Waterfowl hunters are reminded to do their part in preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species into or within North Dakota.
Waterfowl hunters must remove plants and plant fragments from decoys, strings and anchors; remove plants 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.
In addition, drain plugs on boats must remain pulled when the boat is in transit away from a water body.
More ANS information, including regulations, is available by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
Youth Pheasant Weekend Oct. 1-2
North Dakota’s two-day youth pheasant season is Oct. 1-2. Legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger may hunt roosters statewide.
Resident youth hunters, regardless of age, must possess a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate and general game and habitat license. Nonresident youth hunters from states that provide a reciprocal licensing agreement for North Dakota residents qualify for North Dakota resident licenses. Otherwise, nonresident youth hunters must purchase a nonresident small game license.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Youth ages 12 and older need to have passed a certified hunter education course. The daily bag limit and all other regulations for the regular pheasant season apply.
An adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the youth hunter in the field. The adult may not carry a firearm.
See the 2016 North Dakota Small Game Hunting Guide for additional information.
Youth Waterfowl Trailer Available
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and Ducks Unlimited co-sponsor a trailer full of waterfowl hunting gear that is available to families with young hunters.
Purchased by the Game and Fish Department’s Encouraging Tomorrow’s Hunters grant program, the trailer is designed for families who don’t have the appropriate gear for their young hunters to hunt waterfowl. The equipment is donated by Avery Outdoors.
Use of the trailer is free, and it is equipped with goose and duck decoys for field hunting, and two bags of floating duck decoys and marsh seats for hunting a wetland.
For more information, or to reserve equipment, contact the Ducks Unlimited office in Bismarck at 701-355-3500.
Whooping Crane Migration
Whooping cranes are in the midst of their fall migration and sightings will increase as they make their way through North Dakota over the next several weeks. Anyone seeing these birds as they move through the state is asked to report sightings so the birds can be tracked.
Whoopers stand about five feet tall and have a wingspan of about seven feet from tip to tip. They are bright white with black wing tips, which are visible only when the wings are outspread. In flight they extend their long necks straight forward, while their long, slender legs extend out behind the tail. Whooping cranes typically migrate singly, or in groups of 2-3 birds, and may be associated with sandhill cranes.
Other white birds such as snow geese, swans and egrets are often mistaken for whooping cranes. The most common misidentification is pelicans, because their wingspan is similar and they tuck their pouch in flight, leaving a silhouette similar to a crane when viewed from below.
Anyone sighting whoopers should not disturb them, but record the date, time, location, and the birds' activity. Observers should also look closely for and report colored bands which may occur on one or both legs. Whooping cranes have been marked with colored leg bands to help determine their identity.
Whooping crane sightings should be reported to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices at Lostwood, 701-848-2466, or Long Lake, 701-387-4397, national wildlife refuges; the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, 701-328-6300, or to local game wardens across the state. Reports help biologists locate important whooping crane habitat areas, monitor marked birds, determine survival and population numbers, and identify times and migration routes.
Schmidt Bottoms Shooting Range Opens
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has reopened its public shooting range at Little Heart (Schmidt) Bottoms on the Oahe Wildlife Management Area in Morton County, following recent completion of road repair work.
The range, 12 miles south of Mandan on ND Highway 1806, is open from sunrise to sunset daily.
If any changes to the status should occur, Game and Fish will notify the public through the media and on its website, www.gf.nd.gov.
Plan Ahead to Protect Hay and Winter Feed Supplies
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is encouraging farmers and ranchers to plan ahead to protect hay, grain and winter feed supplies from wildlife, according to Kevin Kading, private lands section supervisor.
Even with today’s low deer populations, severe winter conditions can result in wildlife depredation to livestock feed supplies, Kading said.
Producers are encouraged to store hay in a manner and location that prevents or reduces damage by wildlife. For example, stacking bales rather than leaving them scattered across a field can help reduce damage and make the bales easier to protect. Stacking bales inside a fence, if possible, can prevent wildlife from gaining access to them. Ranchers have also used a protective barrier of round straw bales surrounding their higher quality bales to prevent wildlife damage, Kading said, and a number of other options are available to producers to minimize or reduce wildlife depredation, including allowing hunters access to land to ensure a proper harvest of animals.
Kading said any type of livestock feed supplies left in an open field are difficult for Game and Fish to address. “There are very few options available,” Kading added, “this is why we stress the importance of being as proactive as possible.”
Planning early is the best way to reduce problems, Kading said. “If producers wait too long, snow and deteriorating weather conditions could make it difficult to store hay and feed supplies properly,” he said.
The Department will assist producers with wildlife depredation problems, but cannot compensate producers for losses. The Department has temporary and permanent fencing options available for livestock producers experiencing chronic depredation problems.
For help or more information on how to protect hay, grain and winter feed supplies, contact the Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300.
Teddy Roosevelt Family Day Scheduled Sept. 25
Families looking for a fun afternoon filled with outdoor activities are invited to attend Teddy Roosevelt Family Day on Sunday, Sept. 25 at McDowell Dam just east of Bismarck.
The free event runs from 1-4 p.m. and families can come and go at any time. It features many hands-on activities including archery, BB gun shooting, fishing, animal identification, prizes and more.
The first 900 kids who attend also receive a free Teddy Roosevelt patch.
Organized by area Boy Scout, Girl Scout and 4-H organizations, Teddy Roosevelt Family Day is sponsored by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, North Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Mule Deer Foundation, Scheels All Sports, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
McDowell Dam is 3.5 miles east of Bismarck on ND Highway 10, then one mile north.
