Jeb Williams, Game and Fish Department director, announced the apportionment of Bill Haase to the agency’s wildlife division chief.
“Bill’s work ethic, experience and passion for the work that we do will suit him quite well for this position,” Williams said.
Haase replaces Casey Anderson who was appointed deputy director in June.
Haase has worked for the Game and Fish Department for 22 years, the last four as assistant wildlife division chief. Prior to that, he was the wildlife resource management supervisor for 10 years.
Remaining Deer Gun Licenses Available Aug. 13
More than 1,100 deer licenses are available in four units for North Dakota’s 2025 deer gun season, and will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Aug. 13 at 8 a.m. Central time. Residents and nonresidents who have not already received a lottery or landowner license are eligible to apply online by visiting the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Hunters who want to purchase additional licenses may do so Aug. 20 at 8 a.m. Central time. At that time, any remaining licenses will be issued as a concurrent season license, which 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 age 14 (at the end of the calendar year) will be issued a concurrent season license for archery only.
There is no limit on the number of concurrent season licenses a hunter can purchase.
Hunters with concurrent season licenses are restricted to the type of antlerless deer printed on the license and must stay in the unit in which the license is assigned.
Unit
Type
Available
3A1
Any antlerless
81
3A2
Any antlerless
54
3F1
Antlerless whitetail
251
3F2
Any antlerless
468
3F2
Antlerless whitetail
322
Report Boat Accidents
Boat accidents involving injury, death or disappearance of a person must be reported to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department within 48 hours of the occurrence. If property damage exceeds $2,000, but no deaths or injuries occur, a boat operator has five days to file a report.
These reporting requirements are mandatory whether one or more boats are involved.
A boat accident form is available on the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, at any Game and Fish office or by contacting a local game warden.
Game and Fish at State Fair
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will host thousands of visitors to its free Conservation and Outdoors Skills Park July 18-26 at the State Fair in Minot.
Visitors will be treated to an array of activities, exhibits and useful information as the park is open from 1-7 p.m. daily. Pathways to Hunting, Fishing, Trapping and Archery are major attractions where interested kids and adults participate in each outdoor activity.
In addition to hands-on outdoor learning opportunities, the area offers a live fish display, boat and water safety station, furbearer exhibit and native prairie plantings. An information center staffed by Game and Fish Department personnel is located in the Conservation and Outdoors Skills Park, on the north end of the fairgrounds near the State Fair Center.
Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest
Photographers interested in sending photos for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest must follow guidelines for submitting their work.
Photographers should go to the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov/wildlife/watchable-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.
The contest is open and the deadline for submitting photos is Oct. 1. For more information or questions, contact Patrick Isakson, department conservation supervisor, at pisakson@nd.gov.
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.
Contestants are limited to no more than 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, on the department’s website and social media channels.
Operation Dry Water
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
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.
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.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department