Northern Great Plains Region

September/October 2007

Brandon Mason , MDF Regional Director

Well, the summer has been if full swing for quite some time and as August rolls around and September is on the horizon, our thoughts are on the upcoming hunting seasons now more than ever. This summer has been a fruitful one in the Northern Great Plains Region, due to some of the best rainfall we’ve had in years. Last year drought emergencies were declared in much of the area, and this year things have been lush and green. Things are starting to dry up now, but with any luck the good Lord will bless us with more precipitation soon. Besides the obvious benefits that our much needed precipitation has provided to the land, the hidden benefits are abounding and will be visible to many of our sportsmen this fall.

The Mule Deer Foundation started holding Volunteer Workshops in Naturita, Colo., six years ago and workshops in many states have followed their lead. Montana held their second annual workshop at the Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park on June 16th. It was a great time to get together with volunteers from different chapters in Montana and see what everyone has been up to; both from a fundraising and project completion standpoint. Montana’s State Chair Dan Dellinger, former state chair and current board member Ray Rugg, Regional Director Ron Knapp, and many other dedicated volunteers were all instrumental in making this a success. Presentations were given by MDF President/CEO Miles Moretti, MDF Merchandise Director Ray Crow, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Game Wardens J. D. Douglas and Mike Fegely, MDF Board of Directors Member Ray Rugg, and Chapter Chair Judy Knapp. There was also time to do some brainstorming and discussing amongst chapters on what has and has not worked from a fundraising standpoint.

North Dakota’s First Annual Volunteer Workshop is scheduled for Oct. 27, 2007. We will be taking a tour of our current projects that we have on the ground and will be discussing how we can have multiple chapters work together to make projects become a success. If you are interested in attending, give me a call at 701-527-0609 or e-mail me at brandon@muledeer.org.

MDF has had the opportunity this summer to get involved in various projects that will directly benefit sportsmen and wildlife viewers alike. In my last regional report I mentioned that I was going out to the southwestern corner of N.D. to look at a potential MDF project with N.D. Game & Fish private lands biologist Ty Dressler and the president of the Horse Creek Grazing Association (HCGA). This "potential" project became a reality in the beginning of July when the HCGA signed a public access agreement that will allow free public access for sportsmen during the 2007 and 2008 hunting seasons under the NDGF’s Private Lands Open To Sportsmen program or PLOTS.

Another monumental project that has become a reality is the acquisition of the remainder of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch in the Badlands of western North Dakota. Numerous partners were involved, including the Boone and Crockett Club, Camp Fire Fund, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, Houston Safari Club, Orion – The Hunter’s Institute, MDU Resources Group, Inc., Mule Deer Foundation, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, North American Grouse Partnership, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Tesoro Corporation, Theodore Roosevelt Association, Theodore Roosevelt Nature & History Association, United States Forest Service, Whitetails Unlimited, and the Wildlife Habitat Council. The Tesoro Refinery in Mandan, N.D. hosted a ceremony on July 18th to celebrate this great occasion. This ranch has commonly been called "The Cradle of Conservation" because of its lasting impact on our great conservation minded president, Theodore Roosevelt. It is only fitting that it is now public land and is open for all to enjoy. President Roosevelt once wrote: “I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.” Teddy Roosevelt was a man of many words and many talents, and he was and still is one of the most recognizable sportsmen in our nation’s history. His quote that follows clearly states what each of us as sportsmen feel in our hearts when we think of pursuing the wild game of our choice: “Only he who has partaken thereof, can appreciate the keen delight of hunting in lonely lands.”

On July 8th, I traveled to Flagstaff, Ariz., to meet MDF President/CEO Miles Moretti and his wife Julie at the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) meetings. This is a gathering of many of the wildlife professionals, both directors and biologists, that are responsible for managing our nation’s western wildlife populations (including mule deer). This year’s conference theme was the recruitment and retention of hunters and anglers. The plenary session was great with such speakers as Shane Mahoney, the authority on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, Rob Sexton of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Rob Keck, CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Steve Williams, former director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and current president of the Wildlife Management Institute. It was both very humbling and a great opportunity to be around such influential people to meet and work together in order to ensure that our wildlife populations and our numbers of sportsmen are healthy for years to come. These meetings are crucial to the future of mule deer, and they are a great place for MDF to have a presence. Besides handing out information about MDF, Miles and I have been able to sit in on various committees that are having direct influences on our nation’s deer herds. I am privileged to be the MDF’s liaison to the Mule Deer Working Group (a committee based out of the WAFWA meetings), chaired by Arizona’s Regional Game Specialist Jim Heffelfinger. Over this past year, MDF has been able to have a presence at some of these very high profile meetings, and believe me, it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the wildlife agency professionals that manage our nation’s natural resources. This is just one more step in helping the MDF fulfill its mission. I would like to offer a note of congratulations to Miles on receiving an Honorary Lifetime Member award from WAFWA. This is a testament to his years of experience in the field of wildlife management which is helping MDF propel into the future as a leader in wildlife management.

The rest of the summer will be filled with chapter meetings, fall hunting preparations, and the Big Sky Chapter in Billings, Mont., holding their Second Annual Banquet on August 18th. For more information on banquet tickets or information on how you can help out, give chapter chair John Wilson a call at 406-256-4909. We hope to see you there!

If anyone has any questions about how you can get more involved with MDF activities in your area, call me at 701-527-0609 or e-mail me at brandon@muledeer.org and I’d be more than happy to talk with you.