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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

News Releases

PLOTS Guide Online

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen Guide for 2024 is now available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. 

The guide will feature about 836,000 PLOTS acres. Because PLOTS tracts can be added or removed from the program throughout the year, hunters are encouraged to use the Game and Fish mobile app or other mapping and browser-based applications to locate and identify these tracts. Map sheets are updated weekly on the department’s website.

The PLOTS guide features maps highlighting these walk-in areas, identified in the field by inverted triangular yellow signs, as well as other public lands.

To maximize the use of hunter dollars, fewer signs will be placed on PLOTS tracts in the future. The cost savings will be directed to the addition of more habitat and access. 

The free printed PLOTS guides will be available in late August at most license vendors and other locations throughout the state.

The guides are not available by mail, so hunters will have to pick one up at a local vendor or Game and Fish offices, or print individual maps from the website.

Concurrent Season Deer Licenses

Hunters can purchase additional, concurrent season deer licenses Aug. 14 at 8 a.m. Central time on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. There is no limit on the number of concurrent season licenses a hunter can purchase.

Concurrent season licenses can be used during the archery season with a bow; deer gun season with a bow, rifle or muzzleloader; or during the muzzleloader season with a muzzleloader. However, youth under 14 (at the end of the calendar year) will be issued a concurrent season license for archery only.

Hunters with concurrent season licenses are restricted to the type of antlerless deer printed on the license and must hunt in the unit in which the license is assigned.

HIP Registration

Migratory bird hunters of all ages need to register with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting ducks, geese, swans, mergansers, coots, cranes, snipe, doves and woodcock. Hunters must register in each state they are licensed to hunt.

Hunters can HIP certify when purchasing a license by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Those who registered to hunt during the spring light goose conservation order in North Dakota do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year.

HIP registration is a cooperative program designed to determine a sample of hunters to measure harvest of migratory birds for management purposes.

Federal Duck Stamp Required

A federal duck stamp is required for waterfowl hunters 16 and older beginning Sept. 1. Waterfowl includes ducks, geese, swans, mergansers and coots.

This year’s 2024-25 federal duck stamp is available for electronic purchase through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, or license vendors registered with the department’s licensing system.  

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.

Those interested in buying physical stamps can be purchased at many U.S. Postal Service offices or the Amplex website, and Amplex should be used for hunters wanting to support conservation by purchasing extra duck stamps.  

The federal duck stamp costs $25. An additional $4 processing fee is added. 

Early Canada Goose Dates Announced

North Dakota’s early Canada goose season dates are set, with bag limits and licensing requirements the same as last year.

Opening day is Aug. 15 in all three zones. Closing dates are Sept. 7 in the Missouri River zone; Sept. 15 in the western zone; and Sept. 20 in the eastern zone.

Early Canada goose limits are 15 daily and 45 in possession.

Limits and shooting hours are different from the regular season, while the zone boundaries remain the same. Shooting hours for early Canada goose are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Residents need a $5 early Canada goose license and a general game and habitat license. Also, residents 16 and older need a small game license. Nonresidents need only a $50 early Canada goose license, and the license is valid statewide without counting against the 14-day regular season license. Licenses can be purchased online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Harvest Information Program certification is required. Those who HIP registered to hunt the spring light goose conservation order in North Dakota do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required in each state only once per year.

Beginning Sept. 1 a federal duck stamp for hunters 16 and older is needed. The federal e-stamp is valid through the entire waterfowl hunting season.

Waterfowl rest areas, closed to hunting during the regular season, are open during the early season. Most land in these rest areas is private, so hunters may need permission to access them.

Early Canada goose regulations can be found in the North Dakota 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Guide on the Game and Fish website. Printed guides will be at vendors by late August.

Hunting of Canada geese in August and early September is intended to reduce local Canada goose numbers, which remain high. Game and Fish is attempting to provide additional hunting opportunities to increase pressure on locally breeding Canada geese.

Small Game, Waterfowl, Furbearer Regulations Set

North Dakota’s 2024 small game, waterfowl and furbearer regulations are set, and most season structures are similar to last year.

Noteworthy items include:

  • Opening day for ducks, geese, coots and mergansers for North Dakota residents is Sept. 21. Nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl in North Dakota Sept. 28.
  • The prairie chicken and sage grouse seasons remain closed due to low populations.
  • An area in Grand Forks County is open to sharp-tailed grouse hunting that was previously closed.
  • Fisher trapping opportunities were expanded by reducing the boundary of the closed area to the Turtle Mountains.
  • Shooting hours for sandhill cranes were extended on Saturdays and Wednesdays beginning Sept. 21 through the end of the season.
  • The federal e-stamp is valid through the entire waterfowl hunting season.

