Improving the PLOTS program

[NDSportsman]

Looking at the current PLOTS situation it's kind of stagnated and lost a lot of acres with the loss of CRP. There are certainly some things that need to be done to revitalize the program IMO. The current PLOTS program has pro's and con's like everything else but I think it could be so much better and more utilized by sportsmen and landowners if some tweaks were made to it. It appears Montana's block management system has a much better system and participation then our PLOTS and maybe some of their program can be implemented here.

Some of my ideas for improving PLOTS in ND:

1. Allow the GNF to sell a PLOTS stamp which would do a few things.

a. It would generate funding that could be solely used for the PLOTS program.
b. It could be used as a pass to certain PLOTS designated for stamp carrying members only. More on this later.
c. It might increase the payments available to landowners in turn encouraging more to sign up for the program.​

2. We could implement a sign in program like Montana’s block management on our PLOTS.

a. This would limit some of the over hunting of certain areas.
b. It could alleviate some of the litter and bad sportsmanship that occurs.
c. It might encourage more landowners to enroll in the program knowing who’s on their property and having some way to track down law breakers.​

3. Designate certain PLOTS areas that are only accessible by a PLOTS stamp.

a. This would limit some of the over hunting of certain areas.
b. It could alleviate some of the litter and bad sportsmanship that occurs.
c. The quality of the PLOTS could increase therefor increasing more participation from sportsmen and generating even more money for PLOTS acres.​

I don’t know just some ideas I’ve been thinking about to get more out of our PLOTS program. Ways to encourage sportsmen and landowners to come together and get some of the things that each of us want out of the program.

 

[Migrator Man]

I would be onboard for any of those. I would pay for a plots stamp in order to see more plots land. The state needs to work with landowners to save good CRP habitat and I'm willing to support that if they open it to hunting.

 

[Petras]

I've only hunted in montana 1 season and I like the way they do their Block Management system. I also would be more than happy to pay a small fee for a stamp that would get me onto different levels of PLOTS land. The only hiccup That I could see with the Block management style system is that our wardens are already spread pretty thin. The boxes on the corner of the hunting lot would rarely be checked by a warden and if a landowner checked it and found that someone was hunting without having signed in, it would take hours for a warden to get there... not knocking our wardens, it's just that they have rather large areas to cover and there aren't a whole lot of them so covering distance would take time. I feel that this could cause a problem with the system if landowners are having to wait for hours just to get a warden to the area to deal with unruly hunters.

I do believe that having a Block Management system in place with documentation for whoever accesses the land will draw many landowners to participate. I very rarely have problems getting access to posted land. What I've found is that about 8 times out of 10 the land is posted because the landowner just wants to know who is on their land and if you go talk to them without being a dousche they will usually let a guy on. I am also a firm believer that a couple packs of sausage and walleye fillets go a long way when trying to keep up relations with land owners. I feel that this has gone by the wayside with many of the folks who hunt now days.

 

[Walleye_Chaser]

I would buy a "PLOTS Stamp" without question. Maybe they could have a few different pay levels. I'd pay another $50 a year for example without issue.

 

[Bfishn]

$50 Plot Stamp to hunt Plots, free if your under 18, $500 if your from out of state:;:thumbsup

 

[3Roosters]

PLOTS open to ND residents only?

 

[Ericb]

I think they should allow landowners to enroll for certain seasons and pay accoringly. Ive ran in to PLoTS where they also lease grazing rights for a couple months out of the year. Yes legally I can still hunt when the cattle are present but it makes for a uncomfortable situation. State on the sighn when the land is open and pay landowner accordingly.

 

[H82bogey]

I would also like to see some different land in PLOTS. Always drives me nuts when I see a PLOTS sign on the fence, and the only land available is pasture. No trees, no water, cattails, CRP, or anything that you would want to hunt.

I agree with the posts above on the stamp idea. I do think that for non residents some land shouldn't be accessible or they should have to pay a significant fee to hunt. $500 for that stamp or more sounds about right to me.

