News

North Dakota’s 2019 small game, waterfowl and furbearer regulations are set and most season structures are similar to last year.

Noteworthy items include:

North Dakota’s 2019 pronghorn hunting season is set, with 1,330 licenses available in 12 open units.

Bruce Stillings, big game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said license numbers and open units are up from last year, when the department allocated 1,075 licenses and had 10 open units.

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North Dakota’s early Canada goose season dates are set, with bag limits and licensing requirements the same as last year.

Opening day for early Canada goose is Aug. 15 in all three zones. Closing dates are Sept. 7 in the Missouri River zone, Sept. 15 in the western zone and Sept. 20 in the eastern zone.

Swan hunters who are interested in applying for a 2019 license can now submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.

North Dakota residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply. The resident swan license is $10, while the nonresident fee is $30. The deadline for applying is Aug. 14.

Pronghorn and swan applications are now available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply for a pronghorn license. The pronghorn license fee is $30 for ages 16 and older, and $10 for under age 16. Applicants for a pronghorn lottery license must be at least 12 years of age on or before December 31, 2019.…

North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries personnel recently finished stocking more than 140 lakes across the state with walleye fingerlings, completing one of the largest stocking efforts in the history of the agency. This includes more than 11.3 million fingerlings from Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery, besting the previous record walleye production by nearly 1 million fish.

North Dakota residents who were unsuccessful in the initial deer lottery are reminded the deadline to submit an application for a remaining license is July 24.

Unsuccessful applicants must apply online by visiting the state Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. More than 6,000 deer gun licenses remain in 19 units.

In addition, hunters should…

North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologists have summarized the spring survey results for sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and sage grouse.

Statistics from the spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 9 percent increase in the number of male grouse counted compared to last year.

Statewide, 2,267…

Adults and children looking to take a hunter education class in 2019 are reminded to enroll at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.

Although the majority of classes are completed for this year, some classes will still be added as they become finalized.

Interested students must click on the …

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will host thousands of visitors to its free Conservation and Outdoors Skills Park July 19-27 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…

The North Dakota Cooperative Fur Harvester Education Program is sponsoring a fur harvester education class in Bismarck for anyone interested in trapping or hunting furbearers.

The class is scheduled for Aug. 6 and 8 from 5-9 p.m., and Aug. 10 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. The course is free and takes 16 hours to complete.

Students…

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently collected and verified bighead carp in the James River near LaMoure during silver carp monitoring efforts. Bighead carp, an exotic species, are established in the lower Missouri River and in the James River in South Dakota. This is the first report of this aquatic nuisance species in North Dakota waters.

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North Dakota's 2018 pheasant and sharp-tailed grouse harvests were similar to 2017, while the number of Hungarian partridge taken last year was down from the year before, according to statistics compiled by the state Game and Fish Department.

Upland game management supervisor Jesse Kolar said the decline in partridge during the summer 2018 brood survey was…

North Dakota’s deer gun lottery has been held and individual results are available online at the state Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.

Chief of administrative services Kim Kary said moving to an online lottery has resulted in reducing the time between the application deadline and the lottery run date.

“It’s a major benefit in moving to an all online lottery…

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 72nd annual spring breeding duck survey conducted in May showed an index of 3.4 million birds, up 20 percent from last year. 

Migratory game bird supervisor Mike Szymanski said the index was the 22nd highest on record and stands 40 percent above the long-term (1948-2018) average.

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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will again 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.

Operation Dry Water weekend, July 5-7, is…

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of invasive zebra mussels in Lake Ashtabula.

Last week, an angler discovered a suspected zebra mussel and turned it into Game and Fish aquatic nuisance species coordinator Jessica Howell. Howell confirmed it as an adult zebra mussel, and subsequent inspections of Lake Ashtabula, an…

North Dakota’s spring pheasant population index is up slightly from the same time last year, according to the state Game and Fish Department’s 2019 spring crowing count survey.

R.J. Gross, upland game management biologist, said the number of roosters heard crowing this spring was up about 6 percent statewide. The primary regions holding pheasants ranged from…

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds citizens 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 that are compatible with…

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds outdoor recreationists to keep public use areas, including state wildlife management areas, clean this summer by packing out all trash.

All garbage should be placed in a proper trash receptacle. If trash cans aren’t available, or are full, take the trash and dispose of it at home.