Buffaloberry Patch
Record Count of Bighorn Sheep
2025 CWD Test Results
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department tested 1,224 animals for chronic wasting disease during the 2025 sampling season. Game and Fish confirmed 16 deer tested positive for CWD, all of which were taken by hunters.
Deer that tested positive for CWD came from the following units:
- 3A1 (five mule deer, one whitetail)
- 3D2 (two mule deer)
- 3E1 (one mule deer and one whitetail)
- 3E2 (one mule deer)
- 3F1 (one whitetail)
- 3F2 (two mule deer and one whitetail)
- 2B (one whitetail)
CWD was not previously detected in units 2B and 3D2.
Game and Fish will use its 2025 surveillance data to guide CWD management moving forward. Regulations related to CWD are set annually by proclamation.
CWD is a fatal disease of deer, moose and elk that remains on the landscape and can cause long-term population impacts as infection rates climb.
More information about CWD.New Licenses Needed
North Dakota anglers, hunters and trappers should note that new licenses are required beginning April 1.
Licenses can be purchased online on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Once the license is processed, hunters and anglers will have the option to print a hard copy and/or download the license to a smart phone or mobile device, which is helpful when asked by a game warden to show proof while hunting or fishing in rural areas that lack cellular service.
Licenses can also be purchased at more than 80 vendor locations throughout the state. The 2026-27 small game, fishing and furbearer licenses are effective April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
2025 Big 3 Harvest Statistics
North Dakota Game and Fish Department harvest statistics show overall success for the 2025 season was 100% for bighorn sheep, 87% for moose and 62% for elk.
Bighorn Sheep
The Department issued eight bighorn sheep licenses, one of which was an auction license. The Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife issued two licenses in 2025, one to a tribal member and one to a Game and Fish Department applicant. All 10 hunters were successful.
Moose
The Department issued 292 moose licenses last year. Of that total, 281 hunters harvested 245 animals – 147 bulls and 98 cows/calves. Harvest for each unit follows:
| Unit | Hunters | Bulls | Cow/Calf | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 42.86 |
| M6 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 80 |
| M8 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 86.67 |
| M9 | 80 | 33 | 35 | 85 |
| M10 | 114 | 61 | 45 | 92.98 |
| M11 | 55 | 31 | 16 | 85.45 |
Elk
The Department issued 1,021 elk licenses last year. Of that total, 929 hunters harvested 576 elk – 280 bulls and 296 cows/calves. Harvest for each until follows:
| Unit | Hunters | Bulls | Cow/Calf | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1E | 134 | 33 | 36 | 51.49 |
| E1W | 191 | 43 | 62 | 54.97 |
| E2 | 199 | 59 | 75 | 67.34 |
| E3 | 364 | 121 | 121 | 66.48 |
| E4 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 86.36 |
| E6 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 23.08 |
| E7 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 66.67 |
2026 Waterfowl Hunting Season
North Dakota’s waterfowl season opens for residents Sept. 26, while nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl Oct. 5.
The resident-only portion of the season has been extended from seven days in previous years to nine days in 2026. This change, which was first presented to the public starting summer 2025, provides additional early season opportunities for resident hunters.
The zones and overall season structure for nonresident hunters will remain the same as the 2025 hunting season.
The North Dakota 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Guide will be available this summer and will provide further details on the waterfowl hunting season.
From left. Bruce Baer, Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, and Casey Anderson, Department deputy director.
From left: Jeb Williams, Department director, and Robert Ell Jr., Volunteer of the Year.
Casey Anderson, Department deputy director, third from the left, with five of the seven members of the Hunter Education Team of the Year. Team members, from left, include Kevin Lech, Michael Bahm, John Bahm, Leah Vantilborg and Earl Torgerson.
Agency Volunteers Honored
Volunteer instructors for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department were recognized at the annual banquet in Bismarck.
Bruce Baer, Belfield, was recognized as Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, while the Hunter Education Team of the Year went to Johnathan Bahm, Michael Bahm, Kevin Lech and Leah Vantilborg, all Mandan, and Mike Hinrichs, Brock Larson and Earl Torgerson, all Bismarck. Robert Ell Jr., Wilton, was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award.
Longtime volunteers were also recognized for their service:
5 Years – Brayden Barnhart, Dickinson; Casey Bernard, Mandan; Baron Blanchard, Bismarck; Dan Brown, Williston; Penny Brown, Williston; Travis Dalby, Surrey; Kody Faul, McClusky; Tim Fiebiger, Valley City; Phillip Hatcher, Valley City; Jesse Herman, Gwinner; Ashley Lee, Portland; Trevor Levenseller, Reynolds; Matthew Liebel, Williston; Barbara Martin, Anamoose; Andrea Martinez, New Town; Brian Mattson, Hillsboro; Rob Owens, Hillsboro; Derek Plautz, Thompson; Alicia Randall, Minot; John Reimche, Bottineau; Jay Roemmich, Spiritwood; Michael Schirado, Linton; Rachel Spear, Drake; and Barbara Tessier, Belfield.
