My 2 Cents

There’s something about August in North Dakota that changes the way we look at the landscape.

The days are still warm, crops are filling, and summer isn’t quite ready to give way. But for hunters, the signs of fall are everywhere. Equipment gets checked, bows get tuned, shotguns come out of the cabinet and conversations inevitably turn toward deer, pheasants, waterfowl and the possibilities of another hunting season.

And from where I sit, there is plenty to look forward to this fall. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than with pheasants.

The spring pheasant outlook was encouraging, and the reports I’ve heard from people spending time on the landscape in summer have been equally positive. Hunters, landowners and others are reporting good numbers of hens with broods and seeing encouraging numbers of young pheasants.

Those observations aren’t a substitute for the Department’s formal surveys, but they are certainly reason for optimism.

It’s also worth remembering that wildlife populations are about more than what we see in a particular fall. Good numbers of birds and animals today are important, but the real challenge is making sure we have the habitat necessary to sustain those populations through the next decade and beyond.

That’s why I’m particularly encouraged by the early response to Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program.

The pilot program was created to put more perennial grass on the landscape while improving soil health, water retention and wildlife habitat. It is a voluntary program designed to work with producers and their agricultural operations, rather than against them.

And North Dakota landowners have responded.

During the first two enrollment periods, applications came from 46 counties and represented nearly 20,000 acres of interest. Because of available funding, only about 10,000 acres could ultimately be enrolled. More than half of those acres will also be enrolled in the Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program.

To me, that’s an important message.

It tells us landowners are interested in conservation when programs are voluntary, straightforward and provide flexibility. It also tells us there may be an opportunity to take something that began as a pilot program and grow it into a much larger, long-term state initiative.

We’ve seen what habitat can do.

Many hunters remember the tremendous wildlife numbers North Dakota experienced during the height of the Conservation Reserve Program. At its peak, North Dakota had roughly 3 million acres of CRP. Today, that number is closer to 1 million acres, with additional acres expected to expire in coming years.

We can’t simply recreate the past, nor should we expect one program to solve every habitat challenge. But we can build on what we’ve learned.

A larger Governor’s Legacy program could become another important tool for keeping productive habitat on the landscape — benefiting pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, deer, waterfowl and countless other species while also improving soil health and the long-term resilience of North Dakota agriculture.

That’s the kind of conservation that can make a difference well beyond one hunting season.

So, as we look toward fall, I’m optimistic.

I’m optimistic when I hear reports of pheasant broods across the state. I’m encouraged by improving mule deer numbers in western North Dakota. And I’m encouraged by the willingness of landowners, agriculture, conservation organizations, sportsmen and state agencies to work together on solutions.

But I think we should look beyond the next opening day.

A successful fall is something to celebrate. A healthy wildlife population is something to appreciate. But creating the habitat that allows those populations to remain healthy for generations is the real goal.

The opportunity is in front of us.

If we can take the lessons learned from this pilot program, build on the tremendous landowner interest and develop sustainable funding to expand it statewide, we could leave a much better landscape for the next generation of hunters.

And that, in my mind, would be a pretty good definition of a successful fall.