36

North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    1

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine
Page 2: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Terry SteinwandDirector

MATTERS OF OPINION

This issue of North Dakota OUT-DOORS is different. Thumb through the magazine’s

30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that.

While I certainly agree with the mag-azine staff’s hook for publishing this special digital issue, which they explain on page 2, I’d counter that it’s never a bad time to pause and closely examine what, in large part, makes North Dakota so special.

Many of the photographs that follow I remember. Yet, some of the photo-graphs look new to me. Whatever the case, many of the images say so much about North Dakota and what makes it such a special place to live.

I would argue that if someone from somewhere else were to pick up this June issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS, they’d be surprised by the wild mix of plants and animals that are native to the state or just passing through.

From moose that can weigh up to 1,200 pounds, to the endangered pip-ing plover that would fit in your shirt pocket, North Dakota nearly features it all.

In past column’s I’ve written for this space, I’ve often encouraged people to simply get outdoors and enjoy what North Dakota offers. The plants, animals and scenic overlooks that are featured in these pages are the reasons why I’ve long cheered for readers to venture outside, no matter the time of year.

You just never know what you’ll see walking along the edges of a wetland, or hiking in upland cover that looks uninhabited from the road, but is far from it once you get out of the vehicle and explore.

Of course, it’s great to see photo-graphs in this issue of people hunting and fishing. Many of us who work at the Game and Fish Department understand their want and need to shoulder a shot-gun and cast over open water. We feel the same way and work hard at making sure these rich traditions are passed on to future generations.

I hope all readers sit back and enjoy this generous serving of photographs that tell something of a story about North Dakota’s great outdoors.

Page 3: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Front CoverThe cover for this month’s special digital photo issue gives us a close-up look at a whitetail buck in June, with its antler development in progress. (Photo by Craig Bihrle, Bismarck.)

The mission of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is to protect, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations and their habitats for sustained public consumptive and nonconsumptive use.

JUNE 2018 • NUMBER 10 • VOLUME LXXX . Editor: Ron Wilson . Graphic Designer: Connie Schiff . Circulation Manager: Dawn Jochim

DEPARTMENT DIRECTORYGovernor Doug BurgumADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONGame and Fish Director: Terry SteinwandDeputy Director: Scott PetersonChief, Administrative Services: Kim KaryBusiness Manager: Corey WentlandAdministrative Staff Officer: Justin MattsonAdministrative Assistant: Lynn TimmAdministrative Officer/Building Maint. Supvr: George LeeBuilding Maint. Tech: Charlie MattheisAccounting Manager: Angie KruegerAccountants: Kelly Wike, Melissa Long, Ashley BakerIT Section Supervisor/GIS Specialist: Brian HosekIT Coordinators: Alan Reile, Larry GrossProgrammer Analyst: Tiffany QuastLicensing Manager: Randy Meissner

Assistants: Gail Mosset, Amanda Anstrom, Tracy Price, Tana Bentz, Tanya Mikkelsen

Administrative Assistant – Dickinson: Janel Kolar, Stephanie RichardsonAdministrative Assistant – Devils Lake: Lisa TofteAdministrative Assistant – Jamestown: Tonya KukowskiAdministrative Assistant – Riverdale: Sally SorensenAdministrative Assistant – Williston: Samantha OsterCONSERVATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISIONDivision Chief: Greg Link, BismarckCommunications Supervisor: Craig Bihrle, BismarckEditor, North Dakota OUTDOORS: Ron Wilson, BismarckDigital Media Editor: Lara Anderson, BismarckNews Editor: Greg Freeman, BismarckVideo Project Supervisor: Mike Anderson, BismarckOutreach Biologists: Doug Leier, West Fargo; Greg Gullickson, Minot; Pat Lothspeich, Bismarck; Jim Job, Grand ForksInformation Specialist: Dawn Jochim, BismarckGraphic Artist: Connie Schiff, BismarckEducation Supervisor: Marty Egeland, BismarckEducation Coordinators: Jeff Long, Brian Schaffer, BismarckHunter Education Coordinator: John Mazur, BismarckConservation Supervisor: Steve Dyke, BismarckResource Biologists: John Schumacher, Bruce Kreft, BismarckConservation Biologists: Sandra Johnson, Patrick Isakson, Elisha Mueller, BismarckAdministrative Assistant: Brandon Diehl, BismarckENFORCEMENT DIVISIONDivision Chief: Robert Timian, BismarckInvestigative Supervisor: Scott Winkelman, BismarckOperations Supervisor: Jackie Lundstrom, BismarckWarden Pilot: Jeff Sieger, BismarckRegion No. 1 Warden Supvr: Mark Pollert, Jamestown

