My 2 Cents

The quick transition from winter to spring to summer is in motion once again here in North Dakota. While most of us were more than ready to shift from winter to spring, the spring to summer change didn’t come quite as easily to those of us who seem to navigate a bit better with daytime highs not going too much above 65 degrees.

With the transition of seasons comes the data collection that is a critical driver to the mission of our agency. How did deer get through the winter? How about our upland game birds? How successful was the fawning period for pronghorn? How significant was the winterkill in many suspect lakes?

And so it goes.

Answering all these questions is something the Department does each year as our seasons change and those fish and wildlife resources face different challenges here in our neck of the Northern Plains. Countless hours of staff time was spent in a snug Super Cub counting big game from the air, breaking through thin sheets of ice in search of walleye and pike eggs, not to mention the folks who put in lot of gravel time during their travels returning to annual upland game monitoring sites to keep our longstanding commitment to the public … a data-driven approach to make the best decisions possible benefitting current and future populations.

It appears that we are once again off to a great start across the state as fishing success has been terrific. Moisture has been above average in many areas, meaning grassland and wetland conditions are off to a great start and increasing the odds of successful reproduction for our upland and waterfowl species. With good moisture usually comes a diversity of insects that, while sometimes annoying, provide a valuable food source for pheasant broods their first five weeks of existence. Understanding this, we can handle this nuisance knowing that it will translate well to our fall hunting pursuits.

In the interim, have a safe summer.