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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department


News Releases


Spring Turkey Drawing Held



Update 3/2023: All licenses have been sold.

The 2023 spring wild turkey lottery has been held and 760 licenses remain in nine units. Remaining licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning 8 a.m. Central time on Feb. 23.

Hunters are allowed two licenses for the spring season.

Licenses remain in unit 06, Bowman County; unit 13, Dunn County; unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and portions of Morton County; unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties; unit 30, portions of Morton County; unit 31, Mountrail County; unit 44, Slope County; unit 45, Stark County; and unit 51, Burke County and portions of Renville, Bottineau and Ward counties.

Applications must be submitted online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

Spring Light Goose Conservation Order



North Dakota’s spring light goose conservation order opens Feb. 18 and continues through May 14.

Residents must have a 2022-23 (valid through March 31) or 2023-24 (required April 1) combination license; or a small game, and general game and habitat license. Resident youth under age 16 only need the general game and habitat license. The 2023-24 license is available for purchase beginning March 15.

Nonresidents need a 2023 spring light goose conservation order license. The cost is $50 and valid statewide. Nonresidents who hunt in spring remain eligible to buy a fall season license. The spring license does not count against the 14-day fall waterfowl hunting season regulation.

In addition, nonresident youth under 16 can purchase a license at the resident fee if their state has youth reciprocity licensing with North Dakota.

A federal duck stamp is not required for either residents or nonresidents.

Resident and nonresident licenses are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Hunters must register annually with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting in each state. The HIP number obtained for North Dakota’s spring conservation order is also valid for North Dakota’s fall hunting season. The number can be obtained online on the Game and Fish website.

The spring conservation order is only open to light geese – snows, blues and Ross’s. Species identification is important because white-fronted and Canada geese travel with light geese. The conservation order is closed to whitefronts, Canada geese, swans and all other migratory birds.

For more information on regulations refer to the 2023 Spring Light Goose Hunting Regulations.

Guide and Outfitter Exam



The next guide and outfitter written examination is April 1 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. Preregistration is required no later than March 24 by calling the Department’s enforcement office at 701-328-6604.

In addition to passing a written exam, qualifications for becoming a guide include a background check for criminal and game and fish violations, certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and standard first aid, and employment by or contract with a licensed hunting outfitter.

Hunting outfitter eligibility requirements include the guide qualifications, as well as an individual must have held a hunting guide license for two years and must have proof of liability insurance.

The test is given periodically to anyone interested in becoming a guide or outfitter in the state.

Spring Turkey Apps Due



Spring turkey applicants should note the deadline to apply is Feb. 15.

Applicants can apply online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Spring turkey licenses are available only to North Dakota residents. The season opens April 8 and continues through May 14. 

NASP State Tournament Scheduled



The North Dakota National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament is scheduled for March 17-18 at the State Fair Center in Minot. The tournament will feature competition in bullseye, 3-D and varsity.

The tournament consists of team and individual competition in elementary, middle school and high school divisions, with $40,000 in prizes awarded including $20,000 in higher education scholarships.

The state tournament and all other local and regional NASP tournaments are open to any student in grades 4-12 who attends a school that offers NASP lessons during the school day.

A complete listing of tournaments in North Dakota is available on the official NASP tournament website at http://www.nasptournaments.org/. A certified NASP archery instructor must preregister participants for all NASP tournaments.  

For more information, or to find out if your child’s school participates in NASP, contact Jeff Long, North Dakota state coordinator, at jrlong@nd.gov, or call 701-328-6322.  

Electronic Posting System for Private Land Available



Landowners interested in posting private land electronically for the 2023-24 hunting season can log into My Account on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

The deadline for landowners to digitally post land is July 1, which enables Game and Fish to produce print material and digital content prior to hunting seasons that begin in August.

Landowners who enrolled land electronically last year can renew, add or modify posting designations during the enrollment period. Others posting for the first time might need to create a profile. To post land, proceed to the “Land Parcels/Electronic Posting” section at the bottom of the page and click “Search/Renew Land parcels.” The electronic posting system is linked to land descriptions based on county tax parcel information.

The Game and Fish website has complete instructions for landowners, along with frequently asked questions for both landowners and hunters.

Artist in Residence Program Scheduled at OWLS



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is hosting an Artist in Residence program June 19-23 at the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site in Bismarck.

