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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department


News Releases


Game and Fish Offers Up the Outdoors



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department encourages hunters and anglers to make mindful decisions on outdoor activities by following guidelines provided by the CDC.

Customer, volunteer and employee well-being is of top priority. Earlier this week, Game and Fish canceled upcoming public gatherings such as the National Archery in the Schools state tournament. In addition, late-season ice fishing tournaments have canceled events to minimize crowding, and several hunter education classes scheduled to begin in the next few weeks were canceled or postponed.

Students enrolled in any classes scheduled to start in March or April can find information on class status on the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov.

With social distancing in mind, the Game and Fish Department encourages hunters and anglers to purchase licenses online, rather than making an in-person visit. The same philosophy applies to watercraft registrations. Contact a local Game and Fish office for assistance with a purchase or registration. 

During this time of uncertainty, Game and Fish is offering several suggestions for students and parents to consider while K-12 schools and some businesses are closed due to public health concerns:

  • Use free time to take the state’s boating safety course. 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 pass the boating course. And parents, it’s not just for kids. Some insurance companies give adult boat owners who pass the course a discount on boat insurance. The course is available for home study, and there is also an online version.
  • New fishing licenses are needed starting April 1. Take care of that important detail online now so you’re not scrambling to get that license just prior to your first fishing trip of the open water season.

Since it’s important to avoid crowds, North Dakota’s outdoors is a great place for recreation. You can put a boat on the Missouri River right now, or still get in some ice fishing on lakes where ice is still safe for travel. If you’re just looking for some exercise, take a hike on one of the department’s 229 wildlife management areas.

Stay connected with Game and Fish by following us on FacebookInstagram and YouTube.

 

NASP Tournament Canceled



Following the announced week-long closure of North Dakota's K-12 schools, the National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament scheduled for this weekend in Minot has been canceled due to public health concerns.

With an estimated 1,000 archers in grades 4-12 expected to convene Friday, March 20 at the State Fair Center, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is following the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that groups cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more. 

Guide and Outfitter Exam Scheduled



The next guide and outfitter written examination is May 9 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 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; certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and standard first aid; and employment by or contract with a licensed hunting outfitter.

Hunting outfitter eligibility requirements include the guide qualifications, as well as an individual must have held a hunting guide license for two years; and must have proof of liability insurance.

Interested individuals are required to preregister by calling the Game and Fish Department’s enforcement office at 328-6604.

2020-21 Licenses Needed April 1



North Dakota anglers, trappers and hunters are reminded that new licenses for the 2020-21 season are required starting April 1.

Licenses can be purchased online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Once the license is processed, users will have the option to print a hard copy and/or download the license to a smart phone or mobile device, which is helpful when asked to show proof of license while hunting or fishing in rural areas that lack cellular service.

Licenses can also be purchased at more than 140 vendor locations throughout the state, or by calling 800-406-6409. The 2020-21 small game, fishing and furbearer licenses are effective April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

In addition, Senate Bill 2293, passed by the 2019 state legislature, created an aquatic nuisance species program fund in the state treasury. Along with an ANS fee on motorized watercraft that went into effect Jan. 1, this state law also establishes a $2 surcharge on each resident fishing license and combination license, except for the resident 65 years of age or older license, permanently or totally disabled license, or a disabled veteran license; and establishes a $3 surcharge on each nonresident fishing and each nonresident waterfowl license. The ANS surcharge on licenses is in effect with the 2020-21 license.

Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will have 780 any-deer bow licenses available to nonresidents in 2020.

Applicants can apply online beginning March 15 on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline for applying is April 15. 

Up to five hunters can apply together as a party. A lottery will be held if more applications are received than licenses available. A total of 1,209 people applied in 2019. 

The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation.

 

2020-22 Fishing Regulations Set



North Dakota’s 2020-22 fishing proclamation is set, with regulations effective April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022. Anglers are reminded new fishing licenses are required April 1.

The 2020-22 North Dakota Fishing Guide has a new look. The 52-page document offers the same information, but in a much more user-friendly format. Anglers can find the guide online at the state Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, or in mid-March at Game and Fish Department offices and license vendors throughout the state. 