First-Come, First-Served Deer Gun Licenses Available Sept. 28
A total of 50 antlerless whitetail deer gun licenses are still available in two units after the North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently completed its second lottery drawing. Individual results are available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Whitetail doe licenses remaining in units 3F1 (14 licenses) and 3F2 (36 licenses) will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. Central Time on Sept. 28. These licenses are only available online, and to individuals who have not already received a lottery or landowner license
These licenses are valid only during the regular deer gun season, Nov. 4-20. Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply.
Sandhill Crane Season Opens Sept. 17
North Dakota’s sandhill crane season opens Sept. 17 and continues 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 one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. each day through Nov. 5. Beginning Nov. 6, shooting hours are extended until 2 p.m. each day.
Hunters are urged to use caution and identify birds to prevent shooting at 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 apply online, or print out a resident or nonresident application for mailing, at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Harvest Information Program certification is required. To get HIP certified, access the department’s website, or call 888-634-4798.
Game and Fish Summarizes Upland Game Brood Survey
Pheasants
North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August indicates total birds and number of broods are down statewide from 2015.
Aaron Robinson, upland game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the survey shows total pheasants are down 10 percent from last year. In addition, brood observations were down 7 percent, while the average brood size was down 8 percent. The final summary is based on 276 survey runs made along 105 brood routes across North Dakota.
“Compared to last year, our late summer roadside counts indicate pheasant hunters are going to have to work harder to find more pheasants in most parts of the state, with fewer young roosters showing up in the fall population,” Robinson said. “As always, there will be local areas within all four pheasant districts where pheasant numbers will be both better and below what is predicted for the district.”
Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicate total pheasants were down 21 percent and broods observed down 19 percent from 2015. Observers counted 21 broods and 168 birds per 100 survey miles. The average brood size was 5.5.
Results from the southeast show birds are down 4 percent from last year, and the number of broods up 1 percent. Observers counted eight broods and 62 birds per 100 miles. The average brood size was 5.0.
Statistics from the northwest indicated pheasants are up 129 percent from last year, with broods up 161 percent. Observers recorded 12 broods and 93 birds per 100 miles. Average brood size was 6.1.
The northeast district, generally containing secondary pheasant habitat, with much of it lacking good winter cover, showed two broods and 14 birds per 100 miles. Average brood size was 3.9. Number of birds observed remained the same, and the number of broods recorded was up 5 percent.
The 2016 regular pheasant season opens Oct. 8 and continues through Jan. 8, 2017. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Oct. 1-2.
Sharptails, Huns
North Dakota hunters will find fewer sharp-tailed grouse in the field this fall, while Hungarian partridge numbers are similar to last year.
Robinson said late July and August roadside counts show sharptails are down 23 percent from 2015, while partridge are up 2 percent.
“Sharp-tailed grouse hunting will be slower than last season in most of the state, and all indications are that hunters will see significantly lower numbers in the west,” Robinson said. “In general, grouse hunting will be fair to good. Partridge will be similar to last year, with harvest still considered a bonus while pursuing other game birds.”
Statistics show observers recorded 2.4 sharptail broods and 18.6 birds per 100 miles. Average brood size was 4.7.
For partridge, observers recorded 0.8 broods and 11.1 birds per 100 miles. Average brood size was 9.6.
The 2016 grouse and partridge seasons open Sept. 10 and continue through Jan. 8, 2017.
2015 Pheasant Season Summarized
The number of pheasants taken last year in North Dakota was similar to 2014, according to statistics compiled by the State Game and Fish Department.
Last year, more than 85,000 hunters (up 9 percent) harvested nearly 590,000 roosters (up 0.4 percent). In 2014, 78,000 hunters took 587,000 roosters.
Counties with the highest percentage of pheasants taken by resident hunters in 2015 were Morton, 7.4 percent; Hettinger, 6.4; Grant, 5.8; Stark, 5.8; and McLean, 5.7.
Top counties for nonresident hunters were Hettinger, 20.3 percent; Bowman, 11.7; Divide, 6.8; Adams, 5.8; and Emmons, 5.1.
Annual pheasant season statistics are determined by a mail survey of resident and nonresident hunters.
Landowners Seek Doe Hunters
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is currently working with landowners in 10 hunting units across the state who would like to host hunters with antlerless deer licenses in 2016.
Participating landowners are located in hunting units 2I, 2J2, 2K1, 2K2, 3A4, 3B3, 3D2, 3F1, 3F2 and 4E.
The program is not intended for buck hunters, but designed to direct hunters with antlerless licenses to specific areas to reduce deer populations.
Interested hunters can get their name on a list of possible participants by accessing the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Hunters who do not have internet access can call the department’s main office in Bismarck at 701-328-6300.
Hunters will provide their address, hunting unit(s) where they hold valid antlerless licenses, and if using rifle, muzzleloader or bow. From this list the department will select the number of hunters landowners have agreed to host. These hunters will be sent the landowner’s name, phone number and any information relating to the landowner’s specific situation.
Hunters must have a valid 2016 deer gun license – the Game and Fish Department does not provide a hunting license with this program.
Not everyone who signs up will end up with a new place to hunt, because not everyone’s schedule will match up with a landowner’s, and more people will likely put their name on the list than there are openings. Participating landowners currently have openings for about 110 doe hunters.
North Dakota’s 2016 regular deer gun season runs from Nov. 4-20. In addition, the archery season extends through Jan. 8, 2017; the youth season is Sept. 16-25; and muzzleloader runs from Nov. 25 – Dec. 11.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department