PLOTS Guide - Director's Message

(Last updated August 2024)

There’s good reason you’re looking at this guidebook the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has made available in print and online for many years and counting. Like many others, you’re hunting for directions to the thousands of walk-in access acres found on public and private lands that harbor sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, waterfowl, deer and other wildlife that are the focus of so many this time of year.

It’s essential that hunters and anglers are allowed access to the state’s natural resources and the Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program is a longstanding, vital cog in that mission to provide unburdened entrance.

This year’s guide includes about 837,000 PLOTS acres, which is significantly more acres than the last number of years. That’s good news to hunters and anglers who, from direct and indirect expenditures, generate about $50 million in state-level tax collection.

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. What these people from all walks of life find and experience in our state’s outdoors is a notable reason why they chose to live here.

During North Dakota’s hunting seasons, or when anglers are enjoying year-round fishing opportunities, the impact these participants have doesn’t go unnoticed, notably in rural North Dakota as traffic at gas stations, restaurants and other business noticeably increases.

I applaud the Department’s private land initiative staff who went into the year with a goal of boosting the PLOTS acreage across the state by 20,000 acres. That goal was met, then surpassed to the delight, I’m certain, of hunters in all corners of the state.

A big thanks, as always, goes to the many landowners who work with the Department every year to provide these walk-in access acres. The PLOTS program wouldn’t be possible without them.

Knowing that these acres are private, it’s imperative that hunters and others respect these lands and treat them accordingly. As I’ve implored before, leave no trace and leave no bad impressions. Also, 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.