Noteworthy regulation changes include:

  • Lake Ashtabula and Whitman Dam are added to the list of waters where darkhouse spearfishing is not allowed. 
  • The smallmouth bass daily limit is increased from 3 to 5 in the Missouri River and lakes Sakakawea, Oahe, Audubon, Darling, Ashtabula and Heart Butte. 
  • Area and time for paddlefish extended snag-and-release days is expanded.
  • Fish may be filleted for transport, unless size limits apply, under the following conditions:
  1. Each individual portion of the meat removed from a fish is considered a fillet (fish cheeks and pectoral girdles (wings) are not considered as fillets and are legal to transport),
  2. Two fillets are counted as one fish, and
  3. The packaging of fish must be done in a manner so that the fillets can be readily separated and counted. If fillets are frozen, they must be packaged so that the fillets are separated and thus can be easily counted without thawing.

The 2020-21 fishing licenses can be purchased online by visiting the Game and Fish website. Resident licenses are available March 15, while nonresident fishing licenses are available April 1.

In addition, Senate Bill 2293, passed by the 2019 state legislature, created an aquatic nuisance species program fund in the state treasury. Along with an ANS fee on motorized watercraft that went into effect Jan. 1, this state law also establishes a $2 surcharge on each resident fishing license and combination license, except for the resident 65 years of age or older license, permanently or totally disabled license, or a disabled veteran license; and establishes a $3 surcharge on each nonresident fishing and each nonresident waterfowl license. The ANS surcharge on licenses is in effect with the 2020-21 license.

 

Pronghorn Hunting Season Statistics



Hunter success during last fall’s pronghorn hunting season was 74 percent, according to statistics provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Game and Fish issued 1,324 licenses (877 lottery and 447 gratis), and 1,167 hunters took 859 pronghorn, consisting of 786 bucks, 59 does and 14 fawns. Each hunter spent an average of 2.7 days afield.

The 2020 pronghorn hunting season will be determined in July.

Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep Applications Online



Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline to apply is March 25.

A total of 523 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, an increase of 45 from last year.

A total of 474 moose licenses are available, a decrease of five from last year. Hunting units M1C and M4 will remain closed due to a continued downward trend in moose numbers in the northeastern part of the state.

As stated in the 2020-21 chronic wasting disease proclamation, hunters harvesting an elk in units E2 and E6, or a moose in units M10 and M11, cannot transport the whole carcass including the head and spinal column outside of the unit.

A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled to open in 2020, depending on the sheep population. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after summer population surveys are completed. The season was closed in 2015 due to a bacterial pneumonia outbreak. 

Bighorn sheep applicants must apply for a license at the same time as moose and elk, but not for a specific unit. Once total licenses are determined for each unit in late summer, the bighorn lottery will be held and successful applicants contacted to select a hunting unit.

Because the bighorn sheep application fee is not refundable per state law, if a bighorn season is not held, applicants would not receive a refund.

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.

Deadline to Remove Fish Houses



Anglers are reminded all unoccupied fish houses must be removed from all waters beginning March 15 until ice-out.

Fish houses may be used after March 15 if they are removed daily.

Anglers are advised to use caution while accessing area lakes because mild weather conditions can quickly result in unstable ice conditions that can make removing a fish house with a vehicle difficult or dangerous. Ice conditions can vary from region to region, between lakes in the same region, and even on the same lake.

 

 

Game and Fish Offers Wildlife Food Plot Seed



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is offering free seed for the 2020 growing season to landowners who are interested in planting wildlife food plots for pheasants.

Private land section leader Kevin Kading said rather than a traditional corn or sunflower food plot, Game and Fish is offering a seed mix that provides increased plant diversity, including flowering plants from spring through fall, which will attract insects, the major diet component of pheasant chicks. Additionally, he said the mix will provide needed cover during spring and summer, as well as a winter food source. Other wildlife species will also benefit from this mix.

