2 County Road, Crary, ND 58327

302 - World Class Waterfowl Hunting - Devils Lake, ND

Here is a rare opportunity to own 302 acres right in the heart of the best waterfowl hunting in the lower 48. This property sits on Fenster Slough which is 14 miles northeast of Devils Lake, ND. Fenster slough or Fenster Lake (Ramsey County): 3 miles north, 4 miles east of Crary, ND. Pike in fair numbers, with most fish more than 5 pounds. Low density perch population. (No ramp). Fenster Slough is 560 acres in size and has 10.5 miles of shoreline. The 302 acres was enrolled in the ND Fish and Game WRE program in 2017 and must stay enrolled for 30 years. The WRE program, Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) is a federal conservation program delivered by the USDA-NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service). Enrolling provides current landowners with cost-share, technical assistance, and a substantial up-front payment to restore, protect or enhance wetlands and associated uplands for 30 years. The current owners chose not to enroll in the companion program. Instead the current owners chose to keep all the hunting rights to themselves. If a new owner came along and decided to enroll in the companion program and turn the entire 302 acres over to public land hunting then the new owners would be entitled to an upfront one time payment of around $50,000. The Departments' WRE Incentive is a companion program that provides an up-front payment to landowners to allow public walk-in hunting access on private property enrolled in a Wetland Reserve Easement. The Department selects tracts to fund based on accessibility, location, and habitat diversity. The NEW owners can post and control who hunts the property and any access to the property, unless they enroll into the companion program which changes the property to public hunting. The property must stay in its natural state and the owners can not change the dynamics of the land thru food plots or water levels. The current owners did leave out about an acre of land that is made of mostly of trees. This area was an old farm yard and has power to it. The owners wanted to create an area where one could potentially put an RV site or a place for a cabin/house if one wanted. So if your looking to own your very own slice of waterfowl heaven in the Devils Lake area, this is it. Please call us with any questions or if you would like to set up a time to see this property. This property is also PRIME whitetail deer hunting, many large whitetail bucks in the 150 -160 B&C range frequent this area. About Devils Lake Devils Lake is a bull's-eye for ducks and geese moving south from Canada's prairie provinces. Historically, this vast, natural lake has attracted large numbers of waterfowl. But rising waters have expanded the lake dramatically, increasing the habitat available for waterfowl. An extended wet cycle has caused Devils Lake to rise more than 30 feet in the past 18 years. The lake's surface area has grown from 45,000 to more than 200,000 acres. Sadly, dozens of farms have been flooded as the water has crept ever higher. Today, a vast complex of shallow wetlands surrounds the original Devils Lake basin. This catastrophe for farmers has been a boon for ducks and geese that pile in when the fall migration begins. The birds are drawn by an abundance of both food and refuge. As a result, waterfowl numbers in and around Devils Lake have increased significantly as the waters have spread. All this has created a freelance hunter's paradise. North Dakota law states that as the water rises, the land it covers becomes public domain. Boats can be launched in various places, and hunters can explore the seemingly endless marshes and shallow flats. Ducks and geese are where you find them. Dabblers and geese typically feed in grainfields at dawn and return to loaf in nearby marshes midmorning. Find these resting spots and your waterfowl hunter's dreams can come true.