The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
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I'll be the first to admit how rapidly the world has changed since I was a game warden. No need to explain more than technology has changed. Hunting has changed too. How people report poaching also. What hasn't changed is the spirit of a legal hunter. They don't want their pasttime tainted by an illegal hunting or fishing act. The fishing story or hunting tale is legendary. Giving full details to all within earshot or online is part of the glory and how legends are made. It's the essence of why...
I keep three North Dakota OUTDOORS calendars on the wall in my office. When I glance up and see a dark shaded day I know it's pretty significant. A season opener or application deadline is reason for a second look. While glancing at September I recalled how years ago there would be a three day stretch mid-week indicating the open and close of the sage grouse season. I think back to 30 years ago when the hunting fellas and I would suggest, "We should head west sage grouse hunting." The mutual...
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out kids who grew up on the beaches of California are more likely to surf than a kid from North Dakota. Fair is fair. If you were raised in the Midwest, I’d suggest your odds of growing into hunting and fishing are more likely than those from Laguna Beach. Around these parts, even if you don’t buy a hunting and fishing license it’s likely someone in your family or a neighbor does. The numbers prove it. In North Dakota, 23% of all residents over the age of 16 boug...
Nonhunters and hunters who don't target Canada geese may be taken a bit off guard when learning those hunters they've seen and heard are out taking part in the early Canada goose season in North Dakota. Relatively speaking, it's one of the most recently added hunting season in North Dakota. Many North Dakota residents can remember a time in the 1960s when seeing a Canada goose was quite a site with a mere 100 wild breeding pairs, which created a multi-pronged approach to raising and restoring...
The Western meadowlark is North Dakota's state bird but did you know one of it's closest relatives is the less embraced common blackbird? Yes, meadowlarks are members of the blackbird family, which also includes orioles and bobolinks. A couple of other interesting facts: One nestling meadowlark consumes one-third pound of insects during its 12 days in the nest. If you're not as impressed with its diet then maybe you'll find yourself more interested to know meadowlarks and deer need and share a...
In the most basic of explanations, the lack of snow this winter and late arrival of spring rain was not as helpful for ducks but better for pheasants. But let's take a closer look. The number of rooster's heard crowing during the North Dakota Game and Fish Department's 2024 spring pheasant crowing count survey was up 37% statewide from last year. "This is really good news but expected, considering we had such great production last year and the mild winter we had certainly wasn't hard on birds,"...
I have tremendous respect for all our North Dakota game wardens. Their work is under-appreciated and most invaluable to all who spend time outdoors. Long days in remote locations, nights, weekends and holidays. And while you may take every opening day of deer season off, they likely work every deer opener their entire career. For most game wardens, their spouse and kids, it's a way of life and not a job. For some, being known as the "game warden" is a cross to bear and their kids in school will...
I'm not a professional angler. When it comes to tips and tactics on how to land a lunker walleye or fill a stringer in short order, I've got more questions than answers. In the not so recent past I casually refered to myself as the human cold front because of a perceived lack of fishing success whenever I'm around, and I have a few friends who even nod in agreement instead of defending my fishing "expertise." As a biologist with more of a wildlife than fisheries background, when I'm asked about...
I took a little good-natured ribbing from fisheries chief Greg Power for a column a little while back referencing his connection to our North Dakota fisheries dating back to Jimmy Carter, bell bottoms and disco music. While it's all in jest, the truth is history is one of the best teachers we have. Power recently gave another history lesson in the March-April issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS. The full magazine feature can be found on the Game and Fish Department's website at gf.nd.gov. With...
There's never enough time and space to cover all the common questions anglers have. Some are in-depth and the Department does its best to answer these questions via North Dakota OUTDOORS, videos, podcasts, all of which can be found for free on the Department's website at gf.nd.gov. Many topics warrant deep discussion such as size restrictions or trophy regulations. Others are short and simple, yes or no. Yes, you can fish with two lines during open water. No, you may not "help" someone else catc...
The fish and wildlife variety in North Dakota is truly impressive. From paddlefish and pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River, to trophy catfish and the recent repopulation of sturgeon in the Red River. We're home to mountain lions, moose and elk, also the unique furbearers including river otters, fishers, bobcats and American martens. While few outside of the state would recognize the variety, North Dakotans take pride in sharing the water and land with these unique residents. One of the more...
As a kid growing up in the 1980s, fishing was about opportunity. Thankfully, North Dakota forefathers set up most communities near a waterway for transportation and goods. For me it was less about necessity and more about my ability to ride a bike to the river where I was certain to catch a pike or perch, but most often it was a bullhead on the end of my hook. I wasn't a very good angler and not much has changed. I actually tried to fool myself and set myself goals on catching a whopper...
