North Dakota Game and Fish Department
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will lift the Tuesday-Wednesday no-camping restriction for Labor Day week, which will allow overnight camping Sept. 8-9 on those wildlife management areas that otherwise have this two-day restriction in place.
A complete list of WMA regulations is available on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Hunters and others enjoying the outdoors this fall should be aware of the daily fire index, take precaution and be prepared. Many parts of the state remain dry with ample fuel for wildfire.
Fall remains a risk period due to increased human activity outdoors in rural areas, drying ground vegetation and high wind potential.
The National Weather Service issues a daily fire index to alert the public to conditions that may be conducive to the accidental starting or spread of fires. County governments may also enact local restrictions and penalties, which remain in effect regardless of the daily fire danger index until officially lifted by the county commission.
Current fire danger indexes and information on local restrictions are available at NDResponse.gov.
In addition to staying informed, outdoor enthusiasts should follow these steps:
North Dakota’s fall turkey application deadline is Sept. 2.
Fall turkey hunters, including gratis applicants, can submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply. Nonresidents can apply for remaining fall turkey licenses following the first lottery.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds anglers to review state regulations and safety guidelines to protect fish populations during the late-summer fishing season.
Anglers intending to release a fish after catching must do so immediately after unhooking the fish. The only exception to this rule is the minimal time required to measure and/or photograph the fish, after which it must be returned to the water without delay.
The Department strongly urges anglers to keep any fish caught from depths greater than 25 feet rather than practicing catch-and-release. Fish reeled up from these depths suffer from barotrauma, a rapid change in pressure that expands the swim bladder and destroys the fish's ability to balance itself. Many deep-water hooked fish also experience severe internal injuries, including ruptured blood vessels and organ damage, meaning many will die if released. To prevent this unnecessary mortality, anglers should either avoid fishing in waters deeper than 25 feet or commit to keeping all fish caught at those depths.
Game and Fish reminds the public that it is illegal to return any fish to the water after it has been held in a livewell, stringer, or any other holding structure. Once a fish is kept, it counts toward the angler's daily creel limit and cannot be released later to be replaced by a different fish.
North Dakota’s deer bow season opens Sept. 4 at noon and continues through Jan. 3, 2027.
Nonresident hunters should note that they may only hunt on private land, excluding Private Land Open To Sportsmen, during the first 9 ½ days of the deer bow season. They may begin hunting public land and PLOTS on Sept. 14.
Bowhunters can buy a license online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, or at vendors linked to the department’s online licensing system.
Hunters should plan accordingly and allow for time to receive their tag in the mail, as the tag will arrive by postal mail and not over the counter while the customer waits. This applies while purchasing a bow license at a license vendor, or at the Game and Fish Department. The bow tag will be mailed the next business day after the license is purchased.
All archery hunters must have a bow tag in possession before hunting.
Hunters can find season information and regulations on the Game and Fish website.
North Dakota law requires all waterfowl hunters, regardless of age, to have a state-issued waterfowl habitat restoration electronic stamp in possession while afield. Waterfowl include ducks, geese, swans, mergansers and coots.
In addition, a federal duck stamp is required for waterfowl hunters 16 and older beginning Sept. 1. The federal electronic duck stamp is valid for the entire waterfowl hunting season. A physical stamp will be mailed in March 2027 to individuals who purchased the e-stamp.
Those interested in buying physical federal duck stamps can purchase them 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 shipping and handling fee is added.
This year’s stamps are 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.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen maps for 2026 are available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
This year features about 925,000 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.
PLOTS maps highlight walk-in hunting access areas, identified in the field by inverted triangular yellow signs, as well as other public lands.
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 office, or print individual maps from the website.
The fall turkey season is set with 3,700 licenses available to hunters, 610 fewer than last year.
License numbers in 13 of 21 hunting units are recommended to be reduced this fall, the remaining hunting units will have the same number of licenses as in 2025.
The special flock reduction bow season will close on Jan. 3, 2027. This mirrors the change to the deer herd reduction season which also closes on Jan. 3, 2027. Previously, these two special seasons were open until Jan. 31.
Applicants can apply online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline is Sept. 2. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply in the first lottery.
The fall wild turkey season runs from Oct. 10 through Jan. 3, 2027.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, local wildlife clubs and other sponsors will host the 19th Annual Youth Outdoor Festival Sept. 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Game and Fish Conservation and Outdoors Skills Park on the grounds of the North Dakota State Fair.
Young outdoor enthusiasts will get to partake in a variety of activities related to archery, fishing, hunting and more. Prizes will be awarded and a free barbeque will be provided.
For more information, contact Game and Fish outreach biologist Greg Gullickson at 701-720-1640.
North Dakota’s pronghorn lottery has been held and all 1,310 licenses were issued.
In total, 17,640 applications were received, including 814 gratis applications.
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. 22 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 $10 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. In addition, all early Canada goose hunters need a waterfowl habitat restoration stamp. Licenses can be purchased online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
Harvest Information Program certification is required and beginning Sept. 1 a federal duck stamp for hunters 16 and older is needed. 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.
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 small game, waterfowl and furbearer proclamation and hunting regulations 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. Game and Fish is attempting to provide additional hunting opportunities to increase pressure on locally breeding Canada geese.
A total of 2,200 tundra swan licenses are available by lottery for the 2026 season. The deadline to apply is Aug. 19
North Dakota residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply. The resident swan license is $10, while the nonresident fee is $50. Successful applicants will receive a tag to take one swan during the season.
The statewide tundra swan hunting season opens on Oct. 3. Since swans are classified as waterfowl, nonresidents may hunt them only during the period their nonresident waterfowl licenses are valid.
All swan hunters, regardless of age, are required to have a general game and habitat license, and a waterfowl habitat restoration stamp. In addition, nonresidents must have a waterfowl license, and residents 16 and older need a small game or combination license.