“Most Game and Fish food plots are part of the department’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program,” Kading said. “This food plot campaign does not require a PLOTS contract, but we are asking participating landowners to allow reasonable public access, which could mean simply providing access permission to hunters from time to time, putting up ‘Ask Before You Enter’ signs around the area, or not posting the surrounding land.”

Kading added that landowners participating in this promotion cannot charge a fee for hunting.

The department will provide enough seed to cover up to a maximum 5-acre planting at no cost to the landowner.

Landowners who are interested in receiving the food plot seed must sign up online by March 31. Seed will be available in April at Game and Fish offices in Bismarck, Jamestown, Devils Lake, Harvey, Dickinson, Williston and Riverdale.

Game and Fish private land biologists can provide technical assistance on food plot location and site preparation.

Landowners who are interested in additional financial incentives may be considered for the PLOTS program as well. More information is available by contacting a private land biologist at any Game and Fish office in the state, or email ndgf@nd.gov.

2019 Bighorn Sheep, Moose and Elk Harvests



Harvest statistics released by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department show overall hunter success during the 2019 season for bighorn sheep was 100 percent, 87 percent for moose and 62 percent for elk.

The department issued four bighorn sheep licenses and auctioned one. All five hunters harvested a bighorn ram.

The department issued 475 moose licenses last year. Of that total, 449 hunters harvested 389 animals – 154 bulls and 235 cows/calves. Harvest for each unit follows:

 

Unit

Hunters

Bulls

Cow/Calf

Success Rate

M5

5

4

0

80

M6

15

10

1

73

M8

15

13

1

93

M9

114

29

61

79

M10

M11

180

120

58

40

107

65

92

88

 

The department issued 487 elk licenses last year. Of that total, 449 hunters harvested 279 elk – 155 bulls and 124 cows/calves. Harvest for each unit follows:

 

Unit

Hunters

Bulls

Cow/Calf

Success Rate

E1E

E1W

85

52

22

15

27

16

58

60

E2

128

34

30

50

E3

150

66

46

75

E4

E6

22

12

14

4

0

5

64

75

Game and Fish Volunteers Recognized



Volunteer instructors for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department were recently recognized at the annual recognition event in Bismarck.

William Bahm, Almont, was recognized as hunter education instructor of the year and Kevin Lech, Mandan, was named archery education instructor of the year. Dickinson resident Walter Turbiville was honored with a lifetime achievement award.

Thirty-year service awards were presented to Dean Anderson, Grand Forks; Wayne Beyer, Wahpeton; Leonard Enander, Granville; Darwin Gebhardt, Lake Elmo, Minn.; Jerome Koenig, Steele; Jack Lalor, Lidgerwood; Charles Meikle, Spiritwood; David Nelson, Grand Forks; Gary Nilsson, Walhalla; David Urlacher, Belfield.

Recognized for 25 years of service were Curt Beattie, Hannaford; Jay Grover, Cooperstown; Vernon Laning, Bismarck; Eddy Larsen, Larimore; Rick Olson, Garrison; Joseph O’Meara, Hankinson; Brad Pierce, Hatton; Paul Roeder, Milnor; Robert Sanden, Barney; William Titus, Lincoln; Charles Veith, Bismarck; Larry Viall, Epping; Gary Wald, Maddock; Mark Weyrauch, Ray.

Honored for 20 years of service were Lynn Baltrusch, Fesseden; Darryl Duttenhefner, Menoken; Don Ferguson, Jamestown; Rhonda Ferguson, Jamestown; Sean Hagan, Walhalla; Donn Hancock, Emerado; Mitchell Kallias, Minot; Gary Knotts, Fargo; Lynn Lawler, Cando; Richard Liesener, Ray; Dale Marks, Ypsilanti; Marvin Neumiller, Washburn; Jerry Rekow, Ellendale; Thomas Rost, Devils Lake; Jerry Schroeder, Horace; Rickie Theurer, Mandan; Leonard Wysocki, Grafton.

