Camping Restrictions Placed on Some WMAs in Western North Dakota
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The
North Dakota Game and Fish Department is implementing camping
restrictions effective immediately on some wildlife management areas in
western North Dakota and along Lake Sakakawea.
Overnight camping is now prohibited on the following WMAs: Antelope
Creek, Big Oxbow, Lewis and Clark, Neu’s Point, Ochs Point, Overlook,
Sullivan and Tobacco Garden in McKenzie County; Van Hook in Mountrail
County; and Hofflund and Trenton in Williams County.
The following WMAs are closed to camping on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but open to camping Thursday-Monday: Audubon,
Custer Mine, Deepwater Creek, deTrobriand, Douglas Creek and Wolf Creek
in McLean County; and Beaver Creek and Hille in Mercer County.
Game
and Fish does not operate any official campgrounds, but most WMAs are
open to primitive camping for 10 consecutive days. However, the agency
does not have any staff manning the areas where people like to camp, and
there is no registration system to keep track of when people come and
go.
“In
the past we have always had people who would try to work around the
10-day limit,” said assistant wildlife division chief Jeb Williams, “but
in recent years we have seen a significant increase in the number of
people who are residing on our WMAs for extended periods of time.”
Because
of the volume of campers, Williams says it’s difficult for Game and
Fish to keep track of who is abiding by the 10-day limit and who is
not. “The new rules are enforceable and are intended to ensure these
areas are available for hunters and anglers,” Williams said. “In some
cases we determined it was best to not allow any camping, and in other
areas the two-day per week restriction allows people to stay in areas
where elimination of camping is not yet necessary.”
On
those WMAs where camping is allowed Thursday through Monday, all
equipment must be removed on Tuesday and Wednesdays when camping is not
allowed.
“This
may be an inconvenience for some, but the vast majority of camping on
WMAs is on weekends and we want to make sure they are available for
recreationists,” Williams said. “There are a number of managed
campgrounds along Lake Sakakawea that are available for people to use
any day of the week and for extended periods of time.”
Camping restrictions at all WMAs are posted at entry points.
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