Buffaloberry Patch

Deer Season Set, Online Apps Available

North Dakota’s 2016 deer season is set with 49,000 licenses available to hunters this fall, 5,725 more than last year.

Jeb Williams, North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife chief, said population and harvest data indicate the state’s deer population is stable to increasing, primarily due to seven years of reduced gun licenses combined with mild winters.

"Consequently, a small increase in deer licenses will provide increased hunting opportunities, while continuing to encourage population growth," Williams said. "Most of the additional licenses are for antlered deer."

The mule deer population in the badlands increased for the fourth consecutive year, with numbers showing the spring mule deer index is up 21 percent from last year.

Williams said a conservative management approach will remain in the badlands, and for the fifth consecutive year, Game and Fish will not issue any antlerless mule deer licenses in units 4A, 4B and 4C. However, for the first time since 2011, mule deer doe licenses are available in units 3B1, 3B2, 4D, 4E and 4F.

"Mule deer numbers are above the population objective and long-term average in certain areas, therefore a limited number of antlerless mule deer licenses are available in these units," Williams said.

The number of licenses available for 2016 includes 2,550 for antlered mule deer, an increase of 675 from last year; 928 for muzzleloader, an increase of 100 from last year; and 225 restricted youth antlered mule deer, an increase of 38 from last year.

North Dakota’s 2016 deer gun season opens November 4 at noon and continues through November 20. Online applications for regular deer gun, youth, muzzleloader, and resident gratis and nonresident landowner licenses are available through the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Also, paper applications are available at vendors and other locations throughout the state. The deadline for applying is June 1.

State law requires residents age 18 or older to prove residency on the application by submitting a valid North Dakota driver’s license number or a North Dakota nondriver photo identification number. Applications cannot be processed without this information.

Gratis applications received on or before the regular deer gun lottery application deadline (June 1) will be issued an any-legal-deer license. As per state law, gratis applications received after the deadline will be processed based on licenses remaining after the lottery – generally only antlerless licenses remain.

Total deer licenses are determined by harvest rates, aerial surveys, depredation reports, hunter observations, input at advisory board meetings, and comments from the public, landowners and Department field staff.

Refunds Can Help Plots

Unsuccessful applicants to North Dakota’s 2016 deer lottery can donate their refund to the Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program.

The option to donate to the PLOTS program is new this year. The North Dakota State Legislature created this option in 2015 with nearly unanimous support. Donations are not tax deductible.

Kevin Kading, Game and Fish Department private land section leader, said proceeds from donations will focus on deer habitat and hunting access to deer habitat.

Camping Restrictions on Some WMAs

Some state wildlife management areas in western North Dakota and along Lake Sakakawea will continue to have camping restrictions this summer.

Overnight camping is prohibited on the following WMAs: Antelope Creek, Lewis and Clark, Big Oxbow, Ochs Point, Neu’s Point, Overlook, Sullivan and Tobacco Garden in McKenzie County; Van Hook in Mountrail County; and Hofflund and Trenton in Williams County.

Lewis and Clark and Trenton WMAs are closed from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise unless users are legally engaged in fishing, hunting or trapping.

However, camping is allowed for paddlefish snaggers only during the open paddlefish season, at the Lewis and Clark WMA Pumphouse area, and by boat access only at Neu’s Point WMA.

In addition, the following WMAs are closed to camping on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but open to camping Thursday-Monday: Bull Creek in Billings County; Alkali Creek and Spring Creek in Bowman County; Smishek Lake and Short Creek Dam in Burke County; Apple Creek in Burleigh County; Harris M. Baukol in Divide County; Killdeer Mountains in Dunn County; Camels Hump Lake in Golden Valley County; Audubon, Custer Mine, Deepwater Creek, deTrobriand, Douglas Creek and Wolf Creek in McLean County; Beaver Creek and Hille in Mercer County; Crown Butte Lake and Storm Creek in Morton County; Cedar Lake and Speck Davis Pond in Slope County; and McGregor Dam in Williams County.

On those WMAs where camping is allowed Thursday through Monday, all equipment must be removed on Tuesday and Wednesdays when camping is not allowed.

The Game and Fish Department will lift the Tuesday-Wednesday camping restriction for the week of Memorial Day, May 30 – June 3. This same waiver will allow camping on those WMAs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during all state-recognized holiday weeks throughout the year, including 4th of July week (July 4-8), and Labor Day (September 5-9).

Glass bottles are prohibited on all WMAs. Other camping restrictions at all WMAs are posted at entry points. Additional WMA rules and regulations are available on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

These rules ensure that WMAs are available for hunters and anglers.

