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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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;…
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…
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…
Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications must be submitted online, or postmarked, before midnight March 22.
To apply online, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. Paper applications are also available at vendors.
Individuals mailing applications to the department are advised to mail early because some post offices use the following day’s…
Whooping cranes are in the midst of their spring migration and sightings will increase as they make their way into and through North Dakota over the next several weeks. Anyone seeing these birds as they move through the state is asked to report sightings so the birds can be tracked.
Whoopers stand about five feet tall and have a wingspan of about seven feet from tip to tip. They are…
A new law passed by the North Dakota Legislature will result in the State Game and Fish Department to propose Oct. 7 as opening day of the 2017 pheasant hunting season, one week earlier than what the department earlier announced.
Senate Bill 2318, signed into law March 14, requires North Dakota’s pheasant season to open no later than Oct. 12.
Game and Fish Department director…
Mountain lion hunting during the late season in zone 1 is closed immediately. The zone’s late-season quota was filled after the seventh cat was taken.
A conditional season in zone 1 will open March 21 for hunters to pursue the additional five mountain lions that were not taken during the early season. The zone 1 early season quota was eight, and only three were taken.
The…
North Dakota anglers, spring light goose hunters and trappers are reminded that new licenses for the 2017-18 season are required starting April 1.
Anglers and hunters can purchase new licenses beginning March 15 at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, and at more than 140 vendor locations throughout the state.
License buyers who use the Game and Fish…
Outdoor enthusiasts are invited to attend a North Dakota Game and Fish Department spring advisory board meeting in their area.
These public meetings, held each spring and fall, provide citizens with an opportunity to discuss fish and wildlife issues and ask questions of their district advisors and agency personnel.
The governor appoints eight Game and Fish Department advisors,…
Volunteer instructors for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department were recently recognized at the annual workshop in Mandan.
John Paulson, Bismarck, was recognized as volunteer of the year. Paul Speral, Fargo, was named archery instructor of the year. George Babcock, Garrison, and Rodney Hubbard, Fargo, were recognized as hunter education instructors of the year, while Minot…
The Morton County state’s attorney’s office has filed criminal complaints against four men who were identified in two separate incidents of unlawful possession of deer in North Dakota in November and December, 2016.
Both incidents took place in southeastern Morton County, either in or near the Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp that was located near the mouth of the Cannonball River…
