Submitted Photo Greg Power, chief of the Fisheries Division of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, says even with the recent spurt in North Dakota’s population, the state still has more acres of fishable waters than citizens in the state. Photo from NDGF.

Growing up, living or even moving to North Dakota you understand the connection to the outdoors and how important fishing is to “quality of life.” While each individual has their own unique factors which contribute to why we live here, the outdoors is part of it for some and more for others.

When it comes to fishing there’s nobody better than Greg Power, longtime fisheries division chief, to put it into context. What follows is his take on the topic:

Recently, I read that even with all the negativity in today’s highly volatile political climate, our nation still rates No. 4 in the world in the Better Life Index. And for those of us who have chosen to live on the prairies of North Dakota, we know we have a lot of advantages over the rest of the country.

For example, a relatively recent national survey revealed that North Dakotans were No. 15 in the Happy and Healthy State index. And in yet other individual surveys, North Dakota came in at No. 4 as the happiest state, No. 4 in the Quality of Life index, and No. 4 for the proportional number of residents involved in outdoor recreation.

Perhaps most important to successfully managing these fisheries is to have a strong starting point. Since I lived/worked through the drought conditions of the late 1980s and early 1990s,

I’ve witnessed the dramatic changes in North Dakota’s land and waterscape beginning in 1993.

It seems like every year we were setting records on the number of fishing lakes (many of them very good lakes), angler participation and license sales. During the past 30-plus years, we have lived through a time when moisture has been excessive, resulting in more than 450 fishable water bodies.

When you think about it, even with the recent spurt in North Dakota’s population, we still have more acres of fishable waters than we have citizens of the state.

Fortunately, we live in a state where landowners are friendly to fishing. Public access agreements with these landowners have allowed us to fully develop the potential of many fishing lakes. We have numerous landowners across the state who provide up to a couple acres of land at no charge so that boat ramps and other conveniences can be developed.

North Dakota is also home to a large “walleye fish factory.” This factory is often referred to as Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery, and given the unique and highly efficient partnership between the state and federal government, North Dakota waters regularly receive more than 10 million walleye fingerlings (by far the most in North America) produced at the fish factory.

And, of course, we have a strong constituency that likes to fish. Whether rural or urban, more than 1 in 4 North Dakotans purchase a fishing license annually, which always places the state in the top 10 in terms of angler participation.

Lastly, resident (and nonresident) anglers are truly fortunate to have the nation’s best fisheries staff working for them.

Many quality of life (or similar) indices have been developed using varying statistics, but one constant included in most is some measurement of the natural environment we inhabit. In my case, access to fishing opportunities is central to my quality of life and I’m forever thankful for what North Dakota has to offer.

If you are new to fishing, give it a try. If you once fished, come back and see what it now has to offer. And if you consider yourself an active angler, take along someone new to fishing. In the end, you could be the reason for improving someone’s quality of life.