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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

News Releases

Inspecting for Zebra Mussels

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is asking water recreationists and property owners to check for zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species when removing boat lifts, docks and other equipment from state waters.

Ben Holen, ANS coordinator, said water recreationists and property owners play a vital role in ANS prevention.

Zebra mussels attach to hard surfaces left in the water for long periods of time, first settling in tight spaces and areas that are protected from sunlight, Holen said. Equipment such as boat lifts and docks are high risk vectors for spreading ANS, especially zebra mussels.

“It makes it easier to do a thorough search when equipment is taken out of the water in fall,” he said. “Pay special attention to wheel wells, right angles on frames, and areas otherwise protected from sunlight. Feel for attached organisms that have small hair-like structures holding them in place. Small mussels can feel like rough sandpaper and adults can be as large as 2 inches long.”

Holen said if you think you’ve found a zebra mussel, take photos, write down any relevant information, such as how many were found and where, and report it online at the Game and Fish website gf.nd.gov/ans, or email Holen at bholen@nd.gov.

 

Game Wardens Association Offers Scholarships

The North Dakota Game Wardens Association is sponsoring scholarships for enrolled higher education students interested in majoring in wildlife law enforcement or a related field.

Applications must be submitted by email to ndgamewardens@gmail.com no later than Nov. 15.

 

Shooting Range Grants

Local clubs or communities interested in receiving a grant to update or improve their existing shooting range must have the application in no later than Oct. 1.

Shooting range enhancements include berms, benches, target hanger and throwers, storage buildings, sanitary facilities and lighting.

To qualify for a grant, clubs must be a nonprofit in good standing with the state, must either own or have a long-term lease on the property, and the range must be open for public use.

For more information, including a shooting range grant application, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov.

Waterfowl Hunters and ANS Regulations

Waterfowl hunters should do their part in preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species into or within North Dakota.

Hunters must remove aquatic plants and plant fragments from decoys, strings and anchors; remove aquatic plant seeds and plant fragments from waders and other equipment before leaving hunting areas; remove all water from decoys, boats, motors, trailers and other watercraft; and remove all aquatic plants from boats and trailers before leaving a marsh or lake. In addition, hunters are encouraged to brush their hunting dogs free of mud and seeds.

Cattails and bulrushes may be transported as camouflage on boats. All other aquatic vegetation must be cleaned from boats prior to transportation into or within North Dakota.

Drain plugs on boats must remain pulled when a boat is in transit away from a water body.

In addition, hunters are reminded of a state law that requires motorized watercraft, including motorized duck boats, operated on state waters and not licensed in North Dakota, to display an ANS sticker, including an ANS fee of $15 to be paid each calendar year.  

For more ANS information, including regulations, or to purchase the ANS sticker, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

2024 Waterfowl Season

North Dakota’s waterfowl season opens for residents Sept. 21, while nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl Sept. 28.

The season for swans opens Sept. 28 for both residents and nonresidents who have purchased a swan license.

Shooting hours for all geese are one-half hour before sunrise to 2 p.m. each day.

Extended shooting hours for all geese are permitted from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset on Saturdays and Wednesdays through the end of each season. Starting Dec. 1, all day hunting is also allowed on Sundays through the end of each season. 

A federal duck stamp is required for waterfowl hunters 16 and older. As a result of the Duck Stamp Modernization Act, the electronic stamp is now valid for the entire waterfowl hunting season. A physical stamp will be mailed in March 2025 to individuals who purchased the e-stamp. Hunters wanting to support conservation by purchasing extra duck stamps, or prefer a physical stamp, should visit the Amplex website.

Hunters who do not HIP certify when they buy a North Dakota license can add it through the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov. Those who registered to hunt North Dakota’s spring light goose season or August Management Take/Early September Canada goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required in each state only once per year.

Hunters should refer to the North Dakota 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Guide for further details on the waterfowl season.

Feathers for Science

Hunters can help in the effort to manage upland game birds in the state by collecting feathers from harvested birds and sending in wing envelopes.

