Matters of Opinion

As I write this, I periodically look out the window at the sunny skies and waving flags, knowing the forecast is for warmer weather for the foreseeable future. This is certainly a welcome relief.

Only in North Dakota can we say that 30 degrees is a welcome relief, but it is. It's really not that the winter has been that bad so far. Sure, we've had some brutally cold temperatures, but we've had them in the past. And we've also had record-setting snowfalls, which seemed in jeopardy after this December. As one of staff said, “it's not that we've had a really bad winter, it's just that December was pretty bad.”

We've become a little spoiled the last two years with relatively little snow and mild temperatures, but the winter of 2016-17 has brought us back to reality. Deer depredation isn't at an all-time high, but certainly much more prevalent than in recent years. There is concern from the public that deer and pheasant populations are going to see some negative impacts and it's likely that will occur to some extent. But animals in North Dakota are pretty similar to the residents, in that they're tougher than given credit, and are able to withstand quite a bit.

Undoubtedly the pheasant population is going to take a larger “hit” than deer, but we really won't know until spring. And while deer are actually doing better than we anticipated, there is plenty of winter left.

I have to throw out a huge thank you to the many farmers and ranchers out there who have taken it upon themselves to help out wildlife without asking for assistance. I've heard numerous stories and talked to enough of them to know that they really care about North Dakota's wildlife.

It reminds me of when I was much younger when my father would worry about cattle and wildlife on a similar level. Did they have enough shelter? Did they have enough to eat? To me, it's heartening to see that attitude still exists on the landscape, and hopefully we never lose that.

Even though we're a couple months away from some open-water fishing, we should enjoy another great year. There should be plenty of moisture to fill up any lakes that were low going into the fall.

And much like the farmers and ranchers and their concerns about wildlife, many anglers really care about ensuring the fishing stays good for as long as possible. And as a result, we're asked many times to put length restrictions, primarily for walleye, on some lakes in the state. In this issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS, our biologists discuss those restrictions and provide good information on how restrictions can sometimes actually have the opposite effect of what's desired.

Also within this issue is an article regarding the 30-year anniversary of the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust. As with many other organizations across the state, Game and Fish partners with the Trust on activities that are beneficial to wildlife and landowners. They've been a great partner over the past number of decades and hopefully we can continue that working relationship.

We're on the downhill slide of winter, at least I hope so, and we can look forward to another great summer and fall in North Dakota. There will always be variability in game and fish populations, and we'll always have some weather events like harsh winters and droughts that affect humans and wildlife alike. But we always endure, and we're usually better for it. As always, no matter the season, there's always something to do in the great outdoors of North Dakota, so get out and enjoy.