially low so there is less competition for resident hunters.
If wildlife were threatened, I could see the merit of the hunter pressure concept. Imposing it under present conditions is not only totally unnecessary, it is unwise from an economic standpoint. There are some areas of the state which may have more hunters than property on which to hunt, but that is not the case in this area, according to what I've been able to gather.
The argument that these so-called sportsmen's groups make is that they are attempting to conserve our wildlife resources. Yeah, right. There are so many Canadian geese they are destroying their habitat. A spring goose season was instituted to reduce their numbers. It hardly made a dent. I've never seen so many ducks, coots and deer.
The fact is that our waterfowl resources are not anywhere near in danger. What is in danger is the rural North Dakota economy.
We have something called the hunter economic impact concept operating in our little towns in the Devils Lake Basin. Devils Lake has been flooding us unmercifully. But with Devils Lake lapping at Minnewaukan's shores, a tourism industry catering to hunters and fishermen has suddenly sprung up. We have a cafe again. Our bar remains open. A bait shop was established. A motel-resort was created. Our store, which sells gas, finds boats lining up to fill at the pump. A lot of this activity is related to fishing, but a good deal of it is also related to hunting.
Don't get me wrong. These businesses aren't thriving. They're hanging on. They're surviving. Take away one-quarter of their customers and they'd probably all fold. That's what the hunter pressure concept will do to our struggling businesses. The so-called sportsmen from thriving Fargo have no feeling for the mom and pop store owners who go broke in the small towns. They can easily be sacrificed so urban North Dakota hunters can have hunting fun without competition from out-of-staters.
When the so-called sportsmen's groups applied their pressure to Hoeven with threats, that was all well and good. When I said there would be a severe backlash if these so-called sportsmen's groups succeed in placing further limits on out-of-state hunters, a letter writer in The Forum at Fargo (Saturday, Jan. 11 issue) said I was trotting out a "dirty scare tactic." The letter writer said we should "compromise." Rural North Dakota has already paid dearly with Hoeven's limit. We are supposed to "compromise" by giving up more.
I don't think so. I read recently about landowners in Idaho banding together and posting more than 100,000 acres as a result of displeasure with state policies. That could easily happen here if our backs are pushed further against the wall.
We are fighting for our survival. And we're damned mad that these so-called sportsmen's groups in North Dakota are trying to gain advantage for themselves by stifling what little economic growth we are seeing.
In 2001-02 hunters and fishermen spent $260 million in rural North Dakota. Of that figure, $48.4 million came from nonresidents.
Make no mistake about it. If the so-called sportsmen's groups manage to further damage us we will fight back.
At a time when the state desperately needs more economic activity why would the State Legislature want to curtail much-needed business in North Dakota? Testimony on the hunter pressure concept will be heard in the State Senate Jan. 23. The so-called sportsmen's groups are united and will be in attendance in force.
Will rural North Dakota businesses and landowners stand up for their rights, or will they allow these groups to take them from us?
uke: how can everyone be so blind!! i was going to write to legislators this weekend, but after reading this i just had to do it today, i remind them in all my emails this year and last session about ND's outmigration of youth and how i will be a statistic of that if they don't realize what is really needed to boost our economy... Keeping good hunting to keep residents! i don't think they realize how many people actually live here just for the hunting and fishing!