Spring Mule Deer Survey Complete

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department completed its annual spring mule deer survey in April, and results indicate western North Dakota’s mule deer population has increased 21 percent from last year.

Bruce Stillings, Department big game supervisor, said the increase is a result of higher adult doe survival in 2015, three consecutive years of good fawn production, and good overwinter survival.

"These factors, along with no harvest of antlerless mule deer during the past four deer hunting seasons, have resulted in mule deer numbers doubling since we experienced our low in 2012," Stillings said.

Biologists counted 2,880 mule deer in 306.3 square miles during this year’s survey. Overall mule deer density in the badlands was 9.4 deer per square mile, which is up from 7.8 deer per square mile in 2015.

The spring mule deer survey is used to assess mule deer abundance in the badlands. It is conducted after the snow has melted and before the trees begin to leaf out, providing the best conditions for aerial observation of deer. Biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 study areas since the 1950s.

Pronghorn Hunters Successful in 2015

Hunter success during last fall’s pronghorn hunting season was 81 percent, according to statistics provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

The season was held in units 3B, 4A and 4C. Game and Fish issued 409 licenses (266 lottery and 143 gratis), and 385 hunters took 312 pronghorn, consisting of 286 bucks, 15 does and 11 fawns. Each hunter spent an average of 2.4 days afield.

The 2016 pronghorn hunting season will be determined in early July.

Bighorn Sheep Population Increases

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual spring bighorn sheep survey revealed a minimum of 292 bighorn sheep in western North Dakota, up 8 percent from last year and 3 percent above the five-year average.

Biologists counted 88 rams, 160 ewes and 44 lambs, not including approximately 30 bighorns in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Brett Wiedmann, Department big game biologist, said the survey is good news after an all-age die-off that began in 2014.

"This year’s number was encouraging given the ongoing effects of bacterial pneumonia throughout most of the badlands," Wiedmann said.

The northern badlands population, which was hit the hardest from the die-off, increased 13 percent from last year. However, the southern badlands population was down 19 percent.

"Overall, rams, ewes and lambs all increased from last year," Wiedmann said. "We were also pleased to see that 76 percent of lambs counted during last summer’s survey survived the winter, which is above average. The recruitment rate of lambs per adult ewes was 31 percent, equal to the long-term average."

Game and Fish Department biologists count and classify all bighorn sheep in late summer, and then recount lambs the following March, as they approach one year of age, to determine recruitment.

"Adult mortality slowed significantly in 2015, and we had a good number of lambs survive in 2014 and 2015 to compensate for most of the adult losses," Wiedmann said. "The bad news is that many bighorns are still showing signs of pneumonia, so next year’s survey will be important in determining if the state’s population is continuing to recover from the disease outbreak, or if the pathogens are likely to persist and cause a long-term population decline."

Dr. Dan Grove, Department veterinarian, said disease testing last winter revealed that deadly pathogens were still present in 16 of 22 bighorns tested. He said animals continue to succumb to pneumonia, albeit at a much slower rate.

A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled in 2016, unless there is a recurrence of bacterial pneumonia. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined September 1, after summer population surveys are complete.

2015 Deer Season Summarized

A total of 39,470 North Dakota deer hunters took approximately 26,700 deer during the 2015 deer gun hunting season, according to a post-season survey conducted by the State Game and Fish Department.

Game and Fish made available and issued 43,275 deer gun licenses last year. Overall hunter success was 68 percent, with each hunter spending an average of 4.3 days in the field.

Hunter success for antlered white-tailed deer was 70 percent, and antlerless whitetail was 64 percent.

Mule deer buck success was 86 percent. No mule deer doe licenses were issued in 2015.

Hunters with any-antlered or any-antlerless licenses generally harvest white-tailed deer, as these licenses are predominantly in units with mostly whitetails. Buck hunters had a success rate of 75 percent, while doe hunters had a success rate of 67 percent.

Game and Fish issued 826 muzzleloader licenses in 2015, and 745 hunters who participated harvested 348 white-tailed deer (194 antlered, 154 antlerless). Hunter success was 47 percent, with each hunter spending an average of 5.9 days in the field.

A record 25,703 archery licenses (23,710 resident, 1,993 nonresident) were issued in 2015. In total, 21,680 bow hunters harvested 7,527 deer (6,777 whitetails, 750 mule deer), for a success rate of 35 percent. Bucks accounted for 75 percent of the deer harvested with a bow. Archers spent an average of 10.7 days afield.

