Matters of Opinion

I’ve lived in North Dakota the majority of my life, venturing only slightly east and west for short periods of time for part-time jobs and a little life experience.

We’ve experienced a multitude of changes and opportunities in that time and I’m guessing over the next few decades we’ll continue to see more. Some will be good and some will be not so good, depending on your point of view.

The demographics of our state have changed to some extent, with the majority of larger communities growing, even some of the smaller communities experiencing the same.

While there are fewer solitary houses on the landscape, one thing I’ve noticed that hasn’t changed is North Dakota’s outdoor heritage. It may wax and wane to some extent, but overall we have a great appreciation for what we have in the state.

Across the nation there is concern over the dwindling number of hunters and what it means for the future. We’ve seen higher numbers of people hunting in North Dakota in past years, but we’ve also seen lower numbers.

There is a nationwide effort called R3 – recruitment, retention and reactivation – which is meant to get people into hunting and fishing, keep them in these great outdoor activities, and get those individuals who may once have participated back into the outdoors to realize what they’ve been missing.

I’ve always said there are two things required to have a successful hunting and fishing outing. First, there must be the resource to utilize. Second, there must be reasonable access to that resource. Without both of these we’ll likely have a difficult time with the R3 concept.

But we also have to initiate the interest in hunting, fishing or other outdoor activities.

That’s part of the recruitment process.

On June 17, I had the privilege of attending the North Dakota Clay Target League state championship held at the Horace Shooting Park south of Fargo. A number of things came to mind when I attended, but the first was the number of young men and women who participated in the event, which I believe was about 650 middle and high school shooters.

I watched (mostly with envy) at the shooting and how these events foster good sportsmanship and camaraderie among those participating. I reunited with some old friends and made some new ones. I was able to watch a young man from Rugby shoot a perfect round of trap, meaning he never missed a clay pigeon! Given the reaction from those watching the young man shoot you’d think he’d won the lottery. And in a manner, he did. Not many can claim they’ve shot a perfect round of trap.

While some of these young adults may not hunt, it offers the chance to experience what it would be like. But, after talking with some of them and their parents, I know some of them do hunt.

On the drive home I was thinking that this is what North Dakota is all about. There was definitely a competition going on between teams and individuals, but there was also a sense of community. Parents, grandparents, siblings, communities and others gathering for a day to participate in what is important for many of us in North Dakota.

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the day went off without a hitch, largely because of the volunteers who worked the shooting park event. A huge thanks also goes out to the volunteer coaches and parents.

We have our challenges in North Dakota, but I’m proud to be, largely, a life-long resident and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Our outdoor opportunities are basically endless and the people are great. As we hit the halfway point in summer, you still have plenty of opportunity to enjoy what is offered in the great North Dakota outdoors.