Outdoors Notebook: North Dakota Game and Fish offers license reminder

BISMARCK – North Dakota anglers, trappers and hunters need new licenses beginning Saturday, April 1, the Game and Fish Department said in a reminder.

Licenses can be purchased on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Once the license is processed, hunters and anglers will have the option to print a hard copy and/or download the license to a smartphone or mobile device, which is helpful when asked to show proof while hunting or fishing in rural areas that lack cellular service.

Licenses can also be purchased at more than 140 vendor locations throughout the state. The 2023-24 small game, fishing and furbearer licenses are effective April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

– Herald staff report

ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area to participate in a webinar and help inform the DNR’s updates to the WMA’s master plan.

The webinar will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 23. DNR staff will present a brief overview of the WMA and the planning process, answer questions and take feedback during the session. Registration is not required. A link to join the webinar is available on the DNR’s Red Lake WMA page at mndnr.gov/areas/wildlife/red_lake_wma.html .

The updated plan will guide management of the popular hunting and wildlife-watching destination in northwestern Minnesota.

“Public input is important as we update this plan,” Charlie Tucker, Red Lake WMA supervisor, said in a statement. “The last plan was completed in 1980, and we want this update to reflect current science and values about how the land should be managed into the future.”

Input from the upcoming webinar will help the DNR develop a draft management plan for Red Lake WMA. The draft plan will be available for public review and input later in the spring, including opportunities to comment on the draft plan in person and online. The DNR will finalize the plan by June 30.

Red Lake WMA’s 325,000 acres provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species. The updated master plan will be used to guide management of the Red Lake WMA’s forests, wetlands, peatlands and brushlands. It will include management goals, objectives and strategies for the WMA for the next 10 years.

– Herald staff report

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – America’s 52.4 million anglers contribute $148 billion in economic output and support 945,500 jobs across the entire country, while also contributing $1.8 billion toward conservation, the American Sportfishing Association said March 9. The data, based on 2021 estimates, is included in the “2023 Economic Contributions of Recreational Fishing: U.S. Congressional Districts” report, an update of previous data collected by the Sportfishing Association in partnership with Southwick Associates.

The data reflects angler participation and economic impacts across all 50 states and the country’s 435 congressional districts.

“While sportfishing provides millions of days of escape and fun across the country, many people do not realize its significant economic contributions,” Rob Southwick, Southwick Associates president, said in a statement. “Sportfishing is an economic engine that needs the same level of care and considerations as other critical industries.”

Minnesota ranked among the top five states in economic output, coming in No. 4 at $4.4 billion behind Florida, Texas and California but just ahead of Michigan.

In North Dakota, contributions by anglers resulted in $144.9 million in economic output.

The full report can be found on the American Sportfishing Association’s website at asafishing.org.

– Herald staff report