District Wardens: Corey Erck, Bismarck; Jerad Bluem, Steele; Michael Sedlacek, Fargo; Tim Phalen, Wyndmere; Andrew Dahlgren, Edgeley; Erik Schmidt, Linton; Greg Hastings, Jamestown

Region No. 2 Warden Supvr: Paul Freeman, Devils LakeDistrict Wardens: Jonathan Tofteland, Bottineau; Jonathan Peterson, Devils Lake; James Myhre, New Rockford; Blake Riewer, Grand Forks; Alan Howard, Cando; Peter Miley, Cavalier; Drew Johnson, Rugby

Region No. 3 Warden Supvr: Doug Olson, Riverdale District Wardens: Jim Burud, Kenmare; Tim Larson, Turtle Lake; Ken Skuza, Riverdale; Michael Raasakka, Stanley; Brian Updike, Minot; Joe Lucas, Watford City; Shawn Sperling, Keenan Snyder, Williston

Region No. 4 Warden Supvr: Dan Hoenke, DickinsonDistrict Wardens: Kylor Johnston, Hazen; Art Cox, Bowman; Courtney Sprenger, Elgin; Zane Manhart, Golva; Jake Miller, Killdeer; Jeff Violett, Mandan; Zachary Schuchard, Richardton Administrative Assistant: Lori Kensington, Bismarck

WILDLIFE DIVISIONDivision Chief: Jeb Williams, BismarckAssistant Division Chief: Casey Anderson, BismarckGame Mgt. Section Leader: Stephanie Tucker, BismarckPilot: Jeff Faught, BismarckUpland Game Mgt. Supervisor: Jesse Kolar, DickinsonUpland Game Mgt. Biologist: Rodney Gross, BismarckMigratory Game Bird Mgt. Supervisor: Mike Szymanski, BismarckMigratory Game Bird Biologist: Andrew Dinges, BismarckBig Game Mgt. Supvr: Bruce Stillings, DickinsonBig Game Mgt. Biologists: Bill Jensen, Bismarck; Brett Wiedmann, Dickinson; Jason Smith, JamestownSurvey Coordinator: Chad Parent, BismarckWildlife Veterinarian: Dr. Daniel Grove, BismarckGame Management Technician: Ryan Herigstad, BismarckWildlife Resource Management Section Leader: Kent Luttschwager, WillistonWildlife Resource Mgt. Supvrs: Bill Haase, Bismarck; Brian Prince, Devils Lake; Brian Kietzman, Jamestown; Dan Halstead, Riverdale; Blake Schaan, LonetreeWildlife Resource Mgt. Biologists: Arvid Anderson, Riverdale; Randy Littlefield, Lonetree; Rodd Compson, Jamestown; Judd Jasmer, Dickinson; Jacob Oster, Williston Wildlife Techs: Tom Crutchfield, Jim Houston, Bismarck; Dan Morman, Robert Miller, Riverdale; Ernest Dawson, Jamestown; Cordell Schmitz, Lonetree; Scott Olson, Devils Lake; Brandon Ramsey, WillistonPrivate Land Section Leader: Kevin Kading, BismarckAsst. Private Land Coordinator: Doug Howie, BismarckPrivate Land Field Operation Coordinator: Nathan Harling, BismarckPrivate Land Biologists: Colin Penner, Levi Jacobson, Bismarck; Curtis Francis, Jaden Honeyman, Dickinson; Ryan Huber, Riverdale; Renae Schultz, Jamestown; Terry Oswald, Jr., Lonetree; Todd Buckley, Williston; Andrew Ahrens, Devils LakeProcurement Officer: Dale Repnow, BismarckAdministrative Assistant: Alegra Powers, BismarckLonetree Administrative Assistant: Diana Raugust, HarveyFISHERIES DIVISIONDivision Chief: Greg Power, BismarckFisheries Mgt. Section Leader: Scott Gangl, BismarckFisheries Supvrs: Jeff Hendrickson, Dickinson; Jason Lee, Riverdale; Paul Bailey, Bis-marck; Randy Hiltner, Devils Lake; Dave Fryda, Riverdale; Brandon Kratz, JamestownFisheries Biologists: Russ Kinzler, Riverdale; Todd Caspers, Devils Lake; Aaron Slominski, Williston; Mike Johnson, JamestownFisheries Techs: Phil Miller, Devils Lake; Pat John, Jamestown; Justen Barstad, Bismarck; Brian Frohlich, Riverdale; Jeff Merchant, DickinsonProduction/Development Section Supvr: Jerry Weigel, BismarckAquatic Habitat Supvr: Scott Elstad, BismarckAquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator: Jessica Howell, JamestownFisheries Development Supvr: Bob Frohlich, BismarckFisheries Dev. Proj. Mgr: Wesley Erdle, Bismarck Fisheries Development Technician: Kyle Hoge, BismarckAdministrative Assistant: Janice Vetter, BismarckADVISORY BOARDDistrict 1 ................................................................................... Beau Wisness, KeeneDistrict 2 ................................................................................ Robert Gjellstad, VelvaDistrict 3 ........................................................................... Thomas Rost, Devils LakeDistrict 4 .............................................................................Joe Solseng, Grand ForksDistrict 5 .........................................................................Duane Hanson, West FargoDistrict 6 .......................................................................................Cody Sand, ForbesDistrict 7 .............................................................................David Nehring, BismarckDistrict 8 ............................................................................. Dwight Hecker, Fairfield

