Individuals interested in taking a hunter education class in 2017 are reminded to register early as most classes are held before summer.
To register for a hunter education course, students need to sign up online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. Many classes are already listed on the website, and the rest will be added throughout the year as they are finalized.
After accessing the Buy and Apply link, click on the hunter ed enrollment link and “list of hunter education courses.” Classes are listed by city, and can also be sorted by start date. To register for a class, click on “enroll” next to the specific class, and follow the simple instructions. Personal information is required.
Individuals interested in receiving a notice by email when each hunter education class is added can click on the “subscribe to news and alerts” link found below the news section on the Game and Fish home page. Check the box labeled “hunter education” under the education program updates.
In addition, SMS text notifications of new classes can be sent directly to a cell phone. Simply text “NDGF HunterClass” to 468311 to subscribe to this feature.
State law requires anyone born after December 31, 1961 to pass a certified hunter education course to hunt in the state. Hunter education is mandatory for youth who are turning 12 years old, and children can take the class at age 11.
New State Law Repeals Eagle Language, Still Protected Under Federal Regulation
A new law passed by the North Dakota State Legislature removes language from state law pertaining to the protection of eagles. However, eagles remain protected under federal regulation.
House Bill 1204, signed into law April 14, repeals language that read “no person may take, kill, hunt, possess, sell, purchase, pursue, shoot at, disturb, capture or destroy any golden eagle, bald eagle, or any nest or egg thereof, within North Dakota.”
Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand said some legislators received calls in opposition, thinking that people would now be able to shoot/hunt eagles if the language was repealed. “Nothing really changes,” Steinwand said. “Eagles are still protected under federal law.”
In addition to the eagle language, House Bill 1204 reduces the age from 16 to 12 for individuals to qualify for an apprentice hunter validation license, and allows youth who turn age 11 before the end of the calendar year to receive a whitetail doe license valid for only the youth deer hunting season.
Bighorn Sheep Population Stable
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s spring bighorn sheep survey revealed a minimum of 296 bighorn sheep in western North Dakota, up slightly from last year and 3 percent above the five-year average.
Altogether, biologists counted 104 rams, 170 ewes and 22 lambs. Not included are approximately 20 bighorns in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Big game biologist Brett Wiedmann said the survey revealed both good and bad news after a sheep die-off that began in 2014.
“This year’s count of adult bighorn was encouraging given the ongoing effects of bacterial pneumonia throughout most of the badlands, but the lamb count was discouraging,” Wiedmann said.
The northern badlands population, which was hit the hardest from the die-off, increased 2 percent from last year. However, the southern badlands population was down 3 percent.
“The total count of adult rams and ewes was the highest on record, but the total count, recruitment rate and winter survival rate for lambs were all the lowest on record,” Wiedmann said. “The recruitment rate of lambs per adult ewes was 15 percent, well below the long-term average.”
Wiedmann noted that one year isn’t necessarily a trend, but poor lamb survival is typical in populations exposed to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, the pathogen responsible for most die-offs of bighorn sheep, and those effects can last many years.
Game and Fish Department biologists count and classify all bighorn sheep in late summer, and then recount lambs the following March, as they approach one year of age, to determine recruitment.
“Adult mortality was low in 2016, and we had a good number of lambs survive in 2014 and 2015 to compensate for most of the adult losses in 2014,” Wiedmann said. “However, many bighorns are still showing signs of pneumonia and lamb recruitment was poor in 2016, so next year’s survey will be important in determining if the state’s population continues to recover from the disease outbreak, or if the pathogens are likely to persist and cause a long-term population decline.”
Dr. Dan Grove, Department veterinarian, said that 19 adult bighorn were tested for deadly pathogens last winter, but results are still pending. He said animals continue to succumb to pneumonia, albeit at a much slower rate.
A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled to open in 2017, unless there is a recurrence of significant adult mortality from bacterial pneumonia. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after the summer population survey is completed.
Game and Fish issued eight licenses in 2016 and all hunters were successful harvesting a ram.
2016 Deer Season Summarized
A total of 44,140 North Dakota deer hunters took approximately 29,300 deer during the 2016 deer gun hunting season, according to a post-season survey conducted by the state Game and Fish Department.