Hunters and trappers can find the North Dakota 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Guide, which includes upland game, migratory game bird and furbearer/trapping regulations, on the Game and Fish website. Printed guides will be available at vendor locations by late August.

For a complete listing of opening and closing dates, and daily and possession limits, refer to the table on pages 4-5 of the guide.

Pronghorn Applications Due

The deadline to apply for the 2024 pronghorn hunting season is Aug. 7.

Applicants can apply online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

More Elk Hunting Opportunities Possible on Public Lands

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing additional elk hunting opportunities on public lands in North Dakota at four national wildlife refuges.

The proposal includes an additional 100,000-plus acres at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge (58,939 acres), Upper Souris NWR (32,026 acres), Lostwood NWR (27,331 acres) and Des Lacs NWR (14,145 acres).

If the proposal is approved after a 30-day public comment period ending Sept. 3, hunters pursuing elk on these lands must use non-lead ammunition. The USFWS intends to finalize the proposed changes in time for the upcoming 2024-25 hunting season.

Register for Game Warden Exam

Individuals interested in taking the exam to select candidates for district game warden positions must register by July 10. Exams are scheduled for 10 a.m. Central time at the following locations:

  • July 17 – Game and Fish office, Williston.
  • July 18 – Game and Fish office, Bismarck.
  • July 19 – Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Fargo.

Applicants must register by submitting an online application through the North Dakota State Job Openings website.

Applicants must be at least 21, have a bachelor’s degree at time of hire or an associate degree with either 2 years of law enforcement or wildlife experience, have a valid driver’s license and a current North Dakota peace officer license, or eligible to be licensed. Candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive background check and must not have a record of any felony convictions.

Salary through training is $5,120 per month. For more information, see the district game warden testing announcement on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Register for Game Warden Exam

Individuals interested in taking the exam to select candidates for district game warden positions must register by July 10. Exams are scheduled for 10 a.m. Central time at the following locations:

  • July 17 – Game and Fish office, Williston.
  • July 18 – Game and Fish office, Bismarck.
  • July 19 – Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Fargo.

Applicants must register by submitting an online application through the North Dakota State Job Openings website.

Applicants must be at least 21, have a bachelor’s degree at time of hire or an associate degree with either 2 years of law enforcement or wildlife experience, have a valid driver’s license and a current North Dakota peace officer license, or eligible to be licensed. Candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive background check and must not have a record of any felony convictions.

Salary through training is $5,120 per month. For more information, see the district game warden testing announcement on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Hunter Education Classes

If you were born after 1961, are 12 years or older, you must take an in-person or home study certified hunter education course before you can get a firearm or bowhunting license in North Dakota.

Understanding this, especially if you have your sights set on hunting this fall, now is not the time to drag your feet. Most in-person courses are from January through May.

Individuals interested in taking a hunter education class in 2024 must click on the education link at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. To register for a class, click on “enroll” next to the specific class, and follow the simple instructions. Personal information is required. Classes are listed by city and can also be sorted by start date. Classes will be added throughout the year as they become finalized.

Individuals interested in receiving a notice by email or SMS text message when each hunter education class is added, can click on the “subscribe to news and alerts” link below the news section on the Game and Fish home page. Check the box labeled “hunter education” under the education program updates.

Children must turn 12 during the calendar year to take the home study course, and age 11 during the calendar year to take the traditional in-person class.

Coyote Catalog Available

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Department of Agriculture are again opening the Coyote Catalog, a statewide effort designed to connect hunters and trappers with landowners dealing with coyotes in their areas.

Landowners can sign up on the Department of Agriculture website, nd.gov/ndda/.

Hunters and trappers can sign up at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Anyone who registered for the Coyote Catalog in the past must register again to activate their name on the database. 

Throughout winter, hunters or trappers may receive information on participating landowners, and should contact landowners to make arrangements.

Landowners experiencing coyote depredation of livestock should first contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.

The Coyote Catalog will remain active through March 31.

For more information, contact Ryan Herigstad at Game and Fish, 701-595-4463 or rherigstad@nd.gov; or Michelle Mielke, at the Department of Agriculture, 701-328-2233 or mmielke@nd.gov.