 

[ND 41 Hunter]

I would be in favor of paying a small fee for a stamp, but I'm not sure of a tiered system. IMHO, that would make it a disadvantage to poorer hunters. As stated, the real wildlife production comes from CRP. If there was a way to purchase a combination CRP/Plots stamp to help pay for CRP acres, that would be the cats a**.

 

[NDSportsman]

I would be in favor of paying a small fee for a stamp, but I'm not sure of a tiered system. IMHO, that would make it a disadvantage to poorer hunters. As stated, the real wildlife production comes from CRP. If there was a way to purchase a combination CRP/Plots stamp to help pay for CRP acres, that would be the cats a**.

Yeah I was thinking the stamp PLOTS would have to have some decent habitat on them like trees, sloughs, creek bottoms, CRP, etc.

What do you think a reasonable cost for the stamp would be? It would have to be enough to generate significant funding but like you said not overly expensive that it would price out less fortunate people. Personally I don't think $50-100 would be unreasonable considering the price of things today.

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I think they should allow landowners to enroll for certain seasons and pay accoringly. Ive ran in to PLoTS where they also lease grazing rights for a couple months out of the year. Yes legally I can still hunt when the cattle are present but it makes for a uncomfortable situation. State on the sign when the land is open and pay landowner accordingly.

This might be a good idea too to get more land enrolled. Maybe a landowner only wants it closed during deer gun season. Allowing them to enroll it for a month or 2 at a time wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Gets more land open for early bow season or waterfowl hunting, etc.

 

[ND 41 Hunter]

I agree, I don't think $50-$100 is unreasonable. It would be nice to have it set up like the duck stamp, where more than just hunters would purchase them. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors and wildlife benefits from more CRP.

 

[NDSportsman]

I added a poll to the thread to gauge interest on where the stamp pricing could fall.

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PLOTS open to ND residents only?

Only problem with that is it'll lessen our "buying power" so to speak. But then again it would decrease pressure on those acres too.

 

[wildeyes]

We all see the problem with cover for wildlife. I like the ideas ND. I would support the plots stamp it would help with restoring a program that has worked for the wildlife in the past. We do need to do something.

 

[Holmsvc]

I believe the issue with plots right now is the lack of quality land available to put in plots, not funds available to the plots program.

 

[3Roosters]

I believe the issue with plots right now is the lack of quality land available to put in plots, not funds available to the plots program.

This 100%... plus since Plots acres are dwindling...limit access to residents only. I already..and others as well... can choose to have unsuccessful deer tag entries money go to Plots so they get money that way as well.

 

[Holmsvc]

IF passed this will help with the Plots program.

HB 1150
Would allow an individual who applies for a hunting license issued by lottery, and withdraws the application prior to the drawing, to receive a bonus point that would have been awarded if the individual would have remained in the lottery and been unsuccessful. The fee will be allocated to the PLOTS program. Passed house.

 

[gst]

Good luck with the block management deal. Have advocated that at a few advisory meetings and got push back from our G&F every time.

Claims the areas are not big enough in ND compared to Mt. to justify the sign in facilities.

 

[pluckem]

A good example of improving the plots program can be seen in the 22k acres of newly registered land in western ND (north of Beach) this past summer.

There are some high dollars amounts thrown out at this, but its a 10 year contract on 22,000 acres.