TABLE OF CONTENTSFEATURESOur Outdoors – A Special Digital Photo Issue .............................................................................. 2

DEPARTMENTS Back Cast..................................................................................................................................................33

North Dakota OUTDOORS is published 10 times a year, monthly except for the months of April and September. Subscription rates are $10 for one year or $20 for three years. Group rates of $7 a year are available to organizations presenting 25 or more subscriptions. Remittance should be by check or money order payable to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Indicate if sub-scription is new or renewal. The numbers on the upper right corner of the mailing label indicate the date of the last issue a subscriber will receive unless the subscription is renewed.

Permission to reprint materials appearing in North Dakota OUTDOORS must be obtained from the author, artist or photographer. We encourage contributions; contact the editor for writer and photography guidelines prior to submission.

The NDGFD receives federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the NDGFD joins the U.S. Department of the Interior and its bureaus in prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex (in education programs or activities) and also religion for the NDGFD. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or you desire further information, please write to: N. D. Game and Fish Department, Attn: Chief Administrative Services, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095 or to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn: Civil Rights Coordinator, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop: MBSP-4020, Arlington,Virginia 22203.

Periodical Postage Paid atBismarck, ND 58501

and additional entry offices.Printed in the United States

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:North Dakota OUTDOORS

100 North Bismarck ExpresswayBismarck, ND 58501-5095

Report All Poachers (RAP) 701-328-9921In cooperation with North Dakota Wildlife Federation and North Dakota State Radio.

Official publication of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (ISSN 0029-2761)100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095Website: gf.nd.gov • email: [email protected]• Information 701-328-6300 • Administration 701-328-6305 • Outdoors Subscriptions 701-328-6363• Hunter Education 701-328-6615 • Licensing 701-328-6335• 24-Hour Licensing by Phone: 800-406-6409• The TTY/TTD (Relay ND) number for the hearing or speech impaired is 800-366-6888

Page 4: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

T he pheasant photo above won’t register as the most compelling image of all time, but in North Dakota, it has a special significance here at the Game and Fish Depart-ment, especially for the people who assemble North Dakota OUTDOORS magazine 10 times a year.

Fifteen years ago this sum-mer, this photo of a juvenile rooster pheasant, taken at Audu-bon National Wildlife Refuge, was the first native digital image to earn a space on the cover of North Dakota OUTDOORS. We say “native” because at the time slides and black-and-white prints were

scanned into digital files for use in the magazine, but this photo was taken with a digital camera.

The camera was a Nikon D1X that produced a 3 megabyte jpeg file that we weren’t entirely sure how it would look when printed at the size of magazine cover. That camera had a $199 memory card that held 500 megabytes of data. Today almost everyone has a mobile device with much more photo resolution and storage.

Not only was this photo the first digital cover for NDO, it was also one of the first, if not the first, native digital image used on a

cover for any state wildlife agency magazine in the country.

