Lose the Hitchikers Or Lose Your Lake (Part 1)

Produced by ND Game and Fish Department.

In the last few years, and especially in recent months, newspaper headlines across the 
Midwest have chronicled an invasion of our rivers, streams and lakes. Words like water 
milfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, zebra mussels and silver carp jump from printed pages to 
alert anyone who cares about the outdoors. 

And with good reason.

Hi.    I’m Tom Jensen for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

North Dakota has a wealth of water resources, like the Missouri River here, hundreds of 
fishing lakes, and thousands upon thousands of shallow wetlands that are part of the 
best waterfowl production landscape in North America.

For thousands of years, periodic dry cycles were about the only threat to North Dakota’s 
waters. In times of drought, rivers ran low and lakes dried out. When water was 
plentiful, rivers ran high, and prairie potholes teamed with ducks.

Starting in 1993, North Dakota entered one of those wet cycles that benefited not only 
waterfowl, but fishing opportunities as well. All across the state, receding or dry lake 
basins filled with water. Fish populations flourished. The number of lakes Game and Fish 
was managing went from about 170 to nearly 400.

But times change. For a couple of years now, wet has given way to dry. Water levels have 
receded. This time around, however, the lack of rain or snow is not the only threat to 
North Dakota’s fishing waters and wetlands.

From all sides, aquatic nuisance species ---- plants and animals that don’t belong, are 
putting our waters – whether they’re high or low -- at risk. Some aquatic nuisance 
species are already here, others are just a state or two away.