Doug Leier: Game and Fish PLOTS program continues to promote hunter access across North Dakota – Grand Forks Herald

WEST FARGO – As you drive, walk or walk around North Dakota this fall, consider this: More than 93% of the land in North Dakota is privately owned. Think about how great this is for a state where hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation are considered important parts of the quality of life. We have generations of hunting heritage in our lore, while less than 10% of the land is public. It highlights how important the relationship between hunters and landowners has been and will be.

All the talk about the tens of thousands of us spending time outdoors hunting is even more impressive when you consider that for months of the year the landscape is covered in a blanket of white, with icy roads and freezing temperatures.

We are indeed a tough bunch who truly understand the importance and value of fresh air on the other side of our windows.

We value the public trust doctrine regarding fish and wildlife, administered by the Game and Fish Department and owned by the people who call North Dakota home.

All of this makes the 836,000 acres of land enrolled in the Game and Fish Department's Private Land Open To Sportsmen (PLOTS) program enormous in terms of its outdoor natural heritage significance, although relatively small in terms of area are.

If you want to hunt in North Dakota and have never lived here, don't know a landowner, or don't have direct access to hunting areas, the PLOTS program has just that for you. It is a trailhead or bridge to private property with walk-in hunting access.

PLOTS is a voluntary agreement between the private landowner and Game and Fish that allows walk-in public access for hunting on private land.

Where do you find out? The North Dakota Game and Fish Department's 2024 Private Land Open To Sportsmen Guide is now available on the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov.

The guide covers approximately 836,000 hectares of land. Hunters are encouraged to use mobile maps and browser-based applications to locate and identify the boundaries of PLOTS areas.

The PLOTS Guide includes maps highlighting these walkable areas, identified in the field by inverted triangular yellow signs, as well as other public lands.

The guides are not available by mail, so hunters must pick one up at a local retailer or game and fish office or print individual maps from the website.

If you're like me and like numbers, check out the breakdown from Kevin Kading, the Game and Fish Department's Private Lands Coordinator:

• 2,700 contracts, 2,500 cooperation partners.
• 1,600 hectares of new grass seeding.
• 1,700 acres of newly planted land included in the Federal Conservation Reserve Program.
• 17,000 acres CRP filed.
• 1,300 hectares of wildlife food areas.
• 24,000 acres are open to waterfowl access.

We must also thank the landowners who participate and also the partners who work with the Game and Fish Department: Pheasants Forever, Outdoor Heritage Fund, North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, Ducks Unlimited and the Mule Deer Foundation.

Here is a summary of some common sense reminders:

• Treat PLOTS areas as if they were your own.
• Remove all trash and empty wrappers.
• Do not block field entrances or gates with vehicles.
• Clean play, far away from ditches and entrances.
• Stay away from livestock.

If you find an area that is listed as a PLOTS area but is not marked with yellow triangular Game and Fish Department PLOTS signs, we recommend that you use caution and avoid entering the area until you check it out have us.

Pursuant to NDCC 20.1-08-04.9, nonresidents may not hunt game on North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas or conservation lands during the first seven days of pheasant season.

Doug Leier is an outreach biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Reach him at [email protected].