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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department


News Releases


PLOTS Regulations



Hunting small game, waterfowl, furbearers or big game by nonresidents is prohibited by state law on Private Land Open To Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas from Oct. 8-14, the first seven days of the pheasant season. However, nonresidents can hunt on PLOTS land they own during that week.

In addition, leaving equipment on PLOTS overnight, such as tree stands, blinds, decoys, firearms, archery equipment, or trail cameras, is not allowed without written permission from the landowner.

Permission from the landowner is always required for motorized vehicle access on PLOTS, such as for setting decoys in a field, unless specifically designated on the PLOTS sign.

Hunting from Duck Boats



Waterfowlers hunting from boats are encouraged to wear properly fitted life jackets while on the water.

Hunting coats with life jackets built in are light and comfortable to wear. In addition, wearing a life jacket will not only keep the overboard hunter afloat, but also slow the loss of critical body heat caused by exposure to cold water.

Capsizing and falling overboard from small boats are the most common types of fatal boating accidents for hunters.

In addition, hunters are reminded of a state law that requires motorized watercraft, including motorized duck boats, operated on state waters and not licensed in North Dakota, to display an ANS sticker, including an ANS fee of $15 to be paid each calendar year.

To purchase the ANS sticker, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

2022 Waterfowl Season



Watch the waterfowl season preview webcast with biologist Mike Szymanski. 

North Dakota’s waterfowl season opens for residents Sept. 24, while nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl Oct. 1.

The season for swans opens Oct. 1 for both residents and nonresidents who have purchased a swan license.

Hunters may take six ducks per day with the following restrictions: five mallards of which two may be hens, three wood ducks, two redheads, two canvasbacks, one scaup and one pintail. Mergansers are included in the total duck limit with no species restrictions. Hunters can take two additional blue-winged teal from Sept. 24 through Oct. 9.

The hunting season for Canada geese will close Dec. 17 in the eastern zone, Dec. 22 in the western zone and Dec. 30 in the Missouri River zone. The season for whitefronts closes Dec. 4, while the season on light geese is open through Dec. 30.

Shooting hours for all geese are one-half hour before sunrise to 2 p.m. each day.

Extended shooting hours for all geese are permitted from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset on Saturdays and Wednesdays through Nov. 26, and on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays from Nov. 27 through the end of each season. 

The bag limit for Canada geese during the regular season is eight daily and 24 in possession, except in the Missouri River zone where the limit is five daily and 15 in possession.

The daily limit on whitefronts is three with nine in possession, and light geese have a daily limit of 50 with no possession limit.

In accordance with state law, nonresidents are not allowed to hunt on North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas or conservation Private Land Open To Sportsmen areas from Oct. 8-14, with the exception of nonresidents hunting on PLOTS land they own.

Hunters who do not HIP certify when they buy a North Dakota license can add it through the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov. Those who registered to hunt North Dakota’s spring light goose season or August Management Take/Early September Canada goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required in each state only once per year.

Hunters should refer to the North Dakota 2022-23 Hunting and Trapping Guide for further details on the waterfowl season.

Waterfowl Hunters and ANS Regulations



Waterfowl hunters should do their part in preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species into or within North Dakota.

Hunters must remove aquatic plants and plant fragments from decoys, strings and anchors; remove aquatic plant seeds and plant fragments from waders and other equipment before leaving hunting areas; remove all water from decoys, boats, motors, trailers and other watercraft; and remove all aquatic plants from boats and trailers before leaving a marsh or lake. In addition, hunters are encouraged to brush their hunting dogs free of mud and seeds.

Cattails and bulrushes may be transported as camouflage on boats. All other aquatic vegetation must be cleaned from boats prior to transportation into or within North Dakota.

Drain plugs on boats must remain pulled when a boat is in transit away from a water body.

In addition, hunters are reminded of a state law that requires motorized watercraft, including motorized duck boats, operated on state waters and not licensed in North Dakota, to display an ANS sticker, including an ANS fee of $15 to be paid each calendar year.  

