The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will participate in Operation Dry Water as part of a nationally coordinated effort to increase knowledge about the dangers of boating under the influence. The goal is to reduce the number of accidents and deaths associated with alcohol and drug use on state waterways.
ODW weekend, July 4-6, is the national weekend of heightened enforcement directed at boating under the influence laws and recreational boater outreach.
While educating boaters about the hazards associated with boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a year-round effort, on ODW weekend the Game and Fish Department’s game wardens focus on the water, informing boaters about safe boating practices, and removing impaired operators from the water.
Tips for staying safe on the water:
Boat sober – Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boater deaths. Alcohol and drug use impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time.
Wear your life jacket – 85% of drowning victims nationwide were not wearing a life jacket.
Take the online boating safety education course – 71% of deaths nationwide occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction.
Crowing Counts Up Statewide
The number of roosters heard during the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2025 spring pheasant crowing count survey was up 6% statewide from last year.
“We basically have had two really easy winters, especially for North Dakota standards, with not much snow and really nice temperatures,” said RJ Gross, Department upland game management biologist.
The primary regions holding pheasants showed 31.1 crows per stop in the southwest, up from 28.8 in 2024; 21.3 crows per stop in the northwest, down from 21.5; and 18.6 crows per stop in the southeast, up from 16.2. The count in the northeast, which is not a primary region for pheasants, was 6.5 crows per stop, up from 5 last year.
Barring untimely heavy rains, cool weather or hail, Gross expects more good news as the peak of the pheasant hatch is upon us.
“Entering the nesting season, residual grass cover looked good,” Gross said. “The timely May rains caused increased growth in nesting and brood rearing cover across the state. Combined with high overwinter survival the past two years and near ideal nesting habitat conditions, things are looking good for upland birds in portions of North Dakota.”
Pheasant crowing counts are conducted each spring throughout North Dakota. Observers drive specified 20-mile routes, stopping at predetermined intervals, and counting the number of roosters heard crowing over a 2-minute period.
The number of pheasant crows heard is compared to previous years’ data, providing a trend summary.
North Dakota’s deer gun lottery has been held and more than 2,900 licenses remain. Only resident applicants who were unsuccessful in the lottery can apply for remaining licenses.
Successful applicants will have their payment processed, with licenses mailed in early August.
More than 70,000 individuals applied for a deer gun lottery license, in addition to over 12,000 gratis applicants. The 2025 deer gun proclamation allows for 42,300 deer gun season licenses.
Unsuccessful applicants can apply online for remaining licenses beginning July 2. The deadline for applying is July 16.
Remaining Deer Gun Licenses
(B = Any Antlerless D = Antlerless Whitetail)
Unit
Type
Available
3A1
B
589
3A2
B
441
3E2
D
38
3F1
B
105
3F1
D
340
3F2
B
1,016
3F2
D
363
4F
D
43
Fireworks Prohibited on WMAs, Camping Restrictions Lifted for Holiday
Outdoor enthusiasts should note that possession or use of fireworks on state wildlife management areas is prohibited.
The primary objective of a wildlife management area is to enhance wildlife production, provide hunting and fishing opportunities, and offer other outdoor recreational and educational uses compatible with these objectives. Only activities that would not disrupt the intentions of how these areas are managed are encouraged, and fireworks are not compatible.
In addition, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department will lift the Tuesday-Wednesday no-camping restriction for the Fourth of July holiday week, which will allow overnight camping July 1-2 on those WMAs that otherwise have this two-day restriction.
Guide and Outfitter Exam Scheduled
The next guide and outfitter written examination is Aug. 16 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. Preregistration is required no later than Aug. 8 by calling the Department’s enforcement office at 701-328-6604.
In addition to passing a written exam, qualifications for becoming a guide include a background check for criminal and game and fish violations, certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and standard first aid, and employment by or contract with a licensed hunting outfitter.
Hunting outfitter eligibility requirements include the guide qualifications, and an individual must have held a hunting guide license for two years and must have proof of liability insurance.
Riverdale Angler’s Whitefish Breaks Record
Lonnie Liebel caught a new state record lake whitefish that had been in the books for more than 40 years.
The Riverdale angler reeled in his 9-pound, 3-ounce whitefish on June 2 from the Garrison Dam Tailrace in the Missouri River.
The previous record of 8 pounds, 11 ounces was established in 1984 by Bill Mitzel, a Bismarck angler who was also fishing the tailrace.
Pronghorn Survey Begins
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual aerial pronghorn survey will begin June 28 and is scheduled to be completed within two weeks.
During the survey period, small airplanes will sometimes fly low over parts of western North Dakota.
The survey determines pronghorn abundance, herd demographics and fawn production. This data is used to set the number of licenses for the fall hunting season.
Breeding Duck Numbers Decline Again
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 78th annual spring breeding duck survey conducted in May showed an index of about 2.66 million birds, down from 2.9 million in 2024 and 3.4 million in 2023.
