For the past seventy years, census figures for North Dakota have been as flat as the Great Plains. Since 1930 the U.S. population has swelled from 123 million to 296 million, yet North Dakota has fewer residents today—approximately 634,000—than it did in the early nineteen-thirties. And in the northwestern part of the state, where ghost towns and abandoned farmhouses dot the landscape the problem of "out-migration" is particularly acute.

While many have a fatalistic view of the area's long-term prospects, some residents believe the population decline can be reversed. One particularly motivated group—the Northwest North Dakota Marketing Alliance (NWNDMA)—has developed an organized campaign to attract newcomers, utilizing prairieopportunity.com to sell potential settlers on the benefits of living in northwest North Dakota. A handful of area townships are doing their part, too, offering free property to anyone willing to build a house on the land.

While it's too soon to tell whether their efforts will succeed, prairieopportunity.com has already received thousands of inquiries from outsiders looking for a change in lifestyle. "There will be a recovery because it's so pristine here compared to a lot of other places. Read the rest of the article here.