Doug Leier posted on December 30, 2009 09:54 :: 1001 Views
North Dakota deer hunting and weather factors.
The driving theme for the past year outdoors is weather. In fact, any time we're discussing fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation it's a safe bet that weather is like flour in a recipe – one of the main ingredients.
I’m sure few would argue if I said that weather is a dominating variable every year, and while I hope 2010 isn't as dramatic, even “normal” weather would be the driving theme if it involves weather in moderation as compared to the extreme natural events from 2009. Drifts of snow came early in November of 2008 in much of the state, and continued with frequency and intensity through mid-winter and even into early spring.
Such is life in North Dakota, where even in a sandbag line during the Red River’s swelling flood, a fellow volunteer asked me how the pheasants were making it through this winter.
And we learned through spring crow counts, summer brood surveys and fall hunting that the weather did thin the pheasant, grouse and partridge numbers, though we still had a decent fall pheasant population.
But what's bad for the grouse, so to speak, was good for the gander and other waterfowl. Ducks and geese fluctuate with the water, and recharged prairie potholes transcended into strong duck and goose production.
In the fall those filled-up sloughs spread out hunters, and while mid-October cold and snow moved some local teal out, duck hunters were still smiling over the wetland conditions and a fall migration that was about as methodical as I can remember. In only a few years do areas outside the open Missouri River hold waterfowl late into November, but this year huntable numbers of ducks and geese were still loitering around southern counties of central North Dakota over the Thanksgiving weekend.
In terms of big game, the deer herd in regions such as central North Dakota suffered during the harsh winter, leading to a reduced number of deer licenses available. A late start for spring planting and field work was followed by a cool early summer, which slowed crop development.
In October, snow and rain delayed harvest and even well into November hunters saw more standing corn and sunflowers than most would desire. It will be March before the final success rates for deer hunters are tallied, but it’s interesting to note that in 2008, with another late row crop harvest and opening weeked rain, snow and cold, deer hunter success statewide was still around 70 percent.
As a hunter and biologist it's always interesting to see how the final success rate plays out. At times I even doubt my own realization that over time, regardless of weather, field conditions and crop harvest, North Dakota deer hunters put in the time and effort to fill their deer tag.
And finally, in recapping the year winter I never spend enough time discussing the fishing, but in short order the Missouri River, Lake Sakakawea, Oahe, Devils Lake and most North Dakota fisheries also benefited from the influx of water. But by the end of May, let’s just say that most of us had had enough.
Here's to 2010 and a wish for normal … if it exists.
Doug Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Department. He can be reached by email:dleier@nd.gov
Article Source:
http://justnorth.com/Articles/tabid/105/articleType/AuthorView/authorID/220/Doug_Leier.aspx