As a life-long resident of North Dakota, I take pride in knowing that hunters contribute more to our outdoor heritage than just license dollars. Something as simple as voluntarily reporting violations goes a long way to assist game wardens in doing their jobs, and many poachers are caught each year because hunters got involved. …
Doug Leier: Game & Fish Department Relies Heavily On Temporary Workers
Like a lot of people my age and older, my early impression of a wildlife professional was the Marlon Perkins/Jim Fowler “Wild Kingdom” type who millions of people got to see working directly with wild animals in exotic places. At age 18, in my first summer of field work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…
Doug Leier: North Dakota Canadian Goose Population High Despite Increased Hunting
The first official hunting season of 2014 has been open since Aug. 9 when the fall crow season began. While I’d venture to guess that very few people gathered the evening before to strategize for the crow opener, in the same way they will for waterfowl (residents Sept. 27) pheasant (Oct. 11) and deer (Nov.…
Doug Leier: New Online Guide, New Signs for PLOTS in 2014
The much anticipated annual North Dakota Private Land Open To Sportsmen or PLOTS Guide is now available. The printed version likely won’t hit the usual outlets such as license vendors, county auditor offices and Game and Fish Department offices until the first week of September, but the online version has already generated a flurry of…
Doug Leier: Good North Dakota Fishing Is Here To Stay
The well documented and discussed wet cycle and expansion of fisheries is not new to most anglers, or even people who don’t fish. Anyone over the age of 25 can attest to the continuing growth and expansion of water and fisheries in North Dakota. While the slow accumulation of new water on the landscape has…
Doug Leier: Catch And Release Fishing Has Become More Common
In a day and age where society kicks out new acronyms about as fast as smartphone apps, it’s no wonder that people start to forget what FFA or KFC even stand for anymore. In some ways, when CRP is synonymous with habitat and ANS is quickly associated with threats to aquatic habitat, the goal of…
Doug Leier: Good News, North Dakota Will Get Limited Pronghorn Season
I cross reference many outdoor signature dates with kids and sports. For whatever reason, my mind keeps sports milestones less convoluted than birthdays and anniversaries. So believe me when I tell you, the last time North Dakota hunters were offered a chance to draw a pronghorn license, my beloved Minnesota Twins were still in the Metrodome,…
Doug Leier: North Dakota Sage Grouse Population Struggles
North Dakota won’t have a sage grouse hunting season in 2014. That news probably doesn’t surprise anyone who pays attention to the state’s outdoor world. Sage grouse are North Dakota’s largest native upland game bird, found only in the extreme southwestern part of the state, primarily in Bowman and Slope counties. There hasn’t been a…
Doug Leier: Boat Ramp Tips And Courtesy
I’ve always found it interesting how some skills in life stay with us no matter how many years of rust we allow to accumulate. Things like riding a bike or driving a manual transmission vehicle, or perhaps water skiing, tying a hook on a line or filleting a fish, are once-used physical or mental practices…
Doug Leier: It's Summer Time, And The Fishing Is Cheap
There’s a cross-section of people with whom I really connect this time of year – those folks who are participants in summer sports, and those folks who fish. While I am an avid sports fan, I don’t golf and haven’t played softball in nearly 20 years, but I connect with the people who do participate…