Game and Fish made available 49,000 deer gun licenses last year. Overall hunter success was 66 percent, with each hunter spending an average of 4.4 days in the field.
Hunter success for antlered white-tailed deer was 72 percent, and antlerless whitetail was 60 percent.
Mule deer buck success was 89 percent, and antlerless mule deer was 78 percent.
Hunters with any-antlered or any-antlerless licenses generally harvest white-tailed deer, as these licenses are predominantly in units with mostly whitetails. Buck hunters had a success rate of 71 percent, while doe hunters had a success rate of 66 percent.
Game and Fish issued 13,466 gratis licenses in 2016, and 11,369 hunters harvested 6,593 deer, for a success rate of 58 percent.
A record 26,755 archery licenses (24,532 resident, 2,223 nonresident) were issued in 2016. In total, 22,071 bow hunters harvested 9,492 deer (8,686 whitetails, 806 mule deer), for a success rate of 43 percent.
The department is in the process of determining recommendations for licenses in the 2017 deer proclamation. The proclamation will be sent to the governor’s office for approval in late April.
In addition to harvest rates and winter aerial surveys, the department monitors a number of other population indices to determine license numbers, including depredation reports, hunter observations, input at advisory board meetings, and comments from the public, landowners and department field staff.
Open Fires Banned on Oahe WMA
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is prohibiting open burning this spring on property managed south of Bismarck and Mandan, as a means to reduce potential for wildfires on a heavily wooded recreation area along the Missouri River.
Bill Haase, wildlife resource management supervisor, said all open burning, including campfires, is banned until further notice on the Oahe Wildlife Management Area along both sides of the Missouri River. While the use of portable grills is allowed, extreme caution is advised due to the heavily vegetated area.
Haase said these woodlands are prone to wildfires prior to spring green-up. Mild temperatures and a high fuel load in the river bottoms are a cause for concern, he said, in addition to being a high use area for anglers, campers and other outdoor recreationists.
Oahe WMA covers more than 16,000 acres along Lake Oahe south of Bismarck-Mandan, in portions of Burleigh, Emmons, and Morton counties. Burning restriction signs are posted at all entrances to the WMA.
Game and Fish Sponsors Earth Day Project
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is once again celebrating Earth Day by sponsoring clean-up days on publicly owned or managed lands.
With Earth Day recognized April 22, each member of a school, Girl Scout, Boy Scout, 4-H club or youth organization who participates in cleaning up public lands through May will receive a specifically designed conservation patch.
Last winter the Game and Fish Department sponsored a contest for students ages 6-18 to design a North Dakota Earth Day Patch. Winners in the three age categories were Ryan Schumacher of Dickinson (6-9), Morgan DeGeldere of Grafton (10-13), and Deanna Rose of Grand Forks (14-18). Schumacher’s design was chosen as the contest winner, and will be used on this year’s Earth Day patch.
Groups participating in the Earth Day project are encouraged to take the following precautions to ensure safety: keep young people away from highways, lakes and rivers; and only allow older participants to pick up broken glass.
Interested participants are asked to contact Pat Lothspeich at 328-6332 to receive a reporting form for their project.
Game and Fish Announces Habitat Projects Designed for Wildlife
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is partnering with the U.S Department of Agriculture to provide landowners with options to enroll acreage into two new programs designed to develop wildlife habitat.
A new Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement, are companion programs to the popular Conservation Reserve Program. Game and Fish private land section leader Kevin Kading said the partners are excited about these opportunities available to landowners.
“We’ve worked a long time developing these projects with USDA, and working with other partners and stakeholders,” Kading said. “We feel these are good options for landowners to address a resource concern and also open up some quality habitat for hunters.”
The North Dakota Riparian Project CREP allows states to identify resource concerns and design a custom built CRP along riparian areas, with special focus areas, additional incentives and added flexibility within practices to address resource concerns.
Landowners interested in CREP can enroll acres in portions of Adams, Billings, Bowman, Burleigh, Dunn, Emmons, Grant, Golden Valley, Hettinger, McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sioux, Slope and Stark counties. The enrollment cap for this program is 20,000 acres.