Birds included in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game wing survey, which has been in practice for decades, are ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, gray partridge (commonly referred to as Hungarian partridge), turkeys and ruffed grouse.

Collecting enough pheasant samples is typically never a problem, but securing enough sharptail and partridge feathers can be.

Game and Fish biologists will take as many sharptail and partridge feathers as they can get because the more collected, the better the data. Biologists can determine sex and age ratios from wings and tail feathers, survival, nesting success, hatch dates and overall production. What biologists learn from the samples is vital to helping manage North Dakota’s upland game birds.

Hunters interested in receiving wing envelopes should visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov, or contact the Department’s main office in Bismarck at 701-328-6300 or email ndgf@nd.gov.

Hunters can also get wing envelopes at Game and Fish District offices in Devils Lake, Jamestown, Riverdale, Dickinson, Williston and Lonetree Wildlife Management Area near Harvey.

 

Upland Game Brood Survey

North Dakota’s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate pheasant numbers were up, while gray partridge and sharp-tailed grouse numbers were down.

Game and Fish Department upland game biologist RJ Gross said although the state experienced a mild winter and an optimistic start to the breeding season, the wet, cold June appears to have impacted partridge and sharptails particularly, leading to smaller brood sizes for pheasants.

“Hunters should expect to find similar numbers to last year, with a higher proportion of adult pheasants in the population, smaller partridge coveys and slightly fewer sharptail,” Gross said.

Total pheasants observed (94.5 per 100 miles) are up 25% from last year and broods (11.6) per 100 miles are up 33%. The average brood size (5.5) is down 13%. The final summary is based on 274 survey runs made along 100 brood routes across North Dakota.

Observers in the northwest counted 20.8 broods and 164 pheasants per 100 miles, up from 19.1 broods and 159 pheasants in 2023. Average brood size was 5.3 chicks.

Results from the southeast showed 7.9 broods and 57 pheasants per 100 miles, up from 5.9 broods and 53 pheasants in 2023. Average brood size was 4.6 chicks.

Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicated 13.8 broods and 119 pheasants per 100 miles, up from 9.7 broods and 86.2 pheasants in 2023. Average brood size was six chicks.

The northeast district, generally containing secondary pheasant habitat with lower pheasant numbers compared to the rest of the state, showed 4.3 broods and 37 pheasants per 100 miles, compared to two broods and 19 pheasants last year. Average brood size was 5.5 chicks.

Sharptails were down 20% statewide (23 sharptail per 100 miles), but remain above the 10-year average. Brood survey results showed 2.4 broods per 100 miles and an average brood size of 5.5, which is mediocre for grouse reproduction.

Partridge observed per 100 miles were down 20% from the near all-time high in 2023, and remain 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).

The grouse and partridge seasons open Sept. 14 and continue through Jan. 5, 2025.

The pheasant season opens Oct. 12 and continues through Jan. 5, 2025. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Oct. 5-6.

Seven Bighorn Sheep Licenses

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department allocated seven bighorn sheep licenses for the 2024 hunting season, one more than last year.

One license was issued in unit B1, two in B3, two in B4 and one in B5. In addition, one license, as authorized under North Dakota Century Code, was auctioned in March by the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, from which all proceeds are used to enhance bighorn sheep management in North Dakota.

In total, 19,889 applicants applied for bighorn sheep. Successful applicants have been notified.

Prospective hunters were required to apply for a bighorn license earlier this year on the bighorn sheep, moose and elk application.

Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest

The deadline for submitting entries in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest is Oct. 1.

The contest has categories for nongame and game species, as well as plants/insects. An overall winning photograph will be chosen, with the number of place winners in each category determined by the number of qualified entries.

Photographers should go to the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov/photo-contest. Then it is a matter of providing some pertinent information about the photo and uploading it. Doing so helps both with ease of submitting photos for the photographer and managing those images for department staff. 

Contestants are limited to five entries. Photos must have been taken in North Dakota.

By submitting an entry, photographers grant permission to Game and Fish to publish winning photographs in North Dakota OUTDOORS, the department’s website and social media channels.

