2018 Enforcement Division Review

Editor’s Note: For years, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department reported a summary of violations in the January issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS. Because the summary was based on the agency’s fiscal year, some of the statistics were more than a year old when finally published.

Times change.

Today, and for the last several years, everyone in the Department’s enforcement division, from game wardens in the field to those in the agency’s headquarters in Bismarck, can immediately retrieve the information they need.

While the goal of a contemporary records system is to assist in improving overall enforcement operations, providing a summary of violations for the calendar year that just ended is also a benefit to readers.

Incidents 2018 – Top 10 Counties

(An incident is defined as any situation that requires a response from a game warden. It does not have to be a crime. The situation could be, for example, a stranded angler.)

• Ramsey – 223
• McKenzie – 213
• Burleigh – 196
• Williams – 188
• McLean – 160
• Cass – 147
• Richland – 141
• Ward – 131
• Stutsman – 110
• Morton – 110

Citations 2018 – Top 10 Counties

• Ramsey – 343
• Williams – 227
• McKenzie – 202
• Burleigh – 107
• Stutsman – 94
• Benson – 90
• McLean – 79
• Richland – 78
• Mountrail – 64
• Morton – 62

Erik Schmidt, Department district game warden stationed in Linton, checks fishing licenses on Dry Lake in McIntosh County.