For more ANS information, including regulations, or to purchase the ANS sticker, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest



The deadline for submitting entries in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest is Oct. 3.

The contest has categories for nongame and game species, as well as plants/insects. An overall winning photograph will be chosen, with the number of place winners in each category determined by the number of qualified entries.

Photographers should go to the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov/photo-contest. Then it is a matter of providing some pertinent information about the photo and uploading it. Doing so helps both with ease of submitting photos for the photographer and managing those images for department staff. 

Contestants are limited to no more than five entries. Photos must have been taken in North Dakota.

By submitting an entry, photographers grant permission to Game and Fish to publish winning photographs in North Dakota OUTDOORS and on the department’s website.

Game and Fish Allocates Five Bighorn Sheep Licenses



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department allocated five bighorn sheep licenses for the 2022 hunting season, the same as last year.

One license was issued in unit B1, one in B3, one in B4 and one in B5. In addition, one license, as authorized under North Dakota Century Code, was auctioned in May by the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, from which all proceeds are used to enhance bighorn sheep management in North Dakota.

A record 19,423 applicants applied for bighorn sheep. Successful applicants have been notified.

Prospective hunters were required to apply for a bighorn license earlier this year on the bighorn sheep, moose and elk application.

Remaining Fall Turkey Licenses Available Sept. 14



The fall wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 800 licenses remain in nine units. Unsuccessful applicants will have a refund issued directly to their credit card.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Central time on Sept. 14, all remaining licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters are allowed a maximum of five licenses for the fall season. 

Resident and nonresident hunters must purchase a license online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. 

The fall turkey season runs Oct. 8 – Jan. 1, 2023. 

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 04, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties, (38); Unit 13, Dunn County, (467); Unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and portions of Morton County, (22); Unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties, (177); Unit 30 portions of Morton County, (56); Unit 31, Mountrail County, (22); Unit 44, Slope County, (10); Unit 45, Stark County, (44); and Unit 51, Burke County, Renville County and a portion of Ward County (27).

Sandhill Crane Season



North Dakota’s sandhill crane season opens Sept. 17 and runs through Nov. 13.

Limits are three daily and nine in possession in unit 1 (west of U.S. Highway 281), and two daily and six in possession in unit 2 (east of U.S. Highway 281). Shooting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to 2 p.m. each day.

Hunters are urged to use caution and identify birds to prevent shooting at endangered whooping cranes as they begin their fall migration.

In addition to other licenses required, resident hunters need a $10 crane permit, while nonresidents need a $30 permit. Hunters can buy a license online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Harvest Information Program certification is required. To get HIP certified, access the Game and Fish website.

Hunters Asked to Submit Wing Envelopes



Hunters can help in the effort to manage upland game birds in North Dakota by collecting feathers from harvested birds and sending in wing envelopes.

Birds included in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game wing survey, which has been in practice for decades, are ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge, turkeys and ruffed grouse.

Collecting enough pheasant samples is typically never a problem, but securing enough sharptail and partridge feathers can be.

Game and Fish biologists will take as many sharptail and partridge feathers as they can get because the more collected, the better the data. Biologists can determine if the birds are male or female, age ratios, survival, nesting success, hatch dates and overall production.

What biologists learn from samples is vital to helping manage North Dakota’s upland game birds.

Instructions for submitting wing data are printed on the envelope.

Hunters interested in receiving wing envelopes should visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Youth, Military Waterfowl Weekend



Introduce a youngster to duck hunting during North Dakota’s two-day youth waterfowl weekend Sept. 17-18. In addition, the special veteran and active military personnel waterfowl season is set for the same weekend.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has a Virtual Duck Hunting Mentor webpage with all the basics, including license requirements, regulations, gear recommendations and tips for finding a place to hunt.

Legally licensed resident and nonresident youth waterfowl hunters 15 and younger, and veterans and members of the Armed Forces on active duty, including members of the National Guard and Reserves on active duty (other than for training), may hunt ducks, geese, coots and mergansers statewide.

