LEIER

Leier: Sage grouse recovery plan efforts starting to get off the ground

Because of a long-term population decline throughout their native range, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considered in 2010 listing sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act.

By Doug Leier , January 25, 2012

Leier: Statistics offer useful perspectives when reviewing deer season

I’ve never been much of a numbers guy, which is evidenced by my grades in calculus, statistics and about any college math course I took.

By Doug Leier , November 30, 2011

Leier: Fish face challenges from regional flooding

Last week, we walked through the challenges that wildlife face in responding to floods.

By Doug Leier , September 07, 2011

Catching and releasing a good debate to have

Each year from summer to winter I’m peppered with reports, complaints and discussions about “fish hogs,” a less-than-flattering tag used by some anglers to describe other anglers who supposedly take more than their fair share of fish, even though they are not exceeding the daily limit. I’ve seen pictures and heard stories, and honestly I don’t discount what anyone witnesses. But in the back of my mind I usually have more questions than answers. If the limit is five fish per day, then who’s to say which anglers should or shouldn’t take and keep five fish?

By Doug Leier, North Dakota Outdoors , August 13, 2010

Keeping predators under control

In the early 1980s trapping fox, coyotes, badgers, muskrat and a bonus mink did more than just pay for gas. Fur prices were strong and fox outnumbered coyotes to the point where a coyote pelt brought a nice reward, and the intense hunting and trapping effort helped keep numbers in check as well.

By Doug Leier , January 28, 2010

Wetting a line on deer opener

Most hunters and anglers remember their first deer, goose or big fish, but it’s the little things that happen in pursuit of game and fish that also help keep people interested in the long term.

By Doug Leier , January 14, 2010

Keep the great outdoors looking great

One of my biggest outdoors pet peeves is trash. Empty cans along the river bank or discarded chip bags floating near the dock, even if it’s just one, seem to steal away the peaceful serenity that draws most of us outdoors.

By Doug Leier , January 07, 2010

Keep the great outdoors looking great

One of my biggest outdoors pet peeves is trash. Empty cans along the river bank or discarded chip bags floating near the dock, even if it’s just one, seem to steal away the peaceful serenity that draws most of us outdoors.

By Doug Leier , January 07, 2010

Keep the great outdoors looking great

One of my biggest outdoors pet peeves is trash. Empty cans along the river bank or discarded chip bags floating near the dock, even if it’s just one, seem to steal away the peaceful serenity that draws most of us outdoors.

By Doug Leier , January 07, 2010

Change of sport comes with change of season

Growing up as a kid in the 1980s, across the prairie from Williston to LaMoure and Valley City, December was a time of transition in our house.

By Doug Leier , December 10, 2009

Thankful for the people, the outdoors, the seasons

Over the years I’ve tried to make this column somewhat seasonal, writing about fishing in the spring and hunting in the fall, and following the latest conservation issues and outdoor topics.

By Doug Leier , November 26, 2009

Time to dig out the deer tags

A word of advice this week: Go find your deer license, and when you do, put it in a place where you won’t lose track of it until it’s on the deer or the season is over.

By Doug Leier , October 22, 2009

Looking into state's pheasant population

The past few years, North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists have continued to stress that the loss of Conservation Reserve Program grasslands, combined with a tough winter, would accelerate a reduction in pheasant numbers that hunters would notice within a year.

By Doug Leier , October 15, 2009

Keeping access, habitat and success

Here’s a question to ponder across the back fence or over a cup of coffee as all the major hunting seasons except deer gun get into full swing: When it comes to hunting success, what’s more important, habitat or access?

By Doug Leier , October 08, 2009

Hunters have favorite ducks

The next time you find yourself kicking cans in the shop, killing time at the gas station or coffee shop with the crew, I ask you to raise a question about favorite ducks.

By Doug Leier , October 01, 2009