2024 Year in Review
Scott Petterson and Ron Wilson
Almost by default, one of the first things that I’ve reflected on in this space over the years is the weather.
Maybe it’s the farm kid in me but the weather is a major player in life in North Dakota, including the management of the state’s natural resources.
From that standpoint, 2024 was no exception. We experienced a relatively mild winter.
While we had periods of cold temps and snow, we fortunately got a break from the harshest of conditions in January, which likely provided some much-needed relief for our resident wildlife species.
By all accounts, we had a pretty good fall in terms of pheasants and other upland game bird numbers, which, again, is probably due in no small part to the relatively mild January that we experienced in 2024.
Waterfowl hunting success in our state is largely weather dependent.
While North Dakota is known for producing good numbers of resident ducks, the best waterfowl hunting opportunities typically result from migrant birds filtering in from northern breeding grounds.
Depending on the year, and more specifically the weather, this usually doesn’t happen until late October.
Once migrant birds get to North Dakota, they will generally stick around until they run out of either open water or food.
Last fall, those conditions remained favorable until about mid-November when colder temperatures drove many of the birds south in search of milder weather.
I think that most serious waterfowl hunters would have considered 2024 a good year overall.
Deer numbers, particularly white-tailed deer, were certainly not where we’d liked to have seen them in 2024.
The list of reasons for that includes a historic epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreak a few years back and an unusually harsh winter in 2022-23.
However, as we consistently remind our deer hunting public, the number one factor in limiting deer production and recruitment in the state is a general lack of key habitat across our landscape.
If we are ever to return to issuing the number of deer licenses that we did in the early 2000s, we will need a lot of things to fall into place, including the addition of high-quality wildlife habitat across the state.
Some precipitation in the form of rain and mostly snow helped alleviate some fire concerns as we edged into winter, but we will need much more of the same in the future.
It’s hard not to look back on 2024 without thinking about the dry conditions across much of the state going into the fall hunting season.
The fire danger index in much of western North Dakota was consistently in the high or extremely high categories for much of October.
Sharptails were down 20% statewide (23 sharptails per 100 miles) but remained above the 10-year average. Brood survey results showed 2.4 broods per 100 miles and an average brood size of 5.5, which was mediocre for grouse reproduction.
Partridge observed per 100 miles was down 20% from the near all-time high in 2023 and remained at high densities (29 partridge per 100 miles). Observers recorded 2.3 broods per 100 miles (the second highest in 20 years), but only an average of 8.3 chicks per brood (the lowest since 2018).
Six and Counting
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2023 bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs in March 2024, revealed a record 364 bighorn sheep in the grasslands of western North Dakota, up 5% from 2022 and 16% above the five-year average. The count surpassed the previous record of 347 bighorns in 2022.
The survey marked the sixth consecutive year that an increase was observed in the bighorn population.
Altogether, biologists counted 106 rams, 202 ewes and 56 lambs. Not included were approximately 40 bighorn sheep in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and bighorns introduced to the Fort Berthold Indian reservation in 2020.
The northern badlands population increased 5% from 2022 and was the highest count on record. The southern badlands population dropped to its lowest level since bighorns were reintroduced there in 1966.
Biologists were encouraged to see a record count of adult rams, and adult ewes and lambs were near record numbers. Unlike the population declines observed in most other big game species following the severe winter of 2022-23, the increase in the bighorn population was attributable to two factors: higher than expected survival of adults and lambs during the extreme winter conditions of 2022, and better than anticipated lamb production and survival during 2023. Basically, bighorn sheep are incredibly hardy animals that can thrive during North Dakota’s most frigid winters.
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.
Currently, about 490 bighorns make up the populations managed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, National Park Service and the Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Division, just shy of the benchmark of 500 bighorns in the state.
Zebra Mussels Confirmed
Department officials in 2024 confirmed the presence of invasive zebra mussels in South Golden Lake, Steele County, after detecting zebra mussel veligers in routine net samples.
Follow-up sampling found additional adult mussels in the 331-acre lake that is a popular recreation destination located 13 miles southwest of Hatton.
