McFeely: No mystery why there's fewer deer and fewer hunting licenses in ND. The habitat is gone.

FARGO — If the cliche in real estate is “location, location, location,” the world of wildlife biology has a similar saw.

Habitat, habitat, habitat.

And guess what, North Dakota deer hunters? You don’t have much anymore.

So as the lack of deer in the state and the resultant difficulty in getting a license again dominate the discussion leading up to the hunting opener, it would be wise to not lose sight of the real issue.

It isn’t coyotes taking too many deer. It isn’t landowners taking too many gratis licenses. It isn’t incompetence on the part of the Game and Fish Department. It isn’t a boogeyman.

It’s habitat, habitat, habitat.

A story last week by esteemed outdoors writer Brad Dokken of the Grand Forks Herald outlined the issue perfectly. Game and Fish offered 42,300 licenses for