In addition, 4,004 youth licenses were issued in 2015. During the youth season, 3,487 hunters harvested 1,832 deer (393 bucks, 1,439 does). Hunter success was 52 percent, and each hunter spent an average of 2.9 days in the field. Youth hunters in the regular deer gun season harvested an additional 240 deer (196 bucks, 44 does) for an overall success rate of 59 percent.

NASP State Tournament Results

A total of 530 archers competed in the North Dakota National Archery in the Schools Program state bull’s-eye tournament March 18-19 in Minot.

Hankinson students claimed top team honors in the elementary (grades 4-6) and middle school (grades 7-8) divisions. North Sargent claimed first place in the high school team (grades 9-12) division.

Overall male and female winners were Spencer Brockman of North Sargent and Kate Loewen of Hankinson.

Winning teams and the top 10 individuals qualify for the national tournament, scheduled for May in Louisville, Kentucky. The Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Youth Archery Advisory Council contribute $3,000 in travel assistance to the first place team in each division, and $1,000 to the overall male and female individual winners. In addition, $20,000 in college scholarships were awarded by the NDYAAC to the top five overall scorers for both boys and girls.

Qualifying for nationals in each division are:

• High school boys – 1) Brockman; 2) Kyle Andres, Medina; 3) Dawson McKeever, North Sargent; 4) Mark McFarland, North Sargent; 5) Steve Dudas, North Sargent; 6) Cheyne Meyer, Hankinson; 7) Dylan Jost, Wahpeton; 8) Alex Huff, Medina; 9) Chase Bladow, Hankinson; 10) Jonathan Goroski, Wahpeton.
• High school girls – 1) Loewen; 2) Lisa Buckhaus, Hankinson; 3) Cassie Boelke, Wahpeton; 4) Jaidyn Sander, Hankinson; 5) Kayla Hiam, Hope-Page; 6) Kailee Klein, Wahpeton; 7) Maddie Weigum, Twin Buttes; 8) Mary Goroski, Wahpeton; 9) Sara Hatlewick, Gackle-Streeter; 10) Brinley Mathern, Edgeley.
• Middle school boys – 1) Avery McFarland, North Sargent; 2) Braxtyn Hamann, North Sargent; 3) Tate Zerface, Hope-Page; 4) Tavon Stadler, Griggs County Central; 5) Brady McKenna, North Sargent; 6) Austin Bladow, Hankinson; 7) Derrick Zietlow, Hankinson; 8) Brennan Wiederrich, Edgeley; 9) Will Peckham, Montpelier; 10) Bronson Haugen, Barnes County.
• Middle school girls – 1) Sadie Keller, Hankinson; 2) Grace Neameyer, Mt. Pleasant; 3) Alicia Biewer, Hankinson; 4) Olivia Balch, Pingree-Buchanan; 5) Nadia Post, Glenburn; 6) Jaden Gilje, North Sargent; 7) Olivia Prochnow, Hankinson; 8) Abby Helm, Medina; 9) Tenley Evans, Hankinson; 10) Kendra Landsiedel, Wilton.
• Elementary boys – 1) Dylan Carlson, Edgeley; 2) Ethan Millner, Hankinson; 3) Aiden Bladow, Hankinson; 4) Jonathan Hill, Wahpeton; 5) Carter Spitzer, Kensal; 6) Matthew Wehseler, North Sargent; 7) Maxin Walock, Oakes; 8) Riley Christensen, North Sargent; 9) Max Fronk, St. John’s; 10) Kendal Sondrol, Wilton.
• Elementary girls – 1) Jaycee Brown, Hankinson; 2) Lily Wiek, Oakes; 3) Reagan Teske, Edgeley; 4) Abi Bronson, Wahpeton; 5) Ariana Onchuck, Hankinson; 6) Kennedi Faber, North Sargent; 7) Hannah Neameyer, Mt. Pleasant; 8) Kaydence Brummond, Oakes; 9) Kirstan Loewen, Hankinson; 10) Madison Sitzman, Edgeley.

In addition, 288 archers competed in a NASP 3-D Challenge, run simultaneously with the bull’s-eye tournament.