 

Remaining Fall Turkey Licenses Available Sept. 18

The fall wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 900 licenses remain in 10 units. Unsuccessful applicants will have a refund issued to their credit card.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Central time on Sept. 18, all remaining licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters are allowed a maximum of five licenses for the fall season.

Resident and nonresident hunters must purchase a license online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

The fall turkey season runs Oct. 12 – Jan. 5, 2025.

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 03, Benson and Ramsey counties and a portion of Pierce County, (11); Unit 04, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties, (27); Unit 13, Dunn County, (529); Unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and portions of Morton County, (27); Unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties, (214); Unit 31, Mountrail County, (24); Unit 44, Slope County, (20); Unit 45, Stark County, (23); Unit 47, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties, (22); and Unit 51, Burke County, Renville County and a portion of Ward County, (27).

 

 

Youth, Military Waterfowl Weekend

Introduce a youngster to duck hunting during North Dakota’s two-day youth waterfowl weekend Sept. 14-15. In addition, the special veteran and active military personnel waterfowl season is set for the same weekend.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has a Virtual Duck Hunting Mentor webpage with all the basics, including license requirements, regulations, gear recommendations and tips for finding a place to hunt.

Legally licensed resident and nonresident youth waterfowl hunters 15 and younger, and veterans and members of the Armed Forces on active duty, including members of the National Guard and Reserves on active duty (other than for training), may hunt ducks, geese, coots and mergansers statewide.

The daily bag limit and species restrictions are the same as for regular duck and goose seasons. However, the additional two blue-winged teal allowed during the first 16 days of the regular season are not allowed during this weekend, and hunters should adhere to early Canada goose regulations when hunting in an open early September Canada goose zone.

Resident and qualifying nonresident youth waterfowl hunters must possess a general game and habitat license. 

Veterans and members of the Armed Forces must possess a resident hunting license, which includes a general game and habitat license and a small game license. 

Hunters 16 and older must also possess a federal waterfowl stamp, and youth 12 and older need to have passed a certified hunter education course.

In addition, all hunters must be Harvest Information Program certified. Hunters who do not HIP certify when they buy a North Dakota license can add it by visiting the state Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov.

 

Zebra Mussels Discovered in South Golden Lake

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of invasive zebra mussels in South Golden Lake, Steele County, after detecting zebra mussel veligers in routine net samples. 

Department aquatic nuisance species coordinator Ben Holen said subsequent follow-up sampling found additional adult mussels in the lake.

The 331-acre lake is a popular recreation destination located 13 miles southwest of Hatton. 

Due to its immediate downstream connection, North Golden will be 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 will go into effect immediately to prohibit the movement of water away from the lake, including water for transferring bait. Notices will be posted at lake access sites. 

Zebra mussels are just one of the nonnative aquatic species that threaten our waters and native wildlife. After using any body of water, people must remember to follow North Dakota regulations:

  • Remove aquatic vegetation before leaving the water access and do not import into North Dakota.
  • Drain all water before leaving the water access.
  • Remove drain plugs and devices that hold back water and leave open and out during transport.
  • Do not import aquatic bait into the state. For Class I ANS infested waters, aquatic bait cannot be transported away from the water. In all other areas, bait must be transported in a container that holds 5 gallons or less. It is illegal to dump unused bait on shore or into the lake. 

In addition to North Dakota regulations, the Game and Fish Department strongly recommends the following:

  • Avoid mooring watercraft in zebra mussels infested waters. 
  • Clean – remove plants, animals and excessive mud prior to leaving a water access.
  • Drain – drain all water prior to leaving a water access.
  • Dry – allow equipment to dry completely or disinfect before using again. This includes boat docks and boat lifts. North Dakota Administrative Code states that “All docks, lifts and related equipment must be dried and left out of water for at least 21 days before they may be placed in another water.” For more information about ANS in North Dakota, options for disinfection, or to report a possible ANS, visit https://gf.nd.gov/ans.