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Another year has come and gone, and what a year it was for all walks of life, including the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s enforcement division. From dealing with daily COVID-19 challenges, increased numbers of hunters and anglers and changes in technology, game wardens continued to do what they always do without pause, providing exceptional service to North Dakotans.
I sincerely appreciate the effort and contributions of the officers and staff. The men and women who choose to sacrifice their weekends, holidays, season openers and family time to safeguard North Dakota’s natural resources and ensure the safety of those who recreate outdoors certainly deserve a huge thank you.
One of the new pieces of technology implemented and finalized in 2020 was a new records management system. This new system was built specifically for the needs of the enforcement division and is providing new and interesting data that will assist in developing and improving enforcement operations.
While we have always been able to report the number of citations issued in a year, that number pales in comparison to the number of people contacted by a game warden where no citation was issued. These license checks, bag inspections, boating safety inspections, public safety calls, wildlife issues, permits, the list goes on, are as important as the number of citations and are now tracked.
For instance, between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, there were 11,937 contacts made by game wardens, and 1,061 citations written. This information shows more accurately the impact game wardens have instead of looking at citation numbers alone.
With this information now readily available, we will continue to develop and implement enforcement strategies and operations for the benefit of North Dakota’s wildlife and those who enjoy the outdoors.
Big Game | |
---|---|
Illegal taking/possession of big game | 72 |
Failure to wear fluorescent orange | 15 |
Tagging violations | 17 |
CWD violations | 9 |
Killing wrong species or sex | 9 |
Shining big game | 11 |
Other big game violations | 37 |
Total Big Game | 170 |
Small Game | |
Using gun able to hold more than 3 shells | 96 |
Hunting in closed season | 28 |
Illegal possession/taking | 4 |
Exceeding limit | 68 |
Failure to leave identification or sex of game | 33 |
Killing wrong sex or species | 8 |
Wanton waste | 4 |
Hunting in unharvested field | 11 |
Other small game violations | 125 |
Total Small Game | 377 |
Boating | |
Use of unlicensed or unnumbered boat | 138 |
Failure to display boat registration | 108 |
Operating without lights at night | 64 |
Inadequate number of PFDs | 261 |
Water skiing violations | 20 |
Reckless or negligent operation | 5 |
Operating vessel under influence/intoxicated | 10 |
Other boating violations | 53 |
Total Boating | 659 |
Fishing | |
Exceeding limit | 65 |
Fishing in closed/restricted area | 22 |
Fishing with illegal bait | 14 |
Paddlefish violations | 3 |
ANS violations | 84 |
Other fishing violations | 127 |
Total Fishing | 315 |
Furbearer | |
Use/possession of illegal snares | 8 |
Shining (using artificial light) | 4 |
Harassing furbearers with motor vehicle | 6 |
Other furbearer violations | 3 |
Total Furbearer | 21 |
General | |
Use of motor vehicle off established trail | 47 |
Hunting on posted land without permission | 72 |
Aid in concealment of unlawful game | 8 |
Loaded firearm in motor vehicle | 59 |
440 yard violation | 2 |
Littering | 28 |
Other general violations | 10 |
Total General | 226 |
Licensing | |
Hunting/fishing/trapping without proper license | 182 |
Failure to carry license on person | 306 |
Misrepresentation on license or application | 12 |
Other licensing violations | 15 |
Total Licensing | 515 |
Wildlife Management Areas/Refuge | |
Failure to obey posted regulations | 57 |
Tree stand violations | 4 |
Possession of glass beverage containers | 16 |
Camping violations | 8 |
Prohibited uses of motor vehicles | 8 |
PLOTS access violations | 60 |
Other WMA/refuge violations | 12 |
Total Wildlife Management Areas/Refuge | 165 |
Miscellaneous | |
Possession of controlled substance | 33 |
Possession of drug paraphernalia | 25 |
Open container | 7 |
Minor in possession | 46 |
Criminal trespass | 76 |
Other miscellaneous | 40 |
Total Miscellaneous | 227 |
Commercial | |
Commercial violations | 12 |
Total Commercial | 12 |
Grand Total | 2,668 |
(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.)
Citations 2020 – Top 10 Counties