Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - License sales to non-resident hunters down from a year ago

License sales to non-resident hunters down from a year ago

Oct 23, 2008 - 04:06:10 CDT

By BRIAN GEHRING
Bismarck Tribune

A little better than a month into North Dakota's hunting seasons, it seems fewer out-of-state hunters are coming than in years past.

And it's the waterfowl hunters who are staying home.

Paul Schadewald, chief of administration for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said as of the end of the business day Tuesday, sales of non-resident waterfowl licenses stood at 15,573, down 23 percent from a year ago.

Call it the drought, the economy, the gas prices - all seem to be a factor in fewer waterfowlers coming to North Dakota than in recent years.

Generally speaking, wetland conditions in the state are in tough shape from the central portion of the state and westward.

Things improve for the waterfowl and for the hunter starting at about the Jamestown area and eastward.

Schadewald said the license sales quoted reflect only online sales.

"There are some paper licenses out there," he said.

He said some vendors, not all, have gone to online licensing.

Even with the economy and the drought, all is not gloom and doom.

Irene and Dennis Jeffreys have had the Garrison Motel since 1992. Irene Jeffreys said right now their 30-unit motel on the north side of Lake Sakakawea is almost full with out-of-state hunters.

She said hunters will typically time their trips so they can hunter waterfowl in the mornings and upland game in the afternoons.

"We have hunters from Minnesota, Wisconsin and even from the East Coast," she said. "We even have some guys flying in from Virginia tonight."

Jeffreys said in a normal year their motel, which also features three furnished cabins, stays pretty busy through mid-November.

One factor, which Jeffreys also eluded to, was that right now there are still a lot of crops standing, giving birds added cover.

That, and it may be a bit early for a lot of the northern waterfowl to push south through the plains to their wintering grounds.

Schadewald said for small game license sales, there were 18,745 sold over the Web as of Tuesday. That represented a 3 percent decline over a year ago at this time.

"It's been kind of a quiet year," he said. "Not as much traffic as usual."

Schadewald said sales of non-resident small game licenses peaked in 2002 at slightly more than 46,500.

Last year, he said about 38,000 small game licenses were sold.

(Reach reporter Brian Gehring at 250-8254 or brian.gehring@bismarcktribune.com.)

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Comments

kk wrote on Oct 23, 2008 9:56 PM:

" why are North Dakotans so surprised when people do not want to come back???? NDers are rude and beleive that they are the best~they do not want to allow anyone new in and heaven help someone comes to visit~their rules and the favorite saying of NDers "if you do not like it then leave" guess what?! They did and they took their money with them~ but oh I forgot~ NDers are so rich they do not need the money right???? "

Law wrote on Oct 23, 2008 7:28 PM:

" JP, SD is far more restrictive when it comes to waterfowl hunting with way more restrictions in place. ND still has the best waterfowl hunting around and the NR hunter can still come and enjoy the experience if they are willing to. "

Law wrote on Oct 23, 2008 7:20 PM:

" Drought, is the main reason folks aren't coming to ND this year, many of the places these guys are used to going is dried up. They'll come back when the water and the birds are more plentiful. The upland hunters are damn near the same as last year so not much drop there, I'm sure mostly to the guys who come to hunt both upland and waterfowl in the same time period. Wait until we have a bad winter, then you will see the numbers of NR and Resident hunters drop. "

Timothy wrote on Oct 23, 2008 5:45 PM:

" I was born and raised in ND and returned to hunt in the fall every year for 25 years straight. Our family owns and operates a small farm in central ND. I have many memories of hunting with family and friends - those were some of the best times I've ever had. That said, I will probably never return to hunt ever again. The straw that broke my back was the year I couldn't go out on our own land to hunt grouse, because I hadn't chosen the right day.

ND is a fine place, filled with wonderful people. It is a shame that the greed that perpetuates hunting, and it's not just ND, it's everywhere, has given me pause, and to question why I hunt. It certainly has nothing to do with money, but that's what the game is all about these days. I'm sick of it. I bet a lot of residents feel the same way too. "

JP wrote on Oct 23, 2008 2:54 PM:

" Sounds like the resident hunters who supported making North Dakota the most un-welcoming state for non-resident hunters are finally reaping the rewards of their wishes. Non-resident hunters took a while to get rid of their "traditional" trip to ND... this is just the beginning of the wave of non-resident hunters who are leaving and will not be coming back!!! I think you all need to take a hunters safety course so you don't shoot yourselves in the foot again!! "

NDHunter wrote on Oct 23, 2008 12:11 PM:

" That should make a lot of ND hunters happy. It makes their trivial bills and initiatives seem pretty petty. "

plots wrote on Oct 23, 2008 12:01 PM:

" The PLOTS program is a joke. I have would have better luck hunting in a Walmart parking lot than some of the PLOTS acreage. Honestly; get a PLOTS map and just take a drive and look at the majority of the PLOTS land. Simply wasteful. All in the name of hitting an acreage milestone in a new program so it can grab some headlines. I think the Game and fish should actually go see the land to before the check is cut. A little more scrutiny would stretch those out of state hunters fees. "

Jonny b wrote on Oct 23, 2008 11:28 AM:

" The problem is drought conditions. This was predicted long before the hunting season started. North Dakota is still one of the cheapest and easiest states for non residents to visit. Stop blaming ND policy. "

seriously wrote on Oct 23, 2008 10:13 AM:

" I totally agree with Deb. It's even getting unbelieveably difficult for in-staters to find a place to hunt. Unless you have a personal friend that will let you hunt their land or if you have land yourself - forget going hunting. Granted I'm not a huge hunter, but figured it was time to get the son out and experience it - the outrageous prices people want to let someone one their land is crazy. The CRP land and other "open" land people can go on is so over used now - it's scarey to go on. Seriously - hunting stinks with the ways things have changed over the years. "

Deb wrote on Oct 23, 2008 9:14 AM:

" That's what happens when you make it more difficult for out-of-staters to hunt in ND. I hate to say I told ya so.... "

Gun totin fool wrote on Oct 23, 2008 7:53 AM:

" I'm sure gas prices, drought conditions and the economy play a big part in it. I can't help but feel that the asinine restrictions on hunting dates for out-of-state hunters have kept a few away as well. "

Miley the hunter wrote on Oct 23, 2008 7:39 AM:

" I can just hear resident hunters going"thank god" but we need the non-resident license revenue. I believe it helps fund PLOTS. This is not a good thing for the PLOTS program. "

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