The 2023 North Dakota OUTDOORS calendar is available for ordering online on the state Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
The calendar features outstanding color photographs of North Dakota wildlife and scenery, and includes season opening and application deadline dates, sunrise-sunset times and moon phases.
Calendars are also available via mail order. Send $3 for each…
Individuals required to possess a valid fishing license (age 16 and older) to darkhouse spearfish must first register online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
Northern pike and nongame fish are legal statewide, while walleye can be speared at only Stump Lake and the Devils Lake complex south of U.S. Highway 2 and the Missouri River System (including lakes…
Any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made of materials that allow it to float. In addition, fish houses do not require a license.
Other fish house regulations include:
Occupied structures do not require identification. However, any unoccupied fish house must have an equipment registration numberissued by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, or the…The North Dakota Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Department of Agriculture are again opening the Coyote Catalog, a statewide effort designed to connect committed hunters and trappers with landowners dealing with coyotes in their areas.
Landowners can sign up on the Department of Agriculture website, nd.gov/ndda/.
Hunters and trappers can sign up at the Game and Fish…
Organizers planning fishing tournaments, including ice fishing contests this winter, must submit an application, along with fishing tournament regulations, to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at least 30 days prior to the start of the event.
The 30-day advance notice allows for review by agency staff to ensure the proposed tournament will not have negative biological…
Nonprofit organizations eligible to receive big game hunting licenses in 2023 must have the application submitted to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department no later than Jan. 1.
North Dakota state law provides direction for the Game and Fish director to allocate big game hunting licenses to eligible organizations. Under this directive, up to two elk, moose and pronghorn licenses,…
Outdoor enthusiasts need to be aware of early ice conditions before traveling onto and across North Dakota waters.
A few reminders include:
Edges firm up faster than farther out from shore. Snow insulates ice, which in turn inhibits solid ice formation, hiding cracks, weak and open water areas. Ice can form overnight, causing unstable conditions. Ice thickness is not consistent…The statewide duck and white-fronted goose seasons close Dec. 4. However, duck hunting in the high plains unit reopens Dec. 10 and continues through Jan. 1.
In addition, the season for Canada geese closes Dec. 17 in the eastern zone, Dec. 22 in the western zone and Dec. 30 in the Missouri River zone. Light goose hunting closes statewide Dec. 30.
Archery deer, fall turkey, sharp…
North Dakota’s early mountain lion season in Zone 1 closed Nov. 20, and the late season, when hunters can pursue lions with dogs, is open.
During the early season, hunters took four cats from a harvest limit of eight. Under the season structure, a conditional season could open five days after the late season closes for hunters to pursue the additional four mountain lions that were not…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department Advisory Board will host public meetings this fall at eight locations across the state. In addition, the district 7 meeting in Bismarck will be streamed live on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
These public meetings, held each spring and fall, provide citizens with an opportunity to discuss fish and wildlife issues and ask questions of…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will hold a public hearing to address proposed new rules and amendments to Title 30 of the North Dakota Administrative Code. The hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16 at the agency's main office in Bismarck.
The purpose and an explanation of the proposed rule changes follow:
Chapter 30-04-03. Section 30-04-03-17…
Fisheries crews completed their annual salmon spawning operation on the Missouri River System, collecting more than 1.8 million eggs. About 500,000 went to South Dakota to meet their egg collection goal.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department Missouri River System fisheries biologist Russ Kinzler said crews collected enough eggs to stock 400,000 smolts planned for Lake Sakakawea in 2023…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2022 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease from select units in the western portion of the state, and unit 2B in the east.
Samples will be tested from deer taken from units 1, 2B, 3A1, 3A2, 3A3, 3A4, 3B1, 3B2, 3C, 3D1, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4A, 4B, 4C,…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department urges water recreationists and property owners to check for zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species when removing boat lifts, docks and other equipment from state waters.
ANS coordinator Ben Holen said everyone plays a vital role in ANS prevention.
“Reports from the public have led to the discovery of numerous ANS populations…
Deer hunters who can’t find their deer license should contact the North Dakota Game and Fish Department soon to secure their tag before the season opens.
The Game and Fish Department must be contacted by phone at 701-328-6335, or email ndgf@nd.gov, to authorize the online purchase of a replacement tag. Printable applications are not available.
The deer gun season opens Friday,…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department encourages hunters, anglers and landowners who witness a fish or wildlife violation to file a report with the Report All Poachers program.
Witnesses should report a violation by calling RAP at 701-328-9921.
Witnesses should note the vehicle description, including make, color, license plate number and state issued. Description of the…
North Dakota Game and Fish Department enforcement personnel issue a reminder that a permit is required before taking possession of a dead deer found near a road or in a field. Only shed antlers can be possessed without a permit.
Permits to possess are free and available from game wardens and local law enforcement offices.
In addition, hunters are reminded to properly dispose of…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is taking orders for its North Dakota OUTDOORS calendar, the source for all hunting season and application dates for 2023. Along with color photographs of North Dakota’s wildlife and outstanding scenery, it also includes sunrise-sunset times and moon phases.
To order online, visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov., or send $3 for each, plus…
The state Game and Fish Department’s annual fall aerial mule deer survey is set to begin Oct. 9 in western North Dakota. Weather permitting, the survey takes about two weeks to complete.
During the survey period, people could notice low-flying small airplanes over some parts of the badlands.
Game and Fish biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 badlands study…
Whooping cranes are in the midst of their fall migration and sightings will increase as they make their way through North Dakota over the next several weeks. Anyone seeing these endangered birds as they move through the state should report sightings so the birds can be tracked.
The whooping cranes that do travel through North Dakota are part of a population of about 500 birds on their…
