Outdoor enthusiasts need to be aware of ground conditions while enjoying spring activities.
An increase in human outdoor activity in spring, combined with dead ground vegetation and high winds, make this time of year highly susceptible to wildfires.
Because of highly variable weather patterns, North Dakota experiences a distinct spring fire season every year. With that in mind, it’s important to pay attention to the fire danger index, and to follow the appropriate measures.
Hunters and anglers are urged to keep up with the daily rural fire danger index, issued by the National Weather Service, to alert the public to conditions that may be conducive to accidental starting or spread of fires.
In addition, county governments have the authority to adopt penalties for violations of county restrictions related to burning bans. These restrictions apply regardless of the daily fire danger index and remain in place until each county’s commission rescinds the ban.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department Advisory Board will host public meetings on site this spring 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 their district advisors and agency personnel.
Topics to be discussed include big game issues and 2022-24 fishing proclamation.
For the statewide livestream, questions can be submitted via chat during the meeting.
District 3 – Benson, Cavalier, Eddy, Ramsey, Rolette and Towner counties
Date: April 18 – 7 p.m.
Location: NDSU Langdon Research Extension Center, 9280 107th Ave. NE, Langdon
Host: Cavalier County Gun Club
Contact: Lynn Miller, 701-370-8300
Advisory board member: Edward Dosch, Keene
District 4 – Grand Forks, Nelson, Pembina and Walsh counties
Date: April 19 – 7 p.m.
Location: American Legion Club, 701 Main St. W., Cavalier
Host: Pembina County and Area Sportsmen’s Club
Contact: Roger Furstenau, 701-265-2960
Advisory board member: Bruce Ellertson, Lakota
District 5 – Cass, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele and Traill counties
Date: April 20 – 7 p.m.
Location: Hughes Shelter, Chahinkapa Park, 820 RJ Hughes Dr., Wahpeton
Host: Red River Area Sportsmen’s Club
Contact: Greg Gerou, 701-640-0188
Advisory board member: Doug Madsen, Harwood
District 2 – Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, Mountrail, Pierce, Renville and Ward counties
Date: April 25 – 7 p.m.
Location: Verendrye Electric Cooperative, 1225 Hwy. 2 Bypass E., Minot
Host: West Dakota Waterfowlers (Delta Waterfowl)
Contact: Kalvin Larson, 701-509-1097
Advisory board member: Travis Leier, Velva
District 7 – Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Kidder, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sheridan and Sioux counties
Date: April 26 – 7 p.m.
Location: Game and Fish Main Office, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck
Host: North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition
Contact: Jerry Doan, 701-220-8442
Advisory board member: Dave Nehring, Bismarck
District 1 – Divide, McKenzie and Williams counties
Date: April 27 – 7 p.m.
Location: McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club, 2306 121X Ave. NW, Watford City
Host: McKenzie County Sportsman’s Club
Contact and advisory board member: Beau Wisness, Keene, 701-421-8814
District 6 – Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, Logan, LaMoure, McIntosh, Stutsman and Wells counties
Date: May 2 – 7 p.m.
Location: Farmers Union, 1415 12th Ave. SE, Jamestown
Host: Stutsman County Wildlife Club
Contact: Ken Anderson, 701-320-3318
Advisory board member: Cody Sand, Ashley
District 8 – Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark counties
Date: May 3 – 7 p.m.
Location: NDSU Hettinger Research Center, 102 Hwy. 12 W., Hettinger
Host: Cedar Creek Chapter, Pheasants Forever
Contact: Dr. Ben Geaumont, 701-567-4323
Advisory board member: Rob Brooks, Rhame
Professional Development for Educators
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is sponsoring professional development for educator workshops this summer in Devils Lake, Bottineau and Fargo. Curriculum materials are suitable for elementary, middle and high school teachers.
Teaching Science Through Art is June 1-2 at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake and June 14-15 at Dakota College in Bottineau.
Participants will experiment with different media, including clay, water, pastel and colored pencil. No previous art experience is necessary. Register for either session. Graduate credit is available.
Pollinators in the Classroom is June 28-29 at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
Participants will explore pollinators, where they live, life cycles, their importance and how the public can make a difference. All materials are included. Graduate credit is available.
For more information contact curriculum specialist Sherry Niesar at 701-527-3714, sniesar@nd.gov, or visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Deer Gratis Application Online
Landowners interested in a 2022 deer gratis license must apply online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline for applying is June 8.
General deer and muzzleloader lottery applications will be available online in early May, also with a deadline of June 8.
Gratis applicants who have previously applied online will automatically have their land description forwarded to this year’s application. However, any changes with land descriptions from last year’s application must be made prior to submitting the 2022 application.
Moose and Elk Lotteries Held, Bighorn Sheep in September
North Dakota’s moose and elk lotteries have been held, and individual results are available by visiting My Account at the state Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
A total of 19,426 applications were received for bighorn sheep, 23,427 for elk and 26,038 for moose.
While in My Account, successful applicants must pay for a moose and/or elk license. In addition, a 2022-23 general game and habitat license, or combination license, is required. The moose/elk license will be mailed after the required hunting licenses are purchased.
The bighorn sheep lottery is scheduled in September, after summer population surveys are completed and total licenses are determined. Once the lottery is held, successful applicants will be contacted to select a hunting unit.
Spring Mule Deer Survey Begins
The state Game and Fish Department’s annual spring aerial mule deer survey is set to begin around April 1 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 areas since the 1950s. The purpose of the survey is to determine a population index to assess mule deer abundance in the badlands.
Second Consecutive Record Count of Bighorn Sheep
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2021 bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs in March, revealed a record 335 bighorn sheep in western North Dakota, up 4% from 2020 and 15% above the five-year average. The count surpassed the previous record of 322 bighorns in 2020.
