My 2 Cents

Hunt for Tomorrow

A new phrase and initiative that you will be hearing a lot about over the next several months and this special fall hunting issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS is a great way to put it in motion.

It’s a catchy phrase that has a lot of substance to it. The wide variety of issues that impact the Game and Fish Department and a good portion of our North Dakota citizens will be addressed in this campaign to increase awareness of how our actions today certainly influences what our tomorrow looks like.

This initiative will provide the opportunity to talk about hunting, fishing, trapping, recruitment and the conservation actions that will undoubtedly impact our fish and wildlife populations into the future. In addition, the campaign will also take aim at the social aspect of outdoor recreation and how the present impacts the future.

For example, fire danger in fall is typically a concern for many landowners across North Dakota and communicating the importance to outdoor enthusiasts to follow the rural fire danger index and local, county restrictions (ndresponse.gov) are critical in maintaining good relationships in rural communities. Or the impact a person can have by being prepared to meet large, slow-moving farm equipment on rural roadways during fall harvest and taking the neighborly steps to quickly usher working landowners along their way and keeping everyone involved safe.

While this is second nature for some, many people who appreciate and participate in the outdoors don’t have a rural upbringing and don’t understand how to best navigate those situations.

These are a few examples of how this campaign will provide a bigger platform to talk about these issues (and many more) to help educate all of us on our actions and how we can ensure that conservation and our long-standing outdoor heritage in North Dakota continues. With the end goal, hopefully, being that many of these issues simply become engrained and part of our culture.

I hope you have a safe and enjoyable fall season.