Matters of Opinion
After a pretty mild winter and an early spring, I’m still in the "get ready" mode and not quite mentally prepared for late spring and summer weather. But based on what I’ve seen on the Missouri River and other waters across the state during my travels, many of you were totally ready to enjoy the open water season.
In this issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS, there’s an article that explains a walleye tagging study on the Missouri River and Lake Oahe that we are working on with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and South Dakota State University.
These types of research projects provide valuable information on how we can better manage North Dakota’s resources. One of the key features of this research project is the valuable role the public plays in providing accurate and timely information on tagged fish they catch.
The walleye tagging study is one of several that we have going on right now, with others investigating mule deer, moose, elk and white-tailed deer, and nongame species like Baird’s sparrow, chestnut-collared longspur and others.
Most of these projects are designed to answer specific questions on that particular population, while others are meant to gather information on animals for which we have little knowledge. The common theme is to gain a better understanding to help guide future decisions.
It’s no secret that adult zebra mussels were discovered in the Red River in 2015. The Game and Fish Department has monitored the Red for this nuisance species since a population was discovered in a Minnesota lake in the Red River drainage.
Department fisheries biologists had infrequently found zebra mussel young in surveys in the past, but until last year, they had yet to document any adults.
Now that we have and established adult zebra mussel presence in the Red, we’re taking all reasonable precautions to prevent spread into other North Dakota waters. (See the ANS article in this issue for more information.)
Some people are saying we’re going too far, while others are saying we aren’t going far enough in our ANS regulations. I’m of the mindset that we’ll do what we have to do to prevent further spread, but we don’t want to grossly hinder public opportunity to enjoy any of our fisheries.
You’ll likely hear much more on the ANS issue throughout summer and fall.
It may sound a bit early to be thinking of hunting season, but if you’re a future hunter out there, it’s never too early to be prepared. One of the first things to help with that is the Department’s hunter education course.
Game and Fish has a cadre of excellent volunteers across the state that take their own time and effort to teach hunter education classes, and they do a great job.
Every year I get phone calls from parents who tried to sign their kids up for hunter education classes, but couldn’t because the classes were full. My advice is to always register for one of these classes early since they do have a tendency to fill up quickly.
Additionally, if you sign up for a class, make sure you attend. It can be frustrating for the instructors to have a full class signed up and only half show up. And it’s equally frustrating for those parents who wanted to get their child into a class, but were told it was full.
Whether you’re fishing, camping, boating or simply taking a hike, enjoy summer in our great state. Whatever you do, be safe and have fun in North Dakota’s outdoors.