The North Dakota State Water Commission's decision to be cautious and protect the Killdeer Aquifer from overuse was the right one.

Water is in big demand in the oil patch, with each well requiring 800,000 gallons to fracture rock in the drilling process. The aquifer today is three feet lower than it was in 2000, and that's after being recharged by recent rains and runoff, accounting for a three-foot rise. In addition to being tapped for water for the oil industry, industrial use, the Killdeer Aquifer also provides water for agricultural and residential use.

The water commission put a 10-year limit on the most recent permits it granted for the Killdeer Aquifer, allowing the agency to review the permits down the road based on the health of the aquifer.

The state has been good in cooperating with the oil industry; however, there are times and issues, such as water use, in which other serious needs come into play.

Water everywhere

The heavy spring melt, along with plenty of rain, has spun off some unexpected consequences.

Along the shores of Lake Oahe, with water levels well up over recent years, rattlesnakes have been driven from their dens to higher ground. There have been more snake sightings, and the rattlers have been squeezed into a smaller area. Watch where you put your feet.

A recent survey of ponds across North Dakota shows a 239 percent increase from last year. More ponds means more and better nesting areas for ducks and will likely mean more ducks this fall. That means good hunting.

And then there's the Missouri River. Many people thought fishing might be off because of runoff heavy in eroded soil and sand making waters murky. But that's not the way it has worked out. Fishing has been very good.

Alabama can have them

Should the four Alabamans involved in a shootout near Gladstone on June 6 be tried here before they are returned to Alabama, where two of them escaped from a corrections center, or should North Dakota just send them south?

Send them back.

Let Alabama bear the costs of trying and incarcerating the four. North Dakota law enforcement did its job, catching the four at significant risk. Why should the state now foot the bill, when Alabama will likely put them behind bars for a long time?

North Dakota has nothing to gain.