Altogether, biologists counted 99 rams, 175 ewes and 61 lambs. Not included are approximately 40 bighorn sheep in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and bighorns introduced to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in 2020.
Big game biologist Brett Wiedmann was pleased to see an increase in the survey for the fourth consecutive year.
The northern badlands population increased 6% from 2020 and was the highest count on record. The southern badlands population declined again to the lowest level since bighorns were reintroduced there in 1966.
“We were encouraged to see the count of adult rams increase to near record levels, and adult ewes were at record numbers,” Wiedmann said. “Most encouraging was a record lamb count corresponding with a record recruitment rate.”
Department biologists count and classify all bighorn sheep in late summer, and then recount lambs the following March as they approach one year of age to determine recruitment.
Department staff, in conjunction with biologists from the Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Division, also reported the bighorn sheep translocated in January 2020 from Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana to the Fort Berthold Reservation performed exceptionally well their second year in the state. The population has nearly doubled in just two years, which is exceptional population performance for bighorn sheep.
There are currently almost 450 bighorn sheep among populations managed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the National Park Service and the Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Division. Wiedmann said the next benchmark is 500 bighorns in the state, which seemed improbable just a few years ago.
Dr. Charlie Bahnson, Game and Fish veterinarian, added that although the Department was pleased to see a low prevalence rate of Mycoplasma during last winter’s disease monitoring of bighorn sheep, biologists did observe several bighorns coughing during the 2021 survey, which indicates the population has not completely cleared the deadly pathogen first documented in 2014.
A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled to open in 2022.The status of the season will be determined Sept. 1, following the summer population survey.
Game and Fish issued five licenses in 2021 and four hunters were successful in harvesting a ram.
Report Bald Eagle Nest Sightings
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is asking for help locating active bald eagle nests.
Conservation biologist Sandra Johnson said the department is looking for locations of nests with eagles present, not individual eagle sightings.
Eagles lay eggs in early to mid-March, which hatch about a month later. Johnson said it’s easy to distinguish an eagle nest because of its enormous size.
Nearly 350 active bald eagle nests can be found in 47 of the 53 counties in the state. Historically, Johnson said nests were found along river corridors, but that’s not the case today, as bald eagles will nest in trees in the middle of pastures, fields or anywhere a food source is nearby.
Nest observations should be reported online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. Observers are asked not to disturb the nest, and to stay a safe distance away. Johnson said foot traffic may disturb the bird, likely causing the eagle to leave her eggs or young unattended.
Open Fires Banned on Oahe WMA, Surrounding Areas
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is prohibiting open burning this spring on public property it manages south of Bismarck and Mandan, as a means to reduce the potential for wildfires in a heavily wooded recreation area along the Missouri River.
All open burning, including campfires, is banned until further notice on the Oahe Wildlife Management Area along both sides of the Missouri River. While the use of portable grills is allowed, extreme caution is advised due to the heavily vegetated area.
These woodlands are prone to wildfires prior to spring green-up. Mild temperatures and a high fuel load in the river bottoms are a cause for concern, in addition to being a high-use area for anglers, campers and other outdoor recreationists.
In addition to Oahe WMA, surrounding areas included in the open burn ban include Kimball Bottoms and Maclean Bottoms managed by Bismarck Parks and Recreation District, Desert Off Road Vehicle Area managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Graner Park managed by Morton County Parks.
Oahe WMA covers more than 16,000 acres along Lake Oahe south of Bismarck-Mandan, in portions of Burleigh, Emmons and Morton counties. Burning restriction signs are posted at all entrances to the WMA.
Game Warden Exam Scheduled
Individuals interested in taking the exam to select candidates for the position of a full-time temporary district game warden must register no later than May 24. The test is at 10 a.m., May 27, at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department's main office in Bismarck.
Applicants must be at least 21, have a bachelor’s degree at time of hire or an associate degree with either 2 years of law enforcement or wildlife experience, have a valid driver’s license and a current North Dakota peace officer license, or be eligible to be licensed. Candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive background check and must not have a record of any felony convictions.
Salary through training is $4,400 per month. For more information, see the district game warden job announcement on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Whooping Crane Migration
Whooping cranes are in the midst of their spring 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 way from wintering grounds in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, a distance of about 2,500 miles.
Whoopers stand about 5 feet tall and have a wingspan of about 7 feet from tip to tip. They are bright white with black wing tips, which are visible only when the wings are outspread. In flight, they extend their long necks forward, while their long, slender legs extend out behind the tail. Whooping cranes typically migrate singly, or in groups of 2-3 birds, and may be associated with sandhill cranes.
Other white birds such as snow geese, swans and egrets are often mistaken for whooping cranes. The most common misidentification is pelicans, because their wingspan is similar and they tuck their pouch in flight, leaving a silhouette similar to a crane when viewed from below.
Anyone sighting whoopers should not disturb them, but record the date, time, location and the birds' activity. Observers should also look for and report colored bands, which may occur on one or both legs. Whooping cranes have been marked with colored leg bands to help determine their identity.
Whooping crane sightings should be reported to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices at Lostwood, 701-848-2466; Audubon, 701-442-5474; the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, 701-328-6300; or to local game wardens across the state. Reports help biologists locate important whooping crane habitat areas, monitor marked birds, determine survival and population numbers, and identify times and migration routes.
Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep Apps Due
Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications must be submitted online before midnight, March 23.
Applicants can apply by visiting My Account at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
Elk, moose and bighorn sheep lottery licenses are issued as once-in-a-lifetime licenses in North Dakota. Hunters who have received a license through the lottery in the past are not eligible to apply for that species again.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department