10 Years – Robert Curl, Beach; Don Frost, West Fargo; Lisa Goldade, Wishek; Henry Juntunen, Bismarck; Brian Miller, Heaton; Jared Nygaard, Bismarck; Earl Torgerson, Bismarck; Bradley Veith, Bismarck; and Lonnie Wertz, Hoarce.
15 Years – Travis Anderson, Grand Forks; Damon Bosche, Medina; Mark Crosby, Bowbells; Kendon Faul, McClusky; Stephen Hunt, Reynolds; Richard Lehmann, Towner; Kellen Leier, Bismarck; Roger Longnecker, New Rockford; Melanie Nelson, Harvey; Antoine Smith, New Town; Matt Webster, Jamestown.
20 Years – Jerod Basol, Portland; Daniel Duchscherer, Towner; Justin Hughes, Minot; Perry Johnson, Northwood; Ruth Johnson, Belfield; Suzanne Kersting, Kindred; Roger Norton, Kindred; David Sardelli, Hebron; John Schwalk, Milnor; Rick Tischaefer, Butte; and Charles Wilkinson, Garrison.
25 Years – Bruce Baer, Belfield; Darren Benneweis, Lisbon; Larry Brooks, Valley City; Corinne Engen, Anamoose; Sean-Padric Hagan, Walhalla; Jeremy Haugen, Max; Rodney Howatt, Langdon; Grant Johnson, Almont; Darrell Kersting, Kindred; Daniel Narum, LaMoure; Chris Pulver, Stanley; Jerry Schroeder, Horace; and Wayne Stanley, Minot.
30 Years – Lynn Baier, Fordville; Glen Fuhrman, Bismarck; Larry Leier, Hague; Larry Nagel, Shields; Darris Olson, Bowbells; Don Underwood, Grand Forks; Larry Viall, Epping; and Mark Volk, Bismarck.
Staff Notes
Ullyott Joins Dickinson Staff
Broden Ullyott was hired as a wildlife resource management biologist for the Game and Fish Department in Dickinson.
A North Dakota State University graduate, Ullyott worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited as a conservation specialist before joining the agency.
Herigstad Fills Bismarck Position
Ryan Herigstad was promoted to the Game and Fish Department’s wildlife health biologist position in Bismarck.
Herigstad, a University of North Dakota graduate, joined the agency in 2014 as a migratory game bird technician and has worked as a game management technician since 2016.
O’Connell Named Fisheries Tech
Sanden O’Connell was hired as a fisheries biological technician in Williston.
A graduate of Valley City State University, O’Connell has prior seasonal experience with the Game and Fish Department and was working as an assistant fisheries biologist for Indiana Department of Natural Resources before his Williston appointment.
PF Partner of the Year
Erica Sevigny, North Dakota Game and Fish Department private land biologist in Williston, was awarded the North Dakota Pheasants Forever’s Partner of the Year Award in January.
“When the MonDak Habitat Incentive Outdoor Heritage Fund proposal was first developed, Erica didn’t hesitate to jump in and ask, “How can I help?” From there, she consistently showed up to every meeting with thoughtful ideas that strengthened the program, always balancing what is best for wildlife and staying rooted in the reality of what landowners are looking for in a program,” said Renee Fladeland, Pheasants Forever senior field representative.
Fladeland said PF is grateful to work alongside Sevigny and Game and Fish in the effort, which has already resulted in new access to 3,145 Private Land Open To Sportsmen acres, with 1,576 of those acres featuring new habitat.
Fryda Earns MRNRC Honor
Dave Fryda, former Missouri River System supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, was awarded posthumously the Missouri River Champion Award.
The award was presented by the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee at their annual conference. The MRNRC is a multi-state consortium of state and federal biologists with fish and wildlife management responsibilities for the Missouri River from its headwaters to the confluence with the Mississippi. Fryda served as the Department’s delegate on the MRNRC during his time as Missouri River System supervisor.
Fryda’s professional career started with the Department in 2000 working as a fisheries biologist in Riverdale. In 2007, he was promoted to Missouri River System supervisor where he supervised the management of the Missouri River, Lake Sakakawea, and the North Dakota portion of Lake Oahe. The Missouri River System in North Dakota includes some of the state’s most important fisheries and is well known for its trophy walleye and northern pike. In 2023, Fryda transferred to the north central district fisheries supervisor position.
“Throughout his 25-year career, Dave expressed his passion for the outdoors in the work that he did. He could be counted on to be brutally honest in the expression of his views and passion for the resource,” said Russ Kinzler, Department Missouri River System supervisor. “Dave had a no-nonsense approach to fisheries management, which produced effective results that our anglers could enjoy.”