[hunt4life]

I just got back from spring turkey hunting in western ND and the division between the east and west is getting wider.

The pheasant opener has really hurt the eastern hunter in the eyes of those who live in the west.

Without addressing the complex nature of why we should or shouldn't start a week earlier, hunting has just gotten tougher. You don't want to admit that you are from Fargo if you want to hunt west of the Missouri.

While the eastern ND hunters are a powerful voting block, we need to carefully consider the rural landowner in our voting. I think you will hear some real horror stories this fall.

 

[guppy]

Hunt4life

I agree the east vs west debate caused by the ground carp (pheasent) early opener, has driven the wedge into hunter/landowner relations a little deeper.:sad: I know quite a few farmers along the Missiouri River that are just plain ****** that the boys from the east got the ground carp opener changed.

I have tried to reason with them that it wasn't about the ground carp but about the dirty politics involved and the access/nr/guides issues that we are all facing. :???:

All I can say if you guys from east of the old muddy have a good relationship with a landowner in place you should be ok. If you do not you better come up with good story about living in Bis or further west.

I do not want to discourge anybody from tring to hunt the river during late season but access has always been a tough issue from Pick City to Bismarck and it appears that it just got tougher. :burns

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[Old Hunter]

hunt4life Where does the west end and the east start? It used to be that Fargo was the east. They were the first to start losing the access. Then Jamestown guys started to lose access. They got involved and Jamestown became the east. I worked all winter in Bismark.I talked to local Bismark and Mandan Tradesmen to see what their feelings are toward the hunting situation. They are losing their access just like the rest of us. Ithas taken longer but the guys in that area are getting involved. It seems to me that in the future when you are speaking about the west you are talking about Dickenson and west. I believe that the majority of the landowners that are complaining are dupes for guiding operations.If the west starts at Dickenson you guys are limiting your support to a small population base . The concern is spreading west it will reach you. Good luck

 

[Field Hunter]

Old Hunter,

I couldn't have said it better myself. I've never had trouble getting access in the "west" when I've paid the $25-$50 fees. I know that they charge everyone, Fargo, Bismarck, Jamestown, and Dickinson. There will always be a division "east-west". It's nothing new. I've heard about the "Fargo hunter" for years. Basically it's cafe talk.

Take my word for it, when the next blizzard comes along and threatens to wipe out all the pheasants in the southwest, there will more than a few ranchers asking both the G&F department and the "eastern" folks for donations to feed the wildlife. Happened in 96-97 and it'll happen again.

ND better help these "western" communities find something other than hunting to stimulate their economies. Most of us can't remember the blizzard in 1966 in ND, but I'm told it pretty much wiped out ALL the pheasants in the state of ND. It'll happen again.

My Grandmother has been approached in the southcentral part of the state to lease access for wind turbines. I've lived in ND my entire life and I can't ever remember running out of wind. This is the type of economic activity for the long run that we need.

Sorry for getting off the subject somewhat but I don't think we need to perpetuate the east - west issue. There'll always be the western ND people that resent what they think all east residents have and there'll always be the eastern residents that feel the west should stop whining about the east.
We need to find ways to help the entire state instead of griping about what someone else has.

hunt4life,

I've hunted in ND 35 years and I've never had a conversation concerning east and west unless I've brought it up. Brush it off. I would guess, all though I don't know for sure, that you were turkey hunting in the west as that's where most of the turkeys are hunted. Some of those ranchers are going to be effected by pheasant season starting as usual as they are being paid by the bird shot and not by the amount of land the outfitter leases from them. The issue will die down if we don't keep talking about it.

[ This Message was edited by: Field Hunter on 2002-04-19 10:20 ]

 

[NDhunter]

I wish that the landowners in ND would not discriminate hunters that are from a certain part of the state, but that sure is what seems to happen. Every year when I go out west and ask to hunt one of the first questions the farmer always asks is where are you from. When I tell him Jamestown about 50/50 say sorry. Why? It really shows the prejudice some people have, and it is kind of sad. Just because someone is from Germany are they a Nazi, or is someone from Afghanistan automatically a terrorist? I am from Jamestown, does that make me unfit to gain permission to hunt birds because it is a "big city". At least I am honest and tell these guys where I am from. My parents chose to raise me there, and I am glad they did, I had a great time growing up. I do have a point and it is this; don't judge me for where I grew up, if you aren't going to let me hunt then base it on something other than where I call home.

 

[hunt4life]

Oh, I don't think any outfitter or landowner who is charging fees to hunt on their land will ever have too much of a problem with eastern ND hunters. The money is still good.

I have even heard negative comments about eastern hunters in towns like Medora, where their income depends on the tourist dollar coming in from the larger cities.

Your right though, about the 'big bad east' moving farther west. It is really not much better to be from Bismarck or Manadan than it is to be from Fargo.