The fall turkey season is set with 4,310 licenses available to hunters, 235 less than last year.
One of the 21 hunting units has more licenses than last year, eight have fewer licenses and 12 units remain the same.
Unit 21 (Hettinger and Adams counties), which has been closed for several years due to a low turkey population because of a lack of quality habitat, has been extended into units 44 and 06 to allow for more opportunities.
Applicants can apply online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline is Sept. 3.
Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply in the first lottery.
The fall wild turkey season runs from Oct. 11 through Jan. 4, 2026.
Deer Archery Season Opens Aug. 29
North Dakota’s deer bow season opens Aug. 29 at noon and continues through Jan. 4, 2026.
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 purchase additional, concurrent season deer licenses Aug. 20 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.
Youth Outdoor Festival in Minot
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, local wildlife clubs and other sponsors will usher youngsters into fall during the annual Youth Outdoor Festival in Minot.
The event is Aug. 28 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 experience outdoor activities that relate to archery, fishing, waterfowl and upland game. 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.
PLOTS Guide Online
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen Guide for 2025 is available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
The guide will feature about 880,000 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 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.
In total, 16,488 applications were received, including 837 gratis applications.
Free Fishing Weekend
North Dakota residents who want to give fishing a try can fish for free June 7-8.
That is the state’s free fishing weekend, when all residents 16 and older can fish any North Dakota water without a license. Residents 15 and younger do not need a fishing license at any time of year.
The weekend provides a great opportunity to try fishing for the first time or take someone new.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department removed the open fire ban on Oahe Wildlife Management Area. However, this area still falls under county burn restrictions.
Oahe WMA covers more than 16,000 acres along the Missouri River south of Bismarck and Mandan within Burleigh, Emmons and Morton counties.
ANS Awareness Week
May 4-10 is Aquatic Nuisance Species Awareness Week in North Dakota in an effort to raise public understanding of the preventative steps recreationists need to follow to stop the introduction and spread of ANS in the state’s waterways.
ANS are nonnative plants, animals or pathogens that can affect the ecology of our lakes and rivers and the economic and recreational value of those waterways.
Ben Holen, state Game and Fish Department ANS coordinator, said ANS awareness week is comprised of state and federal agencies highlighting the ongoing efforts taking place in North Dakota.
“The pathways of ANS introductions are vast, so it is important to relay ANS awareness across diverse platforms to reach many unique water users,” he said. “Raising awareness is a collaborative approach among partners and conscientious citizens.”
North Dakota currently has low numbers of aquatic nuisance species. Other than zebra mussels, just a few invasive plants and animals – curly leaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil, flowering rush, and grass, bighead, silver and common carp – are found in some state waters.
To fight the introduction and spread of unwanted invasives, Holen said some of the shared burden falls on water users. The Game and Fish Department encourages anglers, pleasure boaters and others to clean, drain and dry all equipment after every use. Clean and remove all plants or animals from watercraft or equipment prior to leaving any recreational area. Drain and remove water from all equipment prior to exiting designated access points. Not draining water can be extremely hazardous and may cause negligent transportation of ANS to various locations. Afterwards, verify that all equipment is completely dry before using again.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department