Mule Deer Foundation spearheads PLOTS addition

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Outdoor News
A North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Fund awarded to the Mule Deer Foundation is being used to open a large tract of western North Dakota land to public hunting this fall.
Portions of a $480,000 Outdoor Heritage Fund grant are being used to enroll roughly 22,000 contiguous acres of ground near Beach in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen (PLOTS) program, the largest of its kind in the history of the program that helps landowners improve habitat in exchange for allowing public access.
Marshall Johnson, Mule Deer Foundation representative for North Dakota and eastern Montana, says the rugged terrain found on the ranch, including about 8 miles of riparian area bordering Beaver Creek, never before has been open to the public.
“There is not a lot of public land in western North Dakota, so this is a big win in terms of access for hunters,” Johnson says.
The process for this project actually began in 2014, Johnson says, when the MDF was denied a grant from the OHF, but the outcome was different in 2015 after efforts were made to rework the proposal to more clearly define how the grant would be used to fund efforts to work with landowners to improve habitat in North Dakota counties impacted by energy development.
An initial project southeast of Belfield adjacent to the Little Badlands, totaling around 260 acres, actually provided the spark for the larger PLOTS acquisition, Johnson explains.
“A rancher had some ground that was in (the Conservation Reserve Program), but he didn’t want to plow it up. After contacting the state to see about options, he contacted me, and we helped reseed the area to native grasses and forbs and helped negotiate a seven-year PLOTS agreement,” Johnson said. “The man who did the actual groundwork on this particular property then contacted me about a large parcel of ground that he was looking to purchase near Beach, and he was interested in doing the same.”
That rancher – Byron Richards – was impressed with the PLOTS program and how the work to restore habitat did so much to improve grazing conditions as well, Johnson says. By April of this year, the ink was dry on a 10-year PLOTS agreement on Richards’ 22,000-acre ranch.
During a tour of the property this spring with Richards and members of the GFD staff, Johnson says a wide variety of wildlife was spotted.
“There are elk, mule deer, turkeys, pheasants, grouse, antelope, and more on this place. It really is something else,” Johnson said.
The size of the project and the scope of game animals that stand to be impacted by the habitat work prompted Johnson to suggest that other organizations be contacted to partner in the work.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Pheasants Forever, and the National Wild Turkey Federation all answered the call with $10,000 donations to help cover the costs associated with the PLOTS agreement. The MDF and the OHF grant will inject another $80,000 to improve fencing and lay over 5 miles of pipeline to provide new sources of water for cattle.
“The work being done along the portions of Beaver Creek on the property involves installing fencing to protect the riparian area from cattle, so this required that we create new places for those cattle to get a drink,” Johnson said.
Byron Richards is funding up to 50 percent of the work himself, Johnson adds.
Richards’ interest in the PLOTS program is catching on with neighboring landowners, too, Johnson says, with the potential to impact areas holding herds of bighorn sheep, which have struggled in recent years.
“When we started this project after being awarded the grant, we had one landowner show some interest, and now they are really starting to get involved,” Johnson says. “They’re seeing the benefit to their land and they’re also seeing the benefit of public access for sportsmen. This project could just be incredible.”

 

[NDSportsman]

Good luck with the block management deal. Have advocated that at a few advisory meetings and got push back from our G&F every time.

Claims the areas are not big enough in ND compared to Mt. to justify the sign in facilities.

That may in fact be the case with the current PLOTS setup. I mean why bother with a quarter here or a quarter there. I'm wondering if they have more funding and more landowner participation if larger blocks could develop making it doable? Curious what about some of the other ideas and what else as a landowner would interest you gst?

 

[gst]

There are some pretty big blocks of land here in our state as well owned by one owner. From what ?I saw hunting in Mt. on the BM lands we hunted there was not a lot of cost to the sign in box (unless you factor the govt cost increase to build something)

I doubt the cost for one sign up station with a map of the land open can be much more than the cost of 4 or more plots signs now thrown in a pile somewheres.

If one wants to make something that works, we have to accept realities. Some farmer/ranchers such as myself have put LOTS of effort dollars and time into creating something that benefits our families and friends hunting. That isn;t going ot be opened up usually to the public.

Some F/R use every resource on their lands to make a profit thru production. It's their business versus your recreation. Hard to lamblast that any more than any other business owner maximizing their profit potential of how they make their living. So those lands likely aren;t going to hold much wildlife.

So that in reality narrows the opportunities greatly for those that maybe have great hunting lands that would open them up to the public.

From what I have gathered over the years, most of these people simply want some way to know who was on these lands so if something happens they know where to go to hold people accountable. That's why I really like the BM program. Plots has no way to know who was out there. And yes there always seems to be garbage or other crap happen when you don;t have to sign your name.

I guess I always beleive if you want to make something work bad enough, you can find a way to make it work. I have not heard too many bad things about the Mt BM program from either hunters or producers.