Top performers were:

• High school boys – 1) Brockman; 2) David Loegering, Central Cass; 3) McKeever; 4) Garrett Ponzer, North Sargent; 5) Ted Mandt, Wahpeton.
• High school girls – 1) Loewen; 2) Boelke; 3) Laura Kielb, North Sargent; 4) Olivia Waswick, North Sargent; 5) Sabyl Hunt, Dunseith.
• Middle school boys – 1) McKenna; 2) McFarland; 3) Hamann; 4) Logan Stirling, Hankinson; 5) George Ringuette, Montpelier.
• Middle school girls – 1) Neameyer; 2) Post; 3) Biewer; 4) Tavi Hirchert, Wilton; 5) Landsiedel.
• Elementary boys – 1) Hill; 2) Sondrol; 3) Christensen; 4) Bladow; 5) Noah Skroch, Hankinson.
• Elementary girls – 1) Wiek; 2) Faber; 3) Loewen; 4) Lily Walth, North Sargent; 5) Estella Prochnow, Hankinson.

Agency Sponsors Earth Day Project

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is again celebrating Earth Day by sponsoring clean-up days on public-owned or managed lands.

While Earth Day is held April 22, each member of a school, Girl Scout, Boy Scout, 4-H club or youth organization who participates in cleaning up public lands through May will receive a specifically designed conservation patch.

Last winter the Game and Fish Department sponsored a contest for students ages 6-18 to design a North Dakota Earth Day patch. Winners in the three age categories were Emmery Wheeling of Crosby (6-9), Lauren Horter of Grafton (10-13), and Catalina Teuber of Fargo (14-18). Teuber’s design was chosen the contest winner, and is depicted on this year’s Earth Day patch.

Groups participating in the Earth Day project are encouraged to take the following precautions to ensure safety: keep young people away from highways, lakes and rivers; and only allow older participants to pick up broken glass.

Interested participants are asked to contact Pat Lothspeich, Department outreach biologist, at 701-328-6332 to receive a reporting form for their project.

Tennessee Man Cited for Guiding Without License

A Tennessee man has lost his hunting privileges for 18 months and was fined more than $4,000 for acting as a hunting outfitter in North Dakota without a license.

Robert "Adam" Whitten, 40, of Counce, Tennessee, was charged October 24, 2015, by Erik Schmidt, district game warden, Linton, after he followed up on a complaint of unlawfully placed "No Hunting" signs on private property.

Through his investigation, Schmidt determined Whitten, who had acted as an outfitter in the past in Tennessee, was staying on a rented farmstead in southwestern Emmons County for most of October. Prior to his arrival in North Dakota, Whitten took money from nonresident hunters for what he was advertising as a place to stay and access to 5,000 acres of hunting land for waterfowl and upland game.

In North Dakota it is illegal to act as a guide or outfitter without first securing a license through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Licensed outfitters in North Dakota are required to pass a written test, be certified in first aid, and carry liability insurance, among other requirements. The definition of outfitting in North Dakota includes providing facilities or services and receiving compensation from a third party for the use of land for the conduct of outdoor recreational activities including hunting.

Schmidt charged Whitten with two counts of outfitting without a license, both Class A misdemeanors. The maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor in North Dakota is a $3,000 fine and one year imprisonment.

Under a plea agreement approved by South Central District judge Thomas Schneider, Whitten was required to pay $3,325 in fines and court costs, with $1,000 suspended for a period of two years for the first count and $3,025 in fines and court costs with $1,000 suspended for a period of two years for the second count.

In addition to fines and fees, Whitten had his hunting privileges suspended for 18 months and was placed on unsupervised probation for one year. Because North Dakota is a member of the North American Wildlife Violator Compact, Whitten could potentially lose hunting privileges in other compact states.

Summer Volunteer Opportunities

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has many opportunities for volunteers to help out with education efforts this summer.

Anyone interested in helping Game and Fish's conservation education efforts, and volunteering time to sustain the state's outdoor heritage, can call Game and Fish at 701-328-6615.

Volunteer fishing camp instructors must become an official Game and Fish Department volunteer, become a Lure ‘Em For Life member ($10 annually) and pass a background check. Contact Jeff Long, Department education coordinator, at 701-328-6322 to begin this process.