The 2025 breeding duck index was the 33rd highest on record and exceeded the long-term (1948-2024) average by 7%, according to Mike Szymanski, Department migratory game bird supervisor.
“Things are continuing to decline a little bit as far as duck populations go. The mallard population estimate was down 26% from last year and is the lowest estimated mallard breeding population on our survey since 1993,” Szymanski said. “Blue-winged teal, green-winged teal and pintails also had significant population declines, whereas the declines for gadwall, shovelers and ruddy ducks were not as significant. We did have a few species – wigeon, canvasbacks, redheads and lesser scaup – that showed increases from last year on our survey.”
Szymanski said there are a few things factoring into the declines, including poor wetland conditions for early migrating species like mallards and pintails. Many of these birds, which arrived in North Dakota before the nourishing rains in May, likely spurned the state because of dry conditions and headed to search for breeding areas farther north. Also, the decline in breeding duck numbers has a lot to do with the loss of CRP and perennial grasses on the landscape used for nesting cover by ducks.
“We've lost so much grass on the landscape that it makes it really hard for duck populations and other ground-nesting birds to do well,” Szymanski said. “One metric we look at is going back to 1994 to 2016 when we had really good wetland conditions and a lot of grass, a lot of CRP on the landscape. Our total duck population is now down 34% from that time period's average, and our mallard breeding population in North Dakota is down 57% from that average. Those are pretty significant declines.”
Like in year’s past, Szymanski and crew covered more than 1,800 miles of transects counting wetlands and waterfowl down to the species and social grouping on both sides of the road. This spring, the wetland count was the 52nd highest on record but was down 38% from last year.
“We do our survey based on phenology and migration ecology of ducks coming through the state and this year it happened to be timed before we got quite a bit of rain later in May. So, not having much snow melt in the spring, our wetland counts were down quite a bit,” he said. “Conditions were pretty dry and that affected how ducks settled in the state. The western third of the state was very dry and then the eastern two thirds of the state was still quite dry, but a little bit better when we ran the survey.”
Szymanski reiterated that for duck populations to rebound in North Dakota and provide good opportunities for hunters, more grass and water are needed.
“North Dakota is the duck factory of the United States and North America. We have a lot of folks relying on us to produce ducks, not just our hunters here in North Dakota, but hunters all across the Central and Mississippi flyways,” he said. “When we have poor production in North Dakota, other folks feel it as well. Unfortunately, the direction we're going right now is smaller and smaller fall flights.”
As always, Szymanski cautions waterfowl hunters about reading too much into our survey numbers just yet. He said that while the Mid-continent duck populations aren’t what they once were, we’ll know more once the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases their fall survey area results sometime in early fall.
“And we’ll see how July goes when we do our duck brood survey,” he said. “Wetland conditions are a little bit improved from where they were in early May, but they're still not great. We likely would have had disastrous production if we didn’t get the rain we got. Hopefully, having some fair wetland conditions going into June will help us out and get a little duck production this year.”
Casey Anderson Appointed Deputy Director
Jeb Williams, Game and Fish Department director, announced the appointment of Casey Anderson to the agency’s deputy director position.
Anderson has been with the Department for 24 years, seven years as assistant wildlife division chief, and for the last four years he led the wildlife division as chief. He replaces Scott Peterson who spent 40 years with the agency, the last 11 as deputy director.
“Casey Anderson brings a combination of field and administrative experience, strong leadership, and an unwavering commitment to North Dakota’s fish and wildlife resources,” Williams said. “His ability to communicate with both the public and staff, coupled with a lifelong passion for our state, makes him exceptionally well-suited to step into the deputy director position.”
Anderson started with the agency in 2001 as a wildlife seasonal in Riverdale, building fences, spraying noxious weeds and whatever else needed attention in the district.
“I believe in the outdoors experience and benefiting from the quality of life that comes with being outdoors in North Dakota,” Anderson said. “By taking this position, I want to help maintain those experiences we get in the outdoors for all North Dakota citizens.”
Boat North Dakota Course
North Dakota state law requires youth ages 12-15 who want to operate a boat or personal watercraft by themselves with at least a 10-horsepower motor must pass the state’s boating basics course.
While the home-study course is free, there is a fee to take it online. The online provider charges for the course, not the Game and Fish Department. The fee remains with the online provider.
The course covers legal requirements, navigation rules, getting underway, accidents and special topics such as weather, rules of the road, laws, life saving and first aid.
Deer Application Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications for the 2025 deer gun season is June 4.
Those who didn’t apply last year will lose accrued points by not applying or purchasing a point this year.
Gratis applications received on or before the regular deer gun lottery application deadline will qualify for an any-legal-deer license. As per state law, gratis applications received after the deadline will be processed based on licenses remaining after the lottery.
Free Fishing Weekend
North Dakota residents who want to give fishing a try can fish for free June 7-8.
That is the state’s free fishing weekend, when all residents 16 and older can fish any North Dakota water without a license. Residents 15 and younger do not need a fishing license at any time of year.
The weekend provides a great opportunity to try fishing for the first time or take someone new.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department