Time moves on. Technology has greatly improved the machines we all use to take pictures. And so with this issue we recognize the anni-versary of that first digital cover 15 summers ago, with a special photo issue highlighting digital images from the last 15 years, many of which appeared in a past magazine.

It’s a selection that includes a variety of landscapes, seasons, wildlife and outdoor activities that reinforce why we think the OUTDOORS, in our state, is such a valuable place.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

2 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 5: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

A moonrise after a day of waterfowl hunting on a Burleigh County wetland. A marbled godwit (top inset) in upland nesting cover in McKenzie County. Ducks flushing (bottom inset) from one of North Dakota’s many wetlands is a familiar sight in a state that has such a rich waterfowl hunting history.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

LARA

AND

ERSO

N

June 2018 ND Outdoors 3

Page 6: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

4 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 7: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Especially when flush with water, North Dakota’s prairie pothole habitat is responsible for the production of an uncountable number of waterfowl annually, as seen in this blue-winged teal brood (left inset). Other water birds, like this eared grebe (right inset) take advantage of this often abundant wetland habitat.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 5

Page 8: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Poke around North Dakota’s countryside, around fertile wetlands or surrounding farmlands, and you may run into almost anything, including migrating snow geese (top), muskrat (left) or mink (right).

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

TY S

TOC

KTO

N

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

6 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 9: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Listed as a federally endangered species, piping plovers (top left) frequent the sandy, gravelly beaches, sandbars and alkaline wetlands in North Dakota. As part of its mating ritual, a male black tern (top right) tries to feed a female. Black-crowned night herons (bottom) are noisy birds, often heard at night or dusk.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

LARA

AND

ERSO

N

June 2018 ND Outdoors 7

Page 10: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Sage grouse in southwestern North Dakota are on the eastern edge of their range, where habitat and weather limit their success and expansion. Even when their numbers were at their peak a number of years ago, the sage grouse population has never been considered high compared to other Western states.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

8 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 11: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Pronghorn (top) are blessed with good eyesight and speed, making them well suited for the wide open spaces of western North Dakota. Adult badgers, gifted with long, sturdy front claws, are tremendous diggers.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

EC

RAIG

BIH

RLE

June 2018 ND Outdoors 9

Page 12: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

The rugged up and down badlands terrain (bottom) in western North Dakota is home to bighorn sheep (top). Once extirpated, bighorns were reintroduced into the badlands in the late 1950s, and today there is a limited hunting season.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

ETY

STO

CKT

ON

10 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 13: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

While mule deer (bottom) can be found in other parts of the state, these deer are mostly associated with western North Dakota’s badlands (top). Securing a buck tag in the badlands, which offers a scenic hunting backdrop, remains a tough draw for hunters.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

EC

RAIG

BIH

RLE

June 2018 ND Outdoors 11

Page 14: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Carved by glacial meltwaters, the Pembina Gorge in northeastern North Dakota is a forested valley of striking proportions. Elk (left inset), white-tailed deer (right inset) and many other animals inhabit this valley.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

12 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 15: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 13

Page 16: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Sand Hills Wildlife Management Area (top) in McHenry County features pockets of aspen forest, rolling meadows, woodland shrubs and bur oaks. The primary game species at Sand Hills are white-tailed deer and wild turkeys. North Dakota’s highest moose (bottom) densities are found in the northwestern part of the state. Moose, once mainly associated with northeastern North Dakota, began to increase in the western part of the state in the mid-2000s.

TY S

TOC

KTO

N

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

14 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 17: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Wild turkeys (top) are not native to North Dakota, but have taken to the state’s forested habitat in the Turtle Mountains (bottom) and elsewhere around the state.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 15

Page 18: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Since their near extinction in the 1920s, the restoration of giant Canada geese in North America is a celebrated success story with few equals in the history of wildlife management. Today, spying Canada geese flying overhead is commonplace anywhere in North Dakota.