Some other volunteer opportunities coming this summer include:

• National Guard Fish Camp, June 5-8, at Camp of the Cross, Garrison. The camp is conducted as a partnership between Lure ‘Em For Life, North Dakota Game and Fish, and the North Dakota National Guard and is open to kids ages 9-14 whose parent or parents are active North Dakota National Guard members. Volunteers are needed to teach classes such as knot tying, fish identification and shore-fishing. Volunteers with boats are also needed to take kids on the water.
• Camp of the Cross Ministries Fish Camp, June 20-23, at Camp of the Cross, Garrison. The camp is organized and run by CCM, but volunteers are needed to help with fishing. This three-day camp was developed by CCM as a "specialty camp," focusing on one of three areas, including fishing.
• Summer Fish Camp, August 7-12, at Lakewood Bible Camp, Devils Lake. Similar to the June camp in Garrison, but this four-day camp is open to anyone ages 8-14.
• North Dakota State Fair, Minot. The Game and Fish Department operates an outdoor skills area during the State Fair where kids of all ages have an opportunity to fish, and shoot pellet guns and bows. There is also a furbearer and many other educational displays. The Outdoors Skills Park is open 1-7 p.m. daily and is operated by volunteers and Game and Fish staff. Lodging and per diem are provided to volunteers working two or more consecutive days.
• Volunteer Recognition Event, August 27, MacLean Rifle Range, Bismarck. Certified Volunteers are encouraged to attend this recognition event. In addition to a picnic meal and awards ceremony, instructors and their families will be able to choose from an array of outdoor activities like rifle and black-powder shooting, shore-fishing, trapping demonstrations and archery. Registration packets will be mailed in early July.

Free Fishing Weekend

North Dakota’s free fishing weekend is June 4-5. Resident anglers may fish that weekend without a license, except for paddlefish. All other fishing regulations apply.

Boat North Dakota Course

Boat owners are reminded that children ages 12-15 who want to operate a boat or personal watercraft alone this summer must first take the state’s boating basics course.

State law requires youngsters ages 12-15 to pass the course before they operate a boat or personal watercraft with at least a 10 horsepower motor. In addition, some insurance companies give adult boat owners who pass the course a discount on boat insurance.

The course is available for home-study from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office. Two commercial providers also offer the course online, and links to those sites are found on the Department’s website at gf.nd.gov.

While the home-study course is free, there is a fee for the online course. The online provider charges for the course, not the Game and Fish Department.

Upon completion of the online test, students can print out a temporary certification card, and within 10 days a permanent card will be mailed.

The course covers legal requirements, navigation rules, getting underway, accidents and special topics such as weather, rules of the road, laws, life saving and first aid.

For more information contact Brian Schaffer, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, by email at ndgf@nd.gov; or call 701-328-6300.

Valley City Youth Wins Best of Show

An American wigeon was chosen the 2016 Best of Show in the North Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

Cassidy Fulton, an 18-year-old high school student from Valley City, used acrylic paints for her presentation of a drake wigeon. Her artwork was selected from more than 1,300 entries from across North Dakota.

Fulton’s painting will represent North Dakota at the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest. The winner of the national contest will have their entry made into a stamp.

Other first place winners in the four age categories were:

• Grades K-3 – Holdyn Jacobson, Leeds; Gabriel Coleman, Baldwin; and Victoria Crotty, Neche.
• Grades 4-6 – Ella Wallock, Hankinson; Jake Cargo, Towner; and Lucas Hunskor, Newburg.
• Grades 7-9 – Fischer Ackerson, Sherwood; Rose Zeltinger, Valley City; and Daniel Schumacher, Linton.
• Grades 10-12 – Megan Tichy, Towner and Noelle Thompson, Valley City.

Live White Sucker Restrictions

The State Game and Fish Department reminds anglers that live white suckers are not legal baitfish anywhere in North Dakota, except for the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers.

Greg Power, Department fisheries chief, said the regulation has been in place for most water bodies in the state for more than 20 years, but every spring Game and Fish still gets questions from anglers who wonder if they can use live white suckers for early ice-out northern pike fishing.

"White suckers can and have caused a lot of problems when they get introduced into waters where they were not present," Power said. "Since we adopted that regulation in 1993, the number of new lakes with introduced white suckers is near zero."

Although anglers can use live white suckers on the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers and tributaries up to the first vehicular bridge, they are illegal elsewhere. Fathead minnows, sticklebacks and creek chubs are the only legal live baitfish outside of the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers. Dead white suckers that have been preserved by freezing, salting or otherwise treated to inactivate reproductive organs, are legal bait.

Anglers are also reminded that live baitfish or other live aquatic bait such as leeches, cannot be transported from another state into North Dakota.

Staff Notes

Hendrickson Honored

Jeff Hendrickson, Game and Fish Department southwest district fisheries supervisor in Dickinson, was recently honored by the Dakota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, with the Robert L. Hanten Distinguished Professional Service Award for 2016.

Hendrickson was recognized for his work with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and his efforts in enhancing the resource and the benefits this brought to anglers; and for his contributions to the American Fisheries Society, including serving on numerous committees and holding several elected positions, most recently serving as chapter president in 2011.