Twenty years ago I wrote a column about technology. It was inspired by a walk through an early spring hunting and fishing expo. What I wrote then and what I'm thinking about today with forward-facing sonar and even more evolution really hasn't changed much at all has it? Think back to your last trip outdoors with friends. Chances are, somebody brought along a cell phone. Another buddy may have packed hand-held radios, and it wouldn't be surprising if someone had a GPS unit mounted on the pickup...
When it comes to phone apps, I'll be the first to admit I'm not the next generation. I'm at best the past generation and hopefully not the lost generation. While I admit I do enjoy having access to all the Game and Fish Department information on my mobile device, I'm much more comfortable on my desktop and laptop if needed. In full transparency, I've yet to buy my hunting and fishing license on the official North Dakota Game and Fish Department app. Until right now. But like the rest of you, I'v...
A highlight of my early years with the Game and Fish Department as a district game warden was the variety of field-training opportunities. New wardens learn different required skills from seasoned wardens at stations literally in every corner of North Dakota. My primary training warden was Kurt Aufforth, who was stationed in Watford City at the time, and my weeks with him coincided with the paddlefish snagging season. A lot has changed since then. Kurt is retired and I'm a biologist in West Farg...
There's just something to be said for consistency. Not just because I'm an old man and don't like change, either. Changing fishing regulations year to year and lake to lake can maximize management at the expense of confusion leading to angler frustration. Same with hunting. Case in point: In my years with Game and Fish I've seen deer license allocation range from a high of nearly 150,000 in 2008 and a low of 43,275 in 2015. The lottery system used to distribute the tags for the hunters is...
Do you think much about wild turkeys in North Dakota? If you're like me, when you see a turkey you call them out: "tom, jake, hen ... how many are there? Are they on private land? Where did they come from and where are they headed?" Game and Fish biologists wonder some of the same things, and with a five-year study and the cooperation of University of North Dakota, Department personnel put transmitters on 100 turkeys last winter, with the goal of fitting 115 birds with the same devices this wint...
The work of North Dakota game wardens is so much more than checking hunting and fishing licenses. The men and women wearing a badge and working the frontlines of game and fish law enforcement are the first called when a hunter has a question or a landowner is dealing with deer depredation. They're the individuals keeping personal watercraft operators safe while making sure poachers aren't taking more fish and wildlife than legally allowed. Each year Scott Winkelman, chief game warden, provides...
We live in a world of point, click, instant access and information. Patience is a rare commodity, but when it comes to hunting and fishing, it's not an option. Waiting for the right deer or the hot bite is as important as finding the right lure or spot. In the same way, maintaining, enhancing and growing wildlife populations like deer and pheasants is a long-term investment. It's not practical to think simply stocking fish or dumping food for wildlife is much more than a short-term feel good at...
The spring snow goose conservation season opened up back in February and the spring turkey season is just a couple of weeks away. If you are a hunter, you need to make sure land your hunting is not physically or electronically posted. Landowners who missed the deadline last year or did not electronically post their land last year can still physically post their land at any time. It's an important and sometimes overlooked aspect of the electronic posting of land in North Dakota. Electronic...
Growing up, living or even moving to North Dakota you understand the connection to the outdoors and how important fishing is to "quality of life." While each individual has their own unique factors which contribute to why we live here, the outdoors is part of it for some and more for others. When it comes to fishing there's nobody better than Greg Power, longtime fisheries division chief, to put it into context. What follows is his take on the topic: Recently, I read that even with all the...
Every hunter, angler and trapper can assess their own past seasons and look forward to the challenges and opportunities of 2024. The director of North Dakota Game and Fish and division chiefs are tasked with understanding and guiding the vested interests of all from Cavalier to Carson, from Crosby to Cayuga. It's a challenge to say the least, but here's a look at some of the issues from Jeb Williams, Department director. Looking back on the past year We had a full six months of winter (2022-23)...
January 7 was the official end date for archery deer, pheasant, grouse, partridge and turkey seasons in North Dakota. While squirrel season is open through Feb 29, most of the hunting seasons are over. With spring snow goose officially opening in February and the spring turkey season opening April 13, I need to remind you the next round of hunter education classes begins when the last hunting seasons wrap up. State law requires anyone born after December 31, 1961, to pass a certified hunter...
The first time I felt safe enough to check the ice thickness was Thanksgiving weekend. It wasn't safe yet at 1.5 inches. A week later and it still wasn't. In early December we had 50-plus degree temperatures, making late season pheasant hunters and archery deer hunters smile. The ice anglers pumped their brakes and were frustrated having to wait even longer. The open water fishing in North Dakota in 2023 was record breaking according to Greg Power, fisheries division chief, and hard water...
The Endangered Species Act turned 50 in 2023 I can easily recall in the late 1980s seeing an endangered bald eagle feeding on a deer carcass off the road west of Napoleon in Logan County. Back in those days, if you saw a bald eagle and you could take a picture, you did. At the least you mentally marked the date, time and place and you made sure to phone it in. It was a big deal. While I'm still partial to the site of a bald eagle, it's become rather routine thanks to the amazing recovery of the...
