Buffaloberry Patch

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department completed its annual spring mule deer survey in May, and results indicate western North Dakota’s mule deer population is 13% higher than last year and 34% above the long-term average.

Biologists counted 2,923 mule deer in 298.8 square miles during this year’s survey. The overall mule deer density in the badlands was 9.8 deer per square mile.

Bruce Stillings, Department big game management supervisor, said he is encouraged with current mule deer densities across the badlands.

“The spring index was higher than 2021 despite having very poor fawn production,” Stillings said. “Although fawn production was low due to extreme drought, habitat in the badlands was still in a condition able to provide high over-winter survival, leading to a slight population increase in 2022.”

Stillings said the 2022 spring survey was the longest on record due to two April blizzards.

“Two blizzards produced approximately 40 inches of snow with high winds and low temperatures,” he added. “The effects of these storms will not be understood until upcoming surveys are completed.”

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 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.

Hunter success during last fall’s pronghorn hunting season was 68%, according to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Game and Fish issued 1,710 licenses (1,034 lottery and 676 gratis), and 1,457 hunters took 991 pronghorns, consisting of 807 bucks, 159 does and 25 fawns. Each hunter spent an average of three days afield.

The 2022 pronghorn hunting season will be determined in July.

School-aged archers from across the state participated in the 2022 National Archery in the Schools state tournament in Minot.

Oakes students claimed top honors in the bull’s-eye high school (grades 9-12), middle school (grades 7-8) and elementary (grades 4-6) team divisions. The overall individual male winner was Wahpeton archer Joshua Wiebusch, while Hankinson student Danica Onchuck claimed the top individual spot in the female division.

Oakes students also took first place in the NASP 3-D Challenge high school and middle school team divisions, and Mt. Pleasant followed up with top honors in the elementary team division. Wiebusch was the top male winner, and Madision Samuelson from Mt. Pleasant was top female.

In addition, Layton Jacobson from New Rockford-Sheyenne (bull’s-eye middle school boys), Shayle Zimbelman from Oakes (bull’s-eye middle school girls) and Presley Thompson from Bob Callies (3-D elementary girls), captured first place at the Western Nationals, and as a state North Dakota placed in the top 10.

Place winners by competition at the state tournament in Minot:

Varsity boys – 1) Joshua Wiebusch, Hankinson; 2) Jayce Rivinius, Gackle-Streeter; 3) Brady Graves, Wahpeton.

Varsity girls – 1) Zoey Bohnenstingl, Lidgerwood; 2) Octavia Ralph-Martinson, Griggs County Central; 3) Madison Graves, Wahpeton.

Bull’s-eye high school boys – 1) Joshua Wiebusch, Hankinson.

Bull’s-eye high school girls – 1) Octavia Ralph-Martinson, Griggs County Central.

Bull’s-eye middle school boys – 1) Grant Grabinger, Medina.

Bull’s-eye middle school girls – 1) Danica Onchuck, Hankinson.

Bull’s-eye elementary boys – 1) Wyatt Arrowood, Oakes.

Bull’s-eye elementary girls – 1) Elissa Estenson, Mt. Pleasant.

3-D high school boys – 1) Joshua Wiebusch, Wahpeton.

3-D high school girls – 1) Madison Samuelson, Mt. Pleasant.

3-D middle school boys – 1) Layton Jacobson, New Rockford-Sheyenne.

3-D middle school girls – 1) Shayne Zimbelman, Oakes.

3-D elementary boys – 1) Carter Belgrade, Mt. Pleasant.

3-D elementary girls – 1) Elissa Estenson, Mt. Pleasant.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently paid more than $718,000 in taxes to counties in which the department owns or leases land. The 2021 in-lieu-of-tax payments are the same as property taxes paid by private landowners.

The Game and Fish Department manages more than 200,000 acres for wildlife habitat and public hunting in 51 counties. The department does not own or manage any land in Traill or Renville counties.

Following is a list of counties and the tax payments received.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department staff placed two trail cameras along the Sheyenne River in Sheridan County on May 10 to possibly confirm a river otter sighting on May 8.

“I put the camera out to potentially document them and get photos and video for staff use,” said Bruce Kreft, Department resource biologist. “We didn’t know how lucky we’d get.”

Sure enough, the cameras photographed two river otters just three or four days later. The animals were caught on the trail cameras a number of times after that.

“It was a pretty quick turnaround,” Kreft said. “We also got good photos of deer, raccoon, beaver, mink, waterfowl and some nongame birds.”

According to Game and Fish records, there was one other verification of an otter about 10 miles downstream of this sighting in 2015.

North Dakota game wardens have shared many stories in the Behind the Badge blog on the Department’s website (gf.nd.gov), providing readers insight into the daily lives of wildlife enforcement officers in our state. Many of these narratives were humorous, while some educational. This story is neither, said Scott Winkelman, chief of the enforcement division.

“It is written with extreme thanks and sincere recognition for the actions of two wardens,” he said.

On May 16, Winkelman said he was fortunate and proud to present district game warden Jerad Bluem and game warden pilot Jeff Sieger with the North Dakota Peace Officers Association Lifesaving Award. The Lifesaving Award is given to a law enforcement officer who by his/her actions significantly contributes to saving a human’s life.

On September 5, 2021, Bluem and Sieger responded to an emergency call on the Missouri River near Bismarck. An individual had slipped and fallen on a pontoon boat that was stuck on a sandbar. The individual caught his leg on a cleat on the boat, causing a significant laceration in his thigh, severing the major femoral vein.

Bluem and Sieger were quick to respond by patrol boat and used their medical training and equipment to evaluate the patient and effectively use a tourniquet and hand pressure to control the heavy bleeding. The wardens then transferred the patient to their patrol boat and transported him to the nearest boat ramp, where an ambulance was waiting. Without the quick, professional response, Winkelman said, this story most likely would have ended in a different, terribly sad way.

“North Dakota Game and Fish Department wardens are some of the most professional law enforcement officers that I have been around in my 19-year career, and I am extremely proud of their service to the citizens and wildlife of North Dakota,” Winkelman said.

The Game and Fish Department enforcement division recently completed their annual in-service training, which included training on tactical first aid, vehicle operations, defensive tactics, and low light firearms use. Game wardens often attend training to ensure they are prepared for emergency situations such as the one previously described.