|
June 18, 2018
- National Campaign Focuses on Boating Under Influence
- CRP Enrollment Open
- Spring Breeding Duck Numbers Tallied
National Campaign Focuses on Boating Under Influence
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will again
participate in Operation
Dry Water as
part of a nationally coordinated effort to increase knowledge about the dangers
of boating under the influence. The goal is to reduce the number of accidents
and deaths associated with alcohol and drug use on our waterways.
Operation Dry Water weekend, June 29-July 1, is the national
weekend of heightened enforcement effort directed at boating under the
influence laws and recreational boater outreach.
While informing and educating boaters about the hazards and
negative outcomes associated with boating while under the influence of alcohol
or drugs is a year-round effort, on ODW weekend the Game and Fish Department’s
game wardens will be focused on the water informing boaters about safe boating
practices, and removing impaired operators from the water.
Last year during ODW weekend in North Dakota, wardens
checked 3,905 boaters and 1,428 vessels, and issued 222 citations. Of that, 175
were boating citations.
"Last year was our second year for participating in
Operation Dry Water," said Jackie Lundstrom, the Game and Fish
Department's enforcement operations supervisor. "A lot of boaters our
officers checked had heard about the program and were glad we were out."
Tips to staying safe on the water:
·
Boat sober - alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in
recreational boater deaths. Alcohol and drugs use impairs a boater’s judgment,
balance, vision and reaction time.
·
Wear your life jacket - 85 percent of drowning victims nationwide
were not wearing a life jacket.
·
Take a boating
safety education course - 71 percent of deaths nationwide occurred on boats
where the operator had not received boating safety instruction.
 CRP
Enrollment Open
For the first
time since last fall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting
applications for the voluntary Conservation
Reserve Program. Eligible farmers, ranchers, and private landowners can
sign up at their local USDA Farm Service Agency office between June 4 and Aug.
17, 2018.
For
this year’s signup, limited priority practices are available for continuous
enrollment. They include grassed waterways, filter strips, riparian buffers, wetland
restoration and others.
Approximately 30,000 acres are available in these various
practices in North Dakota.
In addition to the continuous CRP enrollment, producers in portions of Adams,
Billings, Bowman, Burleigh, Dunn, Emmons, Grant, Golden Valley, Hettinger,
McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sioux, Slope and Stark counties have an
opportunity to enroll eligible cropland along riparian areas into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program. Producers enrolling land into CREP will receive annual rental payments
with incentives and cost share from FSA. Game and Fish can work with producers
on other lands not eligible for CREP.
Approximately
20,000 acres are allocated for CREP.
Kevin Kading, state Game and Fish Department private land section
leader, said landowners interested in either of these programs could also
qualify for additional financial incentives and cost-share from Game and Fish.
“These
practices in the right spots can improve the bottom line for a landowner,”
Kading said. “Anyone who’s interested in seeing how Game and Fish can help add
to that, can contact a private land biologist in their area.”
Bismarck – Levi
Jacobson – 527-3764 (Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Morton, Oliver)
Devils Lake – Andrew
Ahrens – 204-5227 (Bottineau, Cavalier, Grand Forks, Nelson, Pembina, Ramsey, Rolette,
Towner, Walsh)
Dickinson –
Jaden Honeyman – 260-3546 (Adams, Grant, Hettinger, Sioux)
Dickinson –
Curtis Francis – 227-7431 (Bowman, Golden Valley, Slope, Stark)
Harvey – Terry Oswald,
Jr., – 399-9958 (Benson, Eddy, Foster, Pierce, Sheridan, Wells)
Jamestown – Renae
Heinle, Jamestown – 320-4695 (Barnes, Cass, Dickey, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan,
McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Traill)
Lake Ilo NWR – Todd
Gallion – 548-8110 (Billings, Dunn)
Riverdale – Ryan
Huber – 527-8963 (McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Renville, Ward)
Williston – Todd
Buckley – 770-3815 (Burke, Divide, McKenzie, Mountrail, Williams)
Spring Breeding Duck Numbers Tallied
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 71st annual spring breeding duck survey conducted in May showed an index of 2.8 million birds, down 5 percent from last year.
Migratory game bird supervisor Mike Szymanski said even though the index is below 3 million for the second consecutive year, it still stands 16 percent above the long-term average (1948-2017) and is the 25th highest on record.
“Duck numbers are still hanging on, but are certainly better in some local areas,” Szymanski said.
Survey results indicate only shovelers (up 10 percent) and wigeon (up 7 percent) increased from their 2017 estimates. Mallards were stable (down 1 percent), while green-winged teal showed the largest decrease (down 20 percent). All other ducks were 3-17 percent below last year’s numbers. However, most species, with the exception of pintails, blue-winged teal and ruddy ducks, were well-above the 70-year average.
An interesting observation during the survey, Szymanski noted, was the lack of breeding effort for Canada geese. “We can attribute that to the late spring and overall dry conditions,” he said.
The number of temporary and seasonal wetlands was down from last year, as figures show the spring water index is down 34 percent.
“That was mostly felt in the shallow waters,” Szymanski said. “Similar to last year, there were a lot of wetlands that weren’t in good shape and were close to drying up.”
However, Szymanski said rainfall over the last couple weeks has improved wetland conditions since the survey. “If rain continues over the next month, wetland conditions in some regions will be conducive to raising broods,” he said.
Szymanski said concerns about habitat remain, as overall conditions weren’t very good with expiring Conservation Reserve Program acres, and habitat conversion to other uses.
The water index is based on basins with water, and does not necessarily represent the amount of water contained in wetlands or the type of wetlands represented.
The July brood survey provides a better idea of duck production and insight into expectations for this fall, Szymanski said, though hunting success is also influenced by bird movements before and during hunting seasons, and weather patterns during the fall migration.
|
