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ly able and happy to hire a guide and pay for access to a“ pretend” outdoor experience. I don’ t know how to fix this.”
So, the obvious question, in defining John Cooper’ s“ statehood” declaration, begs to be asked: If our resources today were the same as they were 50, 60, 70 years ago, would you claw your way out there just to pursue something so difficult to embrace, requiring so much effort? Today, if every time you went pheasant hunting but had only the same three tree rows to walk every time, would you engage? If you had only one small slough to set out duck decoys every time, only a couple small lakes to fish, the same woody draw to wait for a deer to walk by... how long before you tired of it? If the Canada goose or snow goose daily bag limit were reduced to the 3 or 4 birds it was a few decades ago, would you bother? Important to most, if the daily walleye limit in the Dakotas was reduced to, say, 2 or 3, would you spend $ 100,000 and up for equipment to catch them?
This publication has interviewed many people over the years who met their goals on big game hunts-- deer, antelope, elk, moose, bighorn sheep and more. These people, male and female, went through hardship that tested the most hardy. They told me of endless hiking, climbing, crawling to reach their goal, much of the time in horribly adverse weather with no guarantee of success. In the end they succeeded by their stamina, wits, determination and... passion. They were willing to pay the price for success, yes, for the kill, but it’ s the adventure they proudly recall first.
That’ s why many folks my age don’ t line up with today’ s overwhelming technology. I remain grateful that at least some folks today would still rather figure things out, knowing that the journey of adventure and learning is worth far more than the destination. You don’ t become a walleye expert by staring at a radar box on the dash of your boat. I hope we don’ t allow technology to compromise the joy of simply a catching a fish. There’ s no forward-facing sonar in a duck slough, deer
blind or a tree row. As I look back on my life of thousands of precious memories with people I love so deeply, shar-
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www. dakotacountrymagazine. com Dakota Country, September 2025, Page 83