While contest guidelines for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest have change little from previous years, photographers are reminded to follow the guidelines for submitting their work.
Photographers who want to submit photos to the contest should go the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov/photo-contest. Then…
In order to maintain social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19, those planning to attend the public hearing to address proposed rule changes to North Dakota Administrative Code Title 30 are asked to contact the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300 prior to 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 16 so that we may plan for the number of attendees.
The…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department offers a simple message to well-intentioned humans who want to pick up and rescue what appear to be orphaned baby animals this time of year: Don’t touch them. Whether it is a young fawn, duckling, cottontail rabbit or a songbird, it is better to leave them alone.
More often than not, young animals are not abandoned or…
North Dakota state law requires youth ages 12-15 who want to operate a boat or personal watercraft by themselves with at least a 10 horsepower motor must first pass the state’s boating basics course.
Two commercial providers offer the course online, and links to those sites are found on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. The…
After two years of lower upland game populations, fewer hunters pursued these game birds last fall. With that said, North Dakota's 2019 pheasant and sharp-tailed grouse harvests were down from 2018, while the number of Hungarian partridge taken last year was similar to the year before, according to statistics compiled by the state Game and Fish Department.
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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will open offices June 8 to public access by appointment only, and under the low risk phase guidelines established by North Dakota Smart Restart. State facility occupancy must remain below 50%, therefore most Game and Fish staff will continue to work remotely.
COVID-19 wellness screening will be required upon entering…
Anglers are reminded that it is illegal to import minnows and other forms of live aquatic bait into North Dakota.
Anglers should buy bait from a licensed North Dakota retail bait vendor. Bait vendors can properly identify species and have taken steps to ensure all bait is clean of any aquatic nuisance species.
For more…
North Dakota boaters who are traveling to or through other states or Canadian provinces, are reminded to check the aquatic nuisance species regulations of their destination, to make sure they are in compliance.
Mandatory boat inspections may be required along highways or at lakes based on destination or route taken. In general, to ensure compliance, boaters…
North Dakota animal health officials are asking for help in preventing an exotic rabbit disease from entering the state.
Since March, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus, or RHDV, has been killing wild, domestic and feral rabbits in southwestern U.S. The disease is extremely contagious among rabbits and highly deadly. It does not infect humans or other animals…
Hunters are reminded the deadline for submitting applications for the 2020 deer gun season is Wednesday, June 3.
With North Dakota Game and Fish Department offices closed to public access until further notice, applicants for regular deer gun, youth and muzzleloader are reminded to apply online through the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov, or…
North Dakota residents who want to give fishing a try are reminded they can fish for free June 6-7.
That is the state’s free fishing weekend, when all residents age 16 and older can fish any North Dakota water without a license. Residents age 15 and under do not need a fishing license at any time of year.
Fishing regulations and information on fishing…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department continues to conduct walleye tagging studies across the state.
At Lake Sakakawea, the state’s largest fishery, Department fisheries biologists are in the second year of a four-year walleye tagging study. The goal on Sakakawea is to tag about 3,000 walleyes per year, a target fisheries biologists more than met this…
North Dakota anglers, water recreationists and anyone working in lakes or streams are reminded to follow these simple regulations to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species.
Know the laws, as each state and province have their own rules and regulations. North Dakota regulations include:
Do not import live aquatic bait. Use only legal bait…The state Game and Fish Department reminds anglers that live white suckers are not legal baitfish anywhere in North Dakota, except in the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers.
Although anglers can use live white suckers on the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers, and tributaries up to the first vehicular bridge, they are illegal elsewhere. Fathead minnows, sticklebacks and…
The next guide and outfitter written examination is June 20 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck.
Preregistration is required by calling the Game and Fish Department’s enforcement office at 328-6604. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the North Dakota Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
The lowest three-quarters of a mile of Channel A as it enters Devils Lake is closed to fishing effective immediately due to safety concerns as U.S. Highway 2 is under construction west of Devils Lake.
This area is closed to both shore and boat fishing, and includes where Channel A crosses Highway 2 and the train bridges. “Closed to Fishing” signs will be…
Little brown bats found dead in western North Dakota died of white-nose syndrome.
In early May, the Southwest District Health Unit in Dickinson contacted the North Dakota Game and Fish Department with reports of dead bats found in Medora. Six were submitted to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc. for analysis.
…The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will remove the open fire ban on the Oahe Wildlife Management Area on Friday, May 22.
However, this area will still fall under burn restrictions implemented by Morton, Burleigh and Emmons counties, which only allows open fires, including campfires, when the fire danger rating is low or moderate. The burn ban is in effect when the rating is very…
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will hold a public hearing to address proposed rule changes to North Dakota Administrative Code Title 30. The hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m., Thursday, June 18 at the agency’s main office in Bismarck.
The purpose and explanation of the proposed rule changes are as follows:
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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has one online hunter education class remaining for students to enroll in and complete prior to the deer gun application deadline. However, students must complete the class no later than May 29.
The online hunter education course is for students who will turn at least age 12 on or before Dec. 31, 2020. A 25% discount…
