It would take a lot of space to list Dean Hildebrand's contributions to North Dakota.
And a lot of time.
Generations of time and acres of space.
That's just what Hildebrand has given us.
Probably no person has done more to provide public access to natural areas and wildlife than Hildebrand.
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On Friday, the state named a wildlife management area for him. It's a rare honor. Most of these areas are named for some natural feature. Very few are named for people.
Hildebrand was director of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department for 10 years. He retired two years ago.
But the title didn't limit his contributions to hunters and anglers. Everybody who enjoys the outdoors will benefit, now and in the future.
Hildebrand's wildlife management area is a fairly small one, about 280 acres. But it is strategically located. It's on the Red River about six miles northeast of Drayton, N.D., near the state's northeasternmost corner.
Location is everything in wildlife management, as it is in real estate. This tract of land became available because it is low-lying and flood-prone.
Its previous owners enrolled it in the federal government's emergency watershed protection program. That meant they gave up the right to farm the land or to establish buildings.
Yet, they retained ownership.
Hildebrand saw an opportunity here. For a relatively low price, the state bought the land and established the management area.
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It's since been seeded to native grasses.
Those attending the dedication Friday couldn't get to the area because of the mud, but from the pictures projected behind the speakers, it's clear that Hildebrand's wildlife management area is beautiful, providing wide views of sky, prairie, woodlands and the Red River itself.
The way that the wildlife management area came to be shows how Hildebrand worked and how he thought.
He worked with willing sellers, and he cooperated with other government agencies.
And he thought big.
Hildebrand suggested that the land along the Red River, land subject to frequent flooding, should become a greenway stretching from Wahpeton, N.D., to Winnipeg.
Hildebrand's vision extended across the state. He came up with an idea called PLOTS, which stands for "private lands open to hunters." He worked with landowners to get access to the lands, then published maps so hunters and others interested in outdoor recreation could find them. The 2008 Farm Bill establishes a federal program very similar to PLOTS.
Hildebrand's interest in the outdoors is lifelong. He grew up in south central North Dakota, taught biology in Devils Lake and opened the first private boatyard on the lake in recent times. He's also a lifelong public servant, as a teacher, a member of the National Guard and a state legislator.
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Hildebrand represented the Devils Lake area in the state House of Representatives, and I first met him at a lutefisk supper in Mandan, N.D. Our rapport was instant because Hildebrand probably has never met anyone he couldn't talk to.
Hildebrand loves to talk.
Sadly, he couldn't react to the stories that were told about him during Friday's dedication ceremony. Cancer has stolen his energy and most of his voice. His youngest son spoke for him.
The son emphasized that his father's vision has only begun to become reality. "This is only part of what it will take to make Dad's vision real," Jay Hildebrand said of the wildlife management area dedicated to his father.
It is more than a beginning, though, for two reasons. First, it exists on the ground and it's open to wildlife enthusiasts right now (or at least when it dries out).
The great achievement, though, is that Hildebrand established a way to provide public access in a state that has long emphasized the primary of private ownership.
He did it the only way he knew how, by imagining it, by sharing the vision consistently, by treating everyone he encountered with respect and friendship, by honest advocacy and creative policy making.
Jacobs is publisher and editor of the Herald.