The daily bag limit and species restrictions are the same as for regular duck and goose seasons. However, the additional two blue-winged teal allowed during the first 16 days of the regular season are not allowed during this weekend.

Resident and qualifying nonresident youth waterfowl hunters must possess a general game and habitat license. Nonresidents from states that do not provide a reciprocal licensing agreement for North Dakota residents must purchase the entire nonresident waterfowl license package.

Veterans and members of the Armed Forces must possess a resident hunting license, which includes a general game and habitat license and a small game license. 

Hunters 16 and older must also possess a federal waterfowl stamp, and youth 12 and older need to have passed a certified hunter education course.

In addition, all hunters must be Harvest Information Program certified. Hunters who do not HIP certify when they buy a North Dakota license can add it by visiting the state Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov.

Season for Youth Deer Hunters



Friday, Sept. 16 at noon Central time signals the start of a nine-and-a-half-day deer hunting season for licensed youth hunters.

Residents who are 11, 12 or 13 in 2022 can hunt statewide for antlerless white-tailed deer. 

Resident deer gun hunters who are 14 or 15 in 2022 can hunt statewide with a youth season license for any deer, except for antlered mule deer in units 3B1, 3B2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F where a special license is required. 

After opening day, hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Orange clothing is required for youth hunters and mentors. 

Each young deer hunter must be under direct supervision of an adult. The adult is prohibited from carrying a firearm or bow while accompanying the youth hunter in the field during the youth season. 

The youth deer season closes Sept. 25.

Upland Game Brood Survey



North Dakota’s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate pheasant and gray partridge were up from last year, while sharp-tailed grouse numbers were down.

State Game and Fish Department upland game supervisor Jesse Kolar said the annual upland late summer counts showed mixed results. “We observed an increase in pheasant and partridge densities and reproductive rates with average brood size and age ratios, while sharptails decreased in density but had improved reproductive rates from 2021,” Kolar said.

Total pheasants observed (49 per 100 miles) are up 9% from last year and broods (5.3) per 100 miles are up 8%. The average brood size (6.2) is up 7%. The final summary is based on 278 survey runs made along 100 brood routes across North Dakota.

Observers in the northwest counted 11 broods and 96 pheasants per 100 miles, up from eight broods and 68 pheasants in 2021. Average brood size was six.

Results from the southeast showed five broods and 39 pheasants per 100 miles, up from three broods and 24 pheasants in 2021. Average brood size was five.

Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicated five broods and 48 pheasants per 100 miles, down from six broods and 59 pheasants in 2021. Average brood size was five chicks.

The northeast district, generally containing secondary pheasant habitat with lower pheasant numbers compared to the rest of the state, showed two broods and 18 pheasants per 100 miles, compared to three broods and 24 pheasants last year. Average brood size was seven.

Kolar said sharptail hunters should expect to find more hatch-year grouse this fall.

“The rangeland vegetation is significantly taller, and there will be many more areas to search to find grouse,” he added. “However, we have not had significant amounts of precipitation since mid-July, upland rangelands may not be as productive as hillsides or low-lying riparian areas, particularly if the fall remains hot. Although the densities were highest in the southwest, the relative trends remain highest in the prairie potholes along the Missouri River.”

Sharptails observed per 100 miles are down 30% statewide. Brood survey results show observers recorded two sharptail broods and 13 sharptails per 100 miles. Average brood size was six.

Generally, Kolar said, most of the partridge harvest is incidental while hunters pursue grouse or pheasants. But this year, with partridge numbers looking impressive, he said there may be pockets where hunters could focus primarily on partridge.

“Huns have rebounded, and the last time they were this good was in 2015,” Kolar said.

Partridge observed per 100 miles are up 46%. Observers recorded one partridge brood and 12 partridge per 100 miles. Average brood size was 10.

The grouse and partridge seasons open Sept. 10 and continue through Jan. 1, 2023.

The pheasant season opens Oct. 8 and continues through Jan. 1, 2023. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Oct. 1-2.