# Mott



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Pheasants rule roost in Mott

The Associated Press - Wednesday, October 19, 2005
MOTT, N.D.

The ring-necked pheasant rules the roost here. As the rooster population goes, so goes much of the economy of this area.

The tasty bird is celebrated from the Pheasant Cafe to the Ringneck Lodge in this town of about 800 in southwestern North Dakota.

"To the town? It's a big boost," said Vic Messmer, manager of the Ringneck Lodge in Mott. "Everything - service stations, bars, restaurants, lodging and everything else - gets help from the hunting season."

Messmer owned another lodge but sold it for a profit to two hunters from Brainerd, Minn.

"I bought it as an investment property many years ago," Messmer said. "I rented it out for a while and then made a hunting lodge out of it."

Delores Frieze acts as caretaker of Pheasant Manor, which is owned by some Bismarck hunters.

"Pheasants bring in a lot of income for Mott," Frieze said. "Hunters come from Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Seattle, Minnesota. They come from all over."

Bill Vukelich, president of the Commercial Bank of Mott, said pheasants are a big help to the town's economy.

"It's certainly a definite boon to the economy," he said. "Generally we'll see lounges, eating facilities and the like probably getting 35 percent of their income in a two-month period."

The two-month period covers the opening of pheasant season through the end of deer season.

"If the pheasant population is good, then the economy's good also," Vukelich said.

Several citizens of Mott have fixed up basements and extra rooms to rent to pheasant hunters.

Vukelich said about 10 percent of the homes in Mott are owned by out-of-state hunters.

Mark Wiegand of Flagstaff, Ariz. and a partner bought property in Mott, because motels are usually booked long before the hunting season.

North Dakota has other pheasant hunting states beat, he said.

"In Iowa it's all corn fields and mud," Wiegand said. "Kansas has dust.

He said North Dakota is flat and "is much better hunting and user friendly. It's easy to walk for the 50-plus crowd."


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

This is so true...The SW is so much user friendly for hunters. I always say that walking 2 days in the S.E. is like walking 4 in the SW. That's another reason why it's such a draw for out of state hunters. It's EASY hunting. Walking 3 foot high CRP compared to walking 6 foot high Cattails. (The fields of hundreds of birds doesn't hurt either!) I myself enjoy the Cattails and hopefully this is another reason why the S.E. will not turn into the S.W. in the future. Anyway, I'm off to Mott and Beyond tonight for my yearly trip...Can't wait!


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

Good luck Rick.

I too will be abandoning the east and heading to Dickinson for some hunting and the NDWF state meeting. Am interested to see how much "easier" it is out there.

Picked up one rooster south of town last night...he was haulin in that 30 mph wind!


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