Over a 10-year period, approximately $19 million in federal funds from the Farm Service Agency will be used to provide annual rental, incentive and cost-share payments for filter strips, riparian buffers, or pollinator and honeybee habitat. The state will contribute more than $4.3 million, which is funded from the Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program and the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Fund.
Kading said riparian areas are identified in the Department’s Wildlife Action Plan, and provide important habitat for a variety of fish, plant and animal species, including pollinators and other species of concern, by filtering nutrients and sediments and improving water quality.
Producers interested in developing filter strips, riparian buffers or pollinator and honeybee habitat will enter into a CREP contract with FSA and receive annual rental payments, incentives and cost-share. Game and Fish will also provide additional incentives and cost-share on CREP acres.
Expired CRP is not eligible for the North Dakota Riparian Project CREP. Land offered must meet FSA cropping history requirements and be located within the project boundary.
There is no size requirement for enrolling land into CREP. Any land enrolled in a CREP contract with USDA must also be enrolled in the Game and Fish PLOTS program. Landowners will receive payments for allowing walk-in hunting access, and are eligible for additional habitat enhancements, incentives and cost-share.
Kading said landowners don’t have to allow public access to their entire property, only a 40-acre minimum is required for enrollment in PLOTS.
In addition to the CREP, North Dakota landowners can enroll up to 40,000 acres into the Declining Grasslands Birds SAFE, which is designed to develop habitat for species of special concern.
“Many species of grassland birds have seen significant declines in recent years,” Kading said. “The project was developed around a suite of grassland birds identified in the Department’s Wildlife Action Plan, one of those species is the state bird, the Western meadowlark.”
Through SAFE, landowners can establish native grasses and forbs that will help maintain or improve grassland bird populations. Managed grazing is allowed and will help ensure a healthy and diverse prairie habitat. Landowners will receive annual CRP rental payments, cost-share and signup incentives from USDA. Public access is not required, Kading said, but landowners may be eligible for additional payments and cost-share for allowing walk-in access through the PLOTS program.
Counties in the project area for SAFE are all of Adams, Billings, Bowman, Burleigh, Dunn, Emmons, Grant, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sioux, Slope, Stark and Williams counties; and portions of Burke, Dickey, Divide, Foster, LaMoure, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail, Sheridan, Stutsman, Ward and Wells counties.
For information regarding the project, landowners should contact a local Game and Fish private land biologist or their local county USDA service center.
Hunting Guide and Outfitter Test Set
The next guide and outfitter written examination is May 13 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. The test is given periodically to anyone interested in becoming a hunting guide or outfitter in the state.
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, as well as an individual must have held a hunting guide license for two years; and must have proof of liability insurance.
Interested individuals are required to preregister by calling the Game and Fish Department’s enforcement office at 328-6604.
NASP State Tournament Results
A record total of 614 archers competed in the North Dakota National Archery in the Schools Program state bull’s-eye tournament March 17-18 in Minot, a 15 percent increase from the mark set last year.
Hankinson students claimed top honors in the elementary (grades 4-6), middle school (grades 7-8) and high school (grades 9-12) divisions.
Overall male and female winners were Hankinson archers Clayton Stone and Jaycee Brown.
Winning teams and the top 10 individuals qualify for the national tournament, scheduled for May in Louisville, Ky. The Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Youth Archery Advisory Council contribute a total of $3,000 in travel assistance to the first place team in each division, and $1,000 to the overall male and female individual winners. In addition, a total of $21,000 in college scholarships was awarded by the NDYAAC to the top five overall scorers in both boys and girls divisions.
Qualifying for nationals in each division are:
High school boys – 1) Clayton Stone, Hankinson; 2) Chase Bladow, Hankinson; 3) Evan Mickelson, Mt. Pleasant; 4) Will Peckham, Montpelier; 5) Ty Wixo, Wahpeton; 6) Braydin Diede, Edgeley; 7) Chase Hibl, Wahpeton; 8) Michael McKenna, North Sargent; 9) Noah Trittin, Wahpeton; 10) Brandon Bottchen, Hankinson.
