Matters of Opinion

Every season in North Dakota has its own appeal. As North Dakotans, I don’t think we’d change any of them, including winter blizzards and summer thunderstorms that rumble across the prairie.

But even the most ardent snowbirds or heat haters have to agree that spring in our great state is the most anticipated and appreciated time of year.

While I certainly love summer for open water fishing and fall for the seemingly endless hunting opportunities, spring brings about the rebirth of everything we cherish on the Northern Plains.

Having grown up in a rural setting, I tend to listen to sounds and enjoy the fragrant aromas when I go outside. I can’t imagine what life would be without the sound of robins, cooing of doves, the harsh shrill of a blue jay flitting around, or the smell of spring rains and blooming flowers.

We shouldn’t take any of this for granted since it’s a special part of what and who we are in a state known for diverse and numerous resources.

Many of the birds we have the privilege of seeing and hearing in spring don’t spend the year in North Dakota. Some are passing through to places farther north to mate and nest, stopping only to rest and refuel before continuing on. Others stop to make North Dakota their summer home, to raise young in the natural and diverse native grasslands, before it’s time to migrate south to wintering grounds elsewhere.

This issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS takes a closer look at the many species of shorebirds that migrate through North Dakota, or stay here to nest.

As spring progresses, North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel are again embarking on what we consider a normal course of business. Activities like collecting fish to stock in fishing lakes that need a “boost,” gathering fish eggs for hatcheries and subsequent stocking in lakes across the state, pheasant crowing counts and waterfowl counts are just some of the routine activities that occur on an annual basis.

There are, however, always some unique activities that occur and this issue covers one of them – a sage grouse transport.

Department biologists have monitored sage grouse in southwestern North Dakota for decades. And in the last 10 years, they’ve documented a steady decline in the population. For approximately three years, we’ve worked on a project that is intended to boost the population and this spring that work came to fruition.

The project involves translocating male and female sage grouse from Wyoming to southwestern North Dakota. I have to add that the project wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance and cooperation from our colleagues from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Director Scott Talbott and his staff in Wyoming deserve a big thank you for their help.

As we move from spring into the summer boating season, always be aware of what you’re carrying with you when you take your boat out of the water. We’ve been fortunate, for the most part, that we’ve been able to keep aquatic nuisance species out of North Dakota. That is, in large part, a function of the importance the public places on the precautions necessary when moving from water body to water body.

We thank you for that, but we can’t let our guard down now. Check your boat trailers for vegetation when moving out of a lake. Make sure your livewells are drained to prevent potential movement of those critters that aren’t easily seen, but are still there. The continued diligence of everyone is required and appreciated.

With all that in mind, we have quite a bit to be thankful for in our great state. So get out and enjoy spring and the great outdoors in North Dakota.