The program is open to all North Dakota artists at least 18 years of age. Artists will be paid a stipend of $1,750 upon completion of the residency requirements. Participants will provide two public onsite presentations about their artwork, process or tools.

Artwork developed during the residency will reflect the Department’s mission statement: “… to protect, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations and their habitat for sustained public consumptive and nonconsumptive use.

For more information and an application form, visit the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov. The application deadline is April 19.

Applicants who have any questions should contact Sherry Niesar, Artist in Residence coordinator, at sniesar@nd.gov, or 701-527-3714.

Watchable Wildlife Checkoff



North Dakotans interested in supporting wildlife conservation programs should look for the Watchable Wildlife checkoff on the state tax form.

The state income tax form gives wildlife enthusiasts an opportunity to support nongame wildlife like songbirds and birds of prey, while at the same time contributing to programs that help everyone enjoy all wildlife.

The checkoff – whether you are receiving a refund or having to pay in – is an easy way to voluntarily contribute to sustain this long‑standing program. In addition, direct donations to the program are accepted any time of year.

To learn more about Watchable Wildlife program activities and to view the winning entries in the 2022 photo contest, featured in the January issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov.

Minot Angler’s Burbot Breaks Record



Shane Johnson’s 19-pound, 8-ounce burbot broke a state record that’s been in the books for nearly 40 years.

The Minot angler caught the 41.5-inch fish Jan. 3 from the Garrison Dam Tailrace.

The previous record of 18 pounds, 4 ounces was established in 1984 by Orland Kruckenberg, a Hazen angler who was fishing the Knife River.

Remove Gear from WMAs



Tree stands, blinds, steps, and other personal items such as cameras, must be removed from all wildlife management areas by Jan. 31.

Items not removed by Jan. 31 are considered abandoned property and are subject to removal and confiscation by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Participation Needed in Hunter Harvest Surveys



While North Dakota’s 2022 hunting seasons have come and gone, hunter success, or lack thereof, still matters to wildlife managers.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has conducted hunter harvest surveys for more than a half-century, using the findings to help manage the state’s wildlife populations.

Thousands of surveys are sent annually, and participation is strongly urged because hunter harvest plays a noted role, for example, in setting hunting license numbers for the upcoming season.

Hunters are surveyed about their hunting activity because understanding how many animals were removed from the population is an important ecological piece of information. The information collected from the hunter harvest surveys is compared against where the Game and Fish Department stands with its harvest objectives at any point in a given year. And that can mean, in some cases, license increases. But ultimately, these surveys are important because they inform the recommendations passed along to the governor during the proclamation setting process.

Thousands of big game, small game, waterfowl, swan, turkey and furbearer questionnaires will be emailed to randomly selected hunters. A follow-up survey will be mailed to those who did not respond to the first survey.

Not everyone who, say, receives a hunter harvest survey for the 2022 deer gun season will have harvested a deer, but those hunters still need to fill them out and return their surveys.

The surveys are designed so that a random sample of hunters receive them, and it’s understood that some hunters weren’t successful, which in a lot of ways is just as important as knowing who did harvest a deer.

The hunter harvest surveys are short and take very little time to complete. A follow-up survey will be mailed to those who did not respond to the emailed survey.

The more surveys returned to Game and Fish from hunters, the more robust the statistical information is to help produce better harvest estimates.

Spring Turkey Season Set



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is offering 7,412 wild turkey licenses for the 2023 spring hunting season, 235 fewer than last year.

Two of the 22 hunting units have more spring licenses than last year, eight have fewer licenses and 11 remain the same. Unit 21 (Hettinger and Adams counties) is again closed due to lack of turkeys in the unit.

Spring turkey applicants can apply online at the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. 

The deadline for applying is Feb. 15.

Applicants should note that a general game and habitat license is required when applying for a turkey license. The applicant has the option of having the general game and habitat license refunded if their turkey license is not drawn in the lottery.

In addition, hunters 16 and older must possess a small game license, or combination license.

First-time spring turkey hunters 15 or younger are eligible to receive one spring license valid for any open unit. To be eligible, the youth hunter must be 15 or younger on opening day of spring turkey season and has never received a spring turkey license in North Dakota.

The spring turkey season opens April 8 and continues through May 14.