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PLOTS Guide - Director's Message

NDGF Director Jeb Williams

(Last updated August 2023)

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has been printing a PLOTS Guide for better than a quarter century to provide direction to hunters looking to access the thousands of walk-in access acres around much of rural North Dakota.

It’s hard to imagine that this will be the 26th year running that many of us will carry this guide around in our vehicles as we bump from PLOTS tracts to Department wildlife management areas and other public lands in search of pheasants, grouse, waterfowl, deer and other wildlife that have long been the centerpiece of the state’s deep-seated hunting heritage.

Hunting and fishing are important lifestyle pursuits to many who live in North Dakota. Yet, to pursue these passions outdoors, hunters and anglers must be afforded access to the state’s natural resources and the Department’s PLOTS program is an important spoke in that wheel. Hunters, anglers and even those who don’t participate in these outdoor activities benefit from the over $2 billion annual input to the state’s economy. These direct and indirect expenditures from hunters and anglers generate about $50 million in state-level tax collection. I’ve said it before, but it’s clear why outdoorsmen and women are proud of their contributions to our state at no cost to North Dakota’s general fund since the Department is solely funded by those who purchase hunting and fishing licenses.

When the hunting season starts, or the fish are biting in our bigger waters or in the dozens and dozens of prairie walleye lakes, the impact these participants have is evident, especially in rural North Dakota, as the activity at gas stations, restaurants and other business noticeably increases.

This year’s guide includes more than 800,000 PLOTS acres, roughly the same number featured between the front and back covers the last handful of years.

While these many acres are open to the public, open to those willing to honor the walk-in aspect of the program, it’s important to remember that these are private lands owned by folks willing to participate in the PLOTS program.

Knowing this, please respect these lands and treat them accordingly. Leave no trace. Leave no bad impressions. Along those same lines, treat other hunters you will certainly encounter in the field the same way you wish to be treated.

Be safe and have a great fall