16 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 19: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 17

Page 20: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Sharp-tailed grouse have occupied North Dakota prairies for thousands of years and are well adapted to live on the Northern Plains, no matter the season. It’s widespread distribution and popularity as a game bird makes it the most familiar grouse species in the state.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

18 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 21: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Male sharp-tailed grouse collect on dancing grounds in spring to establish territorial boundaries and advertise their location to female grouse. With tails erect, wings lowered and necks outstretched, male grouse rapidly quiver tail feathers, twist and turn and swiftly stamp their feet. This commotion peaks with the arrival of female grouse on the lek.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 19

Page 22: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

The prairie crocus (top), or pasque flower, is somewhat of a harbinger of spring in North Dakota where it blooms in mid-April to mid-May, the earliest of prairie wildflowers. Purple coneflowers (bottom) can be found over much of the state. This plant blooms from mid-June to mid-August and prefers rocky prairie hillsides and weakly developed soils.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

20 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 23: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

A bee on dotted blazing star (top). This wildflower blooms in August to October and can be found in upland prairies statewide. Wild bergamont (bottom) can also be found statewide and blooms in July and early August.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 21

Page 24: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

The Missouri River (top) is easily the state’s largest river and is well known for its walleye fishing. The state record walleye was taken from its waters in spring 2018. The Little Missouri River (bottom) flows through a severely eroded, nonglaciated valley in the picturesque badlands in western North Dakota.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

22 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 25: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

The Missouri River (top) is easily the state’s largest river and is well known for its walleye fishing. The state record walleye was taken from its waters in spring 2018. The Little Missouri River (bottom) flows through a severely eroded, nonglaciated valley in the picturesque badlands in western North Dakota.

An aerial view of Lake Isabel (top) in Kidder County, one of North Dakota’s 450 fisheries scattered across the state. Devils Lake (bottom) in northeastern North Dakota makes the transition from fall to winter.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 23

Page 26: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

No matter the location, a wooded draw in Kidder County (top) favored by whitetails, or mule deer country in the badlands (bottom) in the western part of the state, deer hunting in North Dakota is rich in history and favored by many, no matter their age.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

24 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 27: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Many, waterfowl hunters (top) and upland bird hunters (bottom) included, would argue that fall is when North Dakota is at its best.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 25

Page 28: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

The number of fishing waters in North Dakota has increased in the last 20-plus years, which is a good thing as people who live here, no matter their age, love to fish. With a record 450-plus fishing waters, and a year-round fishing season, anglers have options of where to wet a line in summer (top) and winter (bottom).

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

26 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 29: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Ice fishing for walleye on Crimmins WPA (top left) in Burleigh County, catching yellow perch on Crooked Lake in McLean County, and battling smallmouth bass on the Sheyenne River near Valley City.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

TY S

TOC

KTO

N

June 2018 ND Outdoors 27

Page 30: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Introduced to North Dakota decades ago, ring-necked pheasants have long been the bird of choice for upland hunters. Of course, just the roosters (bottom), not hens (top) are fair game.

Both of these bucks (whitetail on the left and mule deer on the right) would turn the heads of most hunters.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

ETY

STO

CKT

ON

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

28 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 31: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Wildfires in Canada in July 2014 created the hazy backdrop and red sunset for this image of a red-winged blackbird.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 29

Page 32: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Mature pronghorns are the fastest mammals in North America, reaching speeds of more than 40 miles per hour. This fact, and their preference for wide open spaces, has earned them the nickname of “phantom of the prairie.” While historical records indicate that pronghorns were once abundant statewide, today they occupy approximately the western half of the state.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

30 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 33: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Mature pronghorns are the fastest mammals in North America, reaching speeds of more than 40 miles per hour. This fact, and their preference for wide open spaces, has earned them the nickname of “phantom of the prairie.” While historical records indicate that pronghorns were once abundant statewide, today they occupy approximately the western half of the state.

A red fox pup photographed near its den. These animals are adaptable and can be found in virtually all types of habitat in North Dakota.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

June 2018 ND Outdoors 31

Page 34: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

Canoers on Coal Lake Wildlife Management Area in McLean County north of Underwood.

CRA

IG B

IHRL

E

32 ND Outdoors June 2018

Page 35: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

By Ron Wilson

Our Outdoors.That’s what we’re calling this special issue of North

Dakota OUTDOORS, which is uncharacteristically heavy on the photo side of things.

I like the title for a handful of reasons, but mostly because you could easily exchange Our Outdoors with Our State and the message remains much the same.

Thirty-plus years ago when I moved to North Dakota, it would have helped to thumb through these same pages to muzzle an uneasiness that came with leaving what I knew – a vastly different landscape and lifestyle – 1,200 miles behind in the U-Haul’s side view mirror.

