Submitted Photo Greg Power, chief of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Fisheries Division, said that even with North Dakota’s recent population boom, the state still has more acres of open water. fisheries than citizens in the state. Photo from NDGF.
Growing up, living or even moving to North Dakota you understand the connection to the outdoors and how important fishing is “quality of life.” While each individual has their own unique factors that contribute to why we live here, the outdoors is part of it for some and more so for others.
When it comes to fishing, there’s no one better than Greg Power, longtime head of the fisheries division, to put it in context. The following is his take on the subject:
Recently, I read that despite all the negativity in today’s volatile political climate, our country still rates No. 4 in the world on the Better Life Index. And for those of us who have chosen to live on the prairies of North Dakota, we know we have many advantages over the rest of the country.
For example, a fairly recent national survey revealed that North Dakotans are No. 15 in the Happy and Healthy State index. And in other individual surveys, North Dakota came in at No. 4 as the happiest state, No. 4 in the Quality of Life index, and No. 4 for the proportional number of residents involved in outdoor recreation.
Perhaps most important to successfully managing these fisheries is having a solid starting point. Having lived/worked in drought conditions in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
I have witnessed dramatic changes in the land and waterscape of North Dakota since 1993.
It seems like every year we set records in the number of fishing lakes (many of which are very nice lakes), angler participation and license sales. For the past 30-plus years, we have lived in a time of extreme moisture, resulting in more than 450 bodies of water available to fish.
If you think about it, even with North Dakota’s recent population boom, we still have more acres of fishable waters than we have citizens of the state.
Fortunately, we live in a state where landowners are fishing friendly. Public access agreements with these landowners have allowed us to fully develop the potential of many fishing lakes. We have many landowners across the state who are giving up to two acres of land free of charge so that boat ramps and other amenities can be built.
North Dakota is also home to a large “walleye fish factory.” This factory is often referred to as the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery, and due to the unique and highly effective cooperation between the state and federal governments, North Dakota waters regularly receive more than 10 million walleye fingerlings ( most in North America) produced in the fish factory.
And, of course, we have a strong constituency that loves fishing. Whether rural or urban, more than 1 in 4 North Dakotans purchase a fishing license each year, consistently placing the state in the top 10 in terms of angler participation.
Finally, resident (and nonresident) anglers are truly fortunate to have the best fisheries staff in the country working for them.
Many indices of quality of life (or similar) have been developed using various statistics, but one constant included in most is some measurement of the natural environment in which we live. In my case, access to fishing opportunities is central to my quality of life and I am forever grateful for what North Dakota has to offer.
If you are new to fishing, give it a try. If you’ve fished once, come back and see what it has to offer today. And if you consider yourself an active angler, include someone new in fishing. In the end, you can be the reason for improving the quality of someone’s life.