Fifteen-year service awards were presented to Robert Bartz, Richardton; Mark Bitz, Bismarck; Steven Buchweitz, Munich; James Dusek, Grafton; Michael Erickson, Edgeley; Bradley Gregoire, Thompson; Karl Helland, Kathryn; Jonathan Hughes, Minot; Perry Johnson, Northwood; Jeff Kapaun, Valley City; Keith Kinneberg, Wahpeton; John Kron, Enderlin; Martin Marchello, Bismarck; Jean Oster, Ft. Ransom; Kent Reierson, Williston; David Sardelli, Hebron; Dallas Schmidt, Velva; Dan Spellerberg, Oakes; Joe Tuchscherer, Rugby; Gary Wilz, Killdeer.

Ten-year active instructors recognized were Travis Anderson, Grand Forks; Damon Bosche, Medina; Matthew Deal, Grace City; Curt Decker, Dickinson; Kendon Faul, McClusky; Cassie Felber, Towner; Kevin Fire, Grand Forks; Jon Hanson, Bismarck; Kevin Harris, Watford City; Tammy Haugen, Dickinson; Connie Jorgenson, Devils Lake; Petrina Krenzel, Harvey; Michael Kroh, Surrey; Richard Lehmann, Towner; Kellen Leier, Bismarck; Jerry Lillis, Lincoln; Phil Mastrangelo, Mandan; Roger Norton, Kindred; Mike Redmond, Ray; Brian Schock, Dickinson; Antoine Smith, New Town; Paul Speral, Fargo; Lavern Vance, Ray.

Recognized for five years of service were Darcy Aberle, Williston; Wayne Bauer, Wishek; Lori Deal, Grace City; Donald Dick, Enderlin; Jason Forster, Lidgerwood; Don Frost, West Fargo; Alex Gunsch, Grand Forks; David Hammond, Abercrombie; Joel Johnson, Mooreton; Jon Johnson, Jamestown; Shannon Johnson, Fargo; Henry Juntunen, Bismarck; Leah Kessler, Glen Ullin; Melissa Klitzke, Devils Lake; Edward Krank, Gladstone; Nathan Neameyer, Rolla; Melanie Nelson, Harvey; Bruce Nielsen, Valley City; Eric Odegaard, West Fargo; Erin Odell, Belfield; John Perritt, Fargo; Eric Poitra, Dunseith; Carl Quam Jr., Tolna; Jason Sauer, Glen Ullin; Kori Schantz, Underwood; Kent Schimke, Ellendale; Kristofer Schmidt, Washburn; Daniel Sem, Minot; Earl Torgerson, Bismarck; Than Young, Napoleon; Andrew Zickur, Glenburn. 

Two-year active instructors recognized were John Arman, Bismarck; Austin Barnhart, Dickinson; Casey Bernard, Mandan; Charles Betts, Minot; Joel Bohm, Mohall; Lisa Buckhaus, Hankinson; Lynn Burgard, Bismarck; James Craigmile, Bismarck; Larry Derr, Glenburn; Michael Deville, Mandaree; Christopher Eng, Underwood; Seth Engelstad, Mooreton; Bernard Ficek, Dickinson; Patrick Gerving, Linton; Michael Goroski, Wahpeton; Paul Hamers, Napoleon; Kresta Hauge, Ray; Katrina Haugen, Minto; Isaac Hendrickson, Bisbee; Jesse Kalberer, Bismarck; Jeanette Kieper, Bismarck; Jayar Kindsvogel, Center; Trevor Larsen, Bowden; Orville Martinez, Halliday; Brian McKenna, Gwinner; Kali Metzger, Mandan; Chad Olson, Lisbon; Jordan Peterson, Minot; Steve Rehak, Williston; Monty Sailer, Hazen; Dan Schmidtke, Devils Lake; Robert Schock, Bismarck; Ethan Shulind, Grand Forks; Danielle Siverhus-Dinger, Oakes; Timothy Smith, Burlington; Michael Straus, West Fargo; Tim Straus, West Fargo; Renee Tomala, Bismarck; Gerald Wallace, Cushing, Wis., Susan Wallace, Cushing, Wis., Brian Ward, Hunter; Lori Wertz, Fargo.