Due to its immediate downstream connection, North Golden was listed with South Golden Lake as Class I ANS infested waters. These lakes join Lake Elsie, Twin Lakes, Lake LaMoure, Lake Ashtabula, lower portion of the Sheyenne River, and the Red River in this designation. Emergency rules went into effect immediately to prohibit the movement of water away from the lake, including water for transferring bait. Notices were posted at lake access sites.
Zebra mussels are just one of the nonnative aquatic species that threaten our waters and native wildlife. Department officials continued ongoing efforts last year to inform water recreationists about the pitfalls of aquatic nuisance species and steps to take to stop the transport and introduction of these nonnatives.
Zebra mussels were confirmed in the lower end of Lake Oahe in South Dakota in December 2023 by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks staff, and in 2024 the North Dakota Game and Fish Department worked closely with South Dakota to monitor the colonization of mussels in Lake Oahe during the open water season.
The nearest mussel that was found in 2023 was over 100 lake miles south of the North Dakota border, so various early detection techniques were employed to track the leading edge of the zebra mussel population as it established up the lake.
In addition to monitoring efforts, the Department launched a digital marketing campaign and worked with the North Dakota Department of Transportation to place highway signage to raise zebra mussel awareness and promote compliance with ANS regulations.
Also, a higher game warden presence along Lake Oahe was initiated in 2024 to make certain water recreationists complied with ANS regulations and remembered to clean, drain, dry all watercraft and equipment between every use.
2023-24 Licenses and Permits Issued
| License | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Fishing | 41,350 | 18,732 |
| Married Couple Fishing | 11,529 | 6,138 |
| Senior Citizen Fishing | 15,711 | |
| Disabled Fishing | 251 | |
| Short-Term Fishing 10-day | 6,724 | |
| Short-Term Fishing 3-Day | 24,661 | |
| Paddlefish Tags | 3,152 | 667 |
| Commercial Tags | 12 | |
| Retail Bait Vendor | 210 | |
| Wholesale Bait Vendor | 33 | 3 |
| Fish Hatchery | 5 | |
| 2023 Boat Registrations (first year of 3-year decal) | 58,387 | |
| General Game Hunting | 39,732 | 47,223 |
| Small Game Hunting | 13,203 | 25,985 |
| Combination License | 61,228 | |
| Waterfowl Hunting | 26,337 | |
| Furbearer Hunting/Trapping | 6,034 | 2,590 |
| Fur Buyer | 21 | 4 |
| Deer Gun Hunting | 40,549 | 426 |
| Deer Gun Hunting (Gratis) | 11,810 | 275 |
| Deer Bowhunting | 24,237 | 3,370 |
| Moose Hunting | 218 | |
| Moose Hunting (Preferential Landowner) | 35 | |
| Elk Hunting | 510 | |
| Elk Hunting (Preferential Landowner) | 98 | |
| Turkey Hunting (Spring) | 7,082 | |
| Turkey Hunting (Fall) | 4,140 | |
| Turkey Hunting (Gratis Spring) | 644 | |
| Turkey Hunting (Gratis Fall) | 294 | |
| Habitat Stamp | 100,960 | |
| Shooting Preserve | 12 | |
| Fishing/Hunting Guide | 346 | 55 |
| Taxidermist | 269 | 11 |
| Falconry | 4 | |
| Scientific Collector | 36 | 31 |
| Swan | 1,263 | 937 |
| Sandhill Crane | 2,967 | 2,794 |
2024 Special Big Game Licenses
| License | Licenses Available | Applications Received |
|---|---|---|
| Moose | 238 | 23,535 |
| Elk | 829 | 25,534 |
| Bighorn Sheep | 6 | 19,889 |
Financial Statement
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
| Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income | $43,180,684 |
| Expenses | $48,724,951 |
| Fund Balances, Fixed Assets and Long-Term Dept | |
| Game and Fish General Fund | $22,298,207 |
| Habitat and Depredation Fund | $7,223,175 |
| Nongame Wildlife Fund | $151,057 |
| Aquatic Nuisance Species Program | $786,411 |
| Fishing Conservation Fund | $158,510 |
| TOTAL ALL FUNDS | $30,617,360 |
| FIXED ASSETS | $65,754,471 |
| DEPARTMENT NET WORTH | $96,371,831 |