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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pluckem" data-source="post: 159444" data-attributes="member: 843">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<a href="https://muledeer.org/mule-deer-foundation-spearheads-plots-addition/#comments" target="_blank">Add Comment</a>                                  <a href="http://npaper-wehaa.com/outdoornews/2016/07/?s=home" target="_blank">Outdoor News</a>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.”</blockquote>

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