I get the feeling a lot of those little prairie towns in the Dakotas might finish drying up and blowing away if it were not for the bird hunters coming through in the autumn, spending money. How accurate is my feeling?
I hunt North Dakota at least three trips every fall and this year will be no different. I also hunted South Dakota for several years and once I discovered North Dakota I haven't been back to SD and I have to drive through SD to get to where I go in ND.
I may be starting to look at SD again in the future simply because of what's happening in ND. There's two factors which are starting to take effect in North Dakota.
One is the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of CRP & three bad winters in a row. The bird population is on the decline and may have a problem rebounding due to the loss of the CRP.
Two which is probably the more menacing is the gold rush type crazyness with the oil drilling boom going on in the state. Up until now all the drilling has been north of the interstate. But now it is creeping south and is infiltrating the traditional pheasant hotspot region around New England, Regent,& Mott. They are going to start drilling just east of New England in the near future and it is changing the landscape sort of speak for hunters. I've rented houses from the same people for over ten years now. This year the houses aren't avalible because they are all rented to oil patch workers. My friends that own the houses put it pretty simply that is was better to rent them 12 months a year rather than the three or four months of bird season. The motels are booked with oil patch workers as well and the room prices reflect this if you can find one. Here's an example of what's happening. McDonalds in Dickinson is paying $15.00 hr to start and can't find enough help.
I love it up there but I'm also a realist that the hunters are now probably being looked at as more of a side bar and the real money is to be made in farming and in the oil patch somewhere.
I'm not saying don't go to North Dakota, but I am saying to do your home work before you go. Make sure you have room reservations or a place to stay before you get there. On the up side North Dakota has one of the best public access programs going with over a millon acres of private land enrolled in their PLOTS program.
What ever you do "have fun" & good luck!!