I knew little, maybe less, about what would become my new home. When I traced my route on store-bought maps that ran through parts of five states, my familiarity ended some-where in west-ern Montana. Beyond that, I had no clue.

Before moving to North Dakota, I received a neatly folded newspaper clipping in the mail from a friend that showed a guy holding, with both hands and some effort, a seemingly otherworldly creature he’d landed near Williston.

“Good luck catching one of these in North Dakota!” my friend wrote in ink on the black and white newspaper photo.

I wrote back: “Never heard of a paddlefish. And where is Williston?”

It’s in North Dakota in the late 1980s that I shot my first white-tailed deer, an animal so familiar to so many, but new to me at the time. Growing up in a part of the world where

things didn’t stay frozen for long, it was here, on a lake in McLean County, where I sunk a minnow through a 8-inch hole in the ice for the first time, unconvinced anything would swim by and eat it.

While driving on a frozen lake in winter was unfamiliar and unsettling, it was North Dakota’s landscape, or at least much of it, that was difficult to get used to at first.

There was plenty of it, I remember thinking, as you could seemingly walk for days – as far as the eye could see – look back and see where you started. Yet, what would you see?

More than enough, it turns out. Certainly, more than I antici-pated.

These pages of Our Outdoors provide more than a glimpse of what makes North Dakota matchless in many regards, includ-ing the sometimes countless migrant birds of many species, to the native animals that hunker in for the rugged long haul here on the Northern Plains.

Many of the pho-tographs, if you are more than a casual

reader of NDO, are likely familiar. There is a good reason for that because the majority, aside from the cover photo and a few others, were published in these pages at one time or another in the last 15 years.

To say that I anticipated decades ago that I’d be in a position to help serve readers with these images of North Dakota’s outdoors 10 times a year would be a lie.

To come completely clean, I didn’t anticipate a place so once unfamiliar, so alien from where my roots were initially planted, to completely become what it has.

Home.

RON WILSON is editor of North Dakota OUTDOORS.

RON

WILS

ON

June 2018 ND Outdoors 33

Page 36: North Dakota Outdoors Magazine August-September 2012 ...2018/06/06  · through the magazine’s 30-plus pages and you’ll quickly realize that. While I certainly agree with the mag-azine

By Ron Wilson

Photographs have long been a staple of North Dakota OUTDOORS. Yet, that always hasn’t been the case.

Knowing that for the first number of years of OUTDOORS that pencil drawings and paintings were the only art afforded readers on the front and back covers and in between, it got us to thinking about when photographs were actually introduced.

Turns out, the answer is 80 years ago.“Starting from a small mimeographed

publication, North Dakota OUTDOORS this month makes its appearance garbed in new attire … North Dakota has untold natural scenic beauty, and the new publication will be able to use pictures advertising the state. The publication will appreciate receiving clear pictures for this purpose,” from the July 1938 issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS.

Not counting the cover, just seven black and white photographs were published in that 32-page July issue 80 years ago.

The cover photograph, according to the author at the time, was of Tommy Brown of Mandan with a catfish from N.P. (Northern Pacific) Reservoir in Man-dan, which opened to fishing for the first time that year.

The author also pointed out that Tommy’s skills didn’t end at angling: “Tommy, although only 3 ½ years old, cannot be stumped on any question you might choose to ask him. He is becoming a very adept singer, and at the present time he knows over 50 popular songs. This in itself would be an achievement many boys and girls 15 years his senior would be proud of.”

While that July 1938 issue of OUT-DOORS wasn’t exactly loaded with photos, the magazines that followed featured more and more black and white images. This jump in photo count, includ-ing a photograph of the “first prairie dog shot in Logan County,” was in part due to reader participation.

“North Dakota OUTDOORS will at all times welcome contributions from sportsmen, and proper credit will be given for this material. It is your publica-tion and through contributions from readers, from time to time, North Dakota OUTDOORS will be more entertaining.”

To add, just because we thought it might be of interest:

• It wasn’t until 1984, nearly a half-century after the first photographs were published in OUTDOORS, that first color photographs ran on the inside of the magazine.

• Another photography milestone was reached in 2002 when the first digital photographs were published inside the magazine. It wasn’t until August 2003 that the first digital photo ran on the cover.

RON WILSON is editor of North Dakota OUTDOORS.

A LOOK BACK