High school girls – 1) Kate Loewen, Hankinson; 2) Jaidyn Sander, Hankinson; 3) Laura Kielb, North Sargent; 4) Morgan Ohm, Hankinson; 5) Abigail Henderson, Edgeley; 6) Alicia Biewer, Hankinson; 7) Mary Goroski, Wahpeton; 8) Cassie Boelke, Wahpeton; 9) Josephine Nelson, North Sargent; 10) Brinley Mathern, Edgeley.
Middle school boys – 1) Grady Henderson, Edgeley; 2) Avery McFarland, North Sargent; 3) Brennan Wiederrich, Edgeley; 4) Jack Thompson, Hope-Page; 5) Austin Bladow, Hankinson; 6) Kase Kassian, Wilton; 7) Kalvin Loewen, Hankinson; 8) Isaac Pierce, North Sargent; 9) Tavon Stadler, Griggs County; 10) Connor Schall, Oakes.
In addition, a record 404 archers – a 25 percent increase from 2016 – competed in a NASP 3-D Challenge, run simultaneously with the bull’s-eye tournament.
Overall male and female winners were Evan Mickelson, Mt. Pleasant, and Kate Loewen, Hankinson.
Top performers in the 3-D high school boys were 1) Evan Mickelson, Mt. Pleasant; 2) Cheyne Meyer, Hankinson; 3) Skylar Keller, Hankinson; 4) Glenn Sabinash, Kensal; 5) Ty Wixo, Wahpeton.
3-D high school girls – 1) Kate Loewen, Hankinson; 2) Mary Goroski, Wahpeton; 3) Chase McFarland, North Sargent; 4) Alicia Biewer, Hankinson; 5) Laura Kielb, North Sargent.
3-D middle school boys – 1) Avery McFarland, North Sargent; 2) Brady McKenna, North Sargent; 3) Austin Bladow, Hankinson; 4) Isaac Pierce, North Sargent; 5) Connor Schall, Oakes.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries biologists are asking anglers to report any lakes that may have experienced winter fish mortality.
Fisheries management section leader Scott Gangl said some winterkill is expected every year, with the severity depending on winter weather. Despite the heavy snow that covered much of the state in December, he doesn’t anticipate major widespread fish kills.
“Our biologists found acceptable levels of oxygen in most lakes during their mid-winter sampling,” Gangl said. “However, we expect some lakes to winterkill. Our staff will be busy spawning fish in the coming weeks, so anglers can help by notifying us of any lakes where they encounter dead fish.”
Biologists will begin sampling suspected winterkill lakes later this spring once fish spawning operations are completed to document the severity of any die-offs.
Anglers should report fish mortality in any North Dakota water by contacting the Game and Fish Department’s main office in Bismarck at 701-328-6300, or the local Game and Fish district office.
Report Bald Eagle Nest Sightings
The State Game and Fish Department is asking for help in locating bald eagle nests in North Dakota.
Game and Fish conservation biologist Sandra Johnson said the department is looking for locations of nests with eagles present, not individual eagle sightings.
Eagles are actively incubating eggs in March and April, and it’s easy to distinguish an eagle nest because of its enormous size. Johnson estimates the state has around 215 active bald eagle nests, possibly more.
Eagle nests are observed in more than three-quarters of the counties in the state, mostly near streams and mid- to large-sized lakes. However, they are also found in unique areas such as shelterbelts surrounded by cropland or pasture.
Observers are asked to not disturb the nest, and to stay away at a safe distance. Johnson said foot traffic may disturb the bird, likely causing the eagle to leave her eggs or young unattended.
White-tailed Deer, Turkey, Coyote Found in Burleigh County; Warden Seeks Information
North Dakota Game and Fish Department district game warden Corey Erck is searching for answers in the illegal taking, possession and dumping of four white-tailed deer, a turkey and coyote on the Apple Creek Wildlife Management Area in Burleigh County.
Erck said he investigated the report after receiving a call March 18, and by all indications the animals were recently discarded in the area.
The four deer and turkey were taken outside of a legal hunting season. All, including the coyote, were dumped on state land. There was evidence the deer and turkey were shot.
Anyone with information who wants to remain anonymous is asked to call the Report All Poachers telephone number at 800-472-2121. Also, callers can contact Erck directly at 701-320-2005.
The RAP line offers rewards for information that leads to conviction of fish and wildlife law violators.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department