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News Releases

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Game and Fish Department


News Releases


Six Bighorn Sheep Licenses



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department allocated six bighorn sheep licenses for the 2023 hunting season, one more than last year.

One license was issued in unit B1, one in B3, two in B4 and one in B5. In addition, one license, as authorized under North Dakota Century Code, was auctioned in May by the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, from which all proceeds are used to enhance bighorn sheep management in North Dakota.

A record 20,290 applicants applied for bighorn sheep. Successful applicants have been notified.

Prospective hunters were required to apply for a bighorn license earlier this year on the bighorn sheep, moose and elk application.

Youth Deer Season



Friday, Sept. 15 at noon Central time signals the start of a nine-and-a-half-day deer hunting season for licensed youth hunters.

Residents who are 11, 12 or 13 in 2023 can hunt statewide for antlerless white-tailed deer.

Resident deer gun hunters who are 14 or 15 in 2023 can hunt statewide with a youth season license for any deer, except for antlered mule deer in units 3B1, 3B2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F where a special license is required.

The youth license is valid during the youth and regular deer gun seasons.

After opening day, hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Orange clothing is required for youth hunters and mentors.

Each young deer hunter must be under direct supervision of an adult. The adult is prohibited from carrying a firearm or bow while accompanying the youth hunter in the field during the youth season.

The youth deer season closes Sept. 24.

Sandhill Crane Season



North Dakota’s sandhill crane season opens Sept. 16 and runs through Nov. 12.

Limits are three daily and nine in possession in unit 1 (west of U.S. Highway 281), and two daily and six in possession in unit 2 (east of U.S. Highway 281). Shooting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to 2 p.m. each day.

Hunters are urged to use caution and identify birds to prevent shooting at endangered whooping cranes as they begin their fall migration.

In addition to other licenses required, resident hunters need a $10 crane permit, while nonresidents need a $30 permit. Hunters can buy a license online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

Harvest Information Program certification is required. To get HIP certified, access the Game and Fish website.

Upland Game Brood Survey



North Dakota’s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate pheasant, gray partridge and sharp-tailed grouse numbers were up.

State Game and Fish Department upland game biologist RJ Gross said survey conditions were exceptional this year, which might have led to increased observations, but survey conditions shouldn’t have large effects on brood sizes or age ratios, which were also up.

“Hunters should expect to find similar or higher numbers than last year, with good numbers of hatch-year birds in their bags,” Gross said.

Total pheasants observed (65 per 100 miles) are up 61% from last year and broods (7.5) per 100 miles are up 70%. The average brood size (6.3) is up 2%. The final summary is based on 282 survey runs made along 100 brood routes across North Dakota.

Observers in the northwest counted 13.5 broods and 113 pheasants per 100 miles, up from 11 broods and 96 pheasants in 2022. Average brood size was six.

Results from the southeast showed 5.4 broods and 49 pheasants per 100 miles, up from five broods and 29 pheasants in 2022. Average brood size was six.

Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicated 9.8 broods and 86 pheasants per 100 miles, up from five broods and 48 pheasants in 2022. Average brood size was six chicks.

The northeast district, generally containing secondary pheasant habitat with lower pheasant numbers compared to the rest of the state, showed one brood and seven pheasants per 100 miles, compared to two broods and 18 pheasants last year. Average brood size was five.

Gross said sharptails had above average production and have rebounded back to the good years of 2011-15.

“Hunters should expect to find a good ratio of hatch-year grouse in 2023,” he added. “Much of the increase in sharptail observations was driven by a rebounding population in the southwest district.”

Sharptails observed per 100 miles are up 116% statewide. Brood survey results show observers recorded 2.6 broods and 29 sharptails per 100 miles. Average brood size was six.

Partridge observed per 100 miles are up 200%. Observers recorded 2.4 broods and 36 partridge per 100 miles. Average brood size was 11.

Generally, Gross said, most of the partridge harvest is incidental while hunters pursue grouse or pheasants. But this year, partridge numbers looked impressive, as for the first time more partridge were observed than sharptails on brood routes.

“Partridge numbers are tied with an all-time high, dating all the way back to 1992,” Gross said.

The grouse and partridge seasons continue through Jan. 7, 2024.

The pheasant season opens Oct. 7 and continues through Jan. 7, 2024. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Remaining Fall Turkey Licenses Available Sept. 20



The fall wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 1,400 licenses remain in 13 units. Unsuccessful applicants will have a refund issued to their credit card.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Central time on Sept. 20, all remaining licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters are allowed a maximum of five licenses for the fall season. 

Resident and nonresident hunters must purchase a license online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. 

The fall turkey season runs Oct. 14 – Jan. 7, 2024. 

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 03, Benson and Ramsey counties and a portion of Pierce County, (20); Unit 04, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties, (82); Unit 13, Dunn County, (604); Unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and portions of Morton County, (53); Unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties, (304); Unit 27, McKenzie County, (24); Unit 30, portions of Morton County, (132); Unit 31, Mountrail County, (28); Unit 40, Rolette County and portions of Bottineau, Renville and Pierce counties, (15); Unit 44, Slope County, (34); Unit 45, Stark County, (37); Unit 47, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties, (35); and Unit 51, Burke County, Renville County and a portion of Ward County, (81).

Submit Wing Envelopes



Hunters can help in the effort to manage upland game birds in North Dakota by collecting feathers from harvested birds and sending in wing envelopes.

Birds included in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game wing survey, which has been in practice for decades, are ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge, turkeys and ruffed grouse.

Collecting enough pheasant samples is typically never a problem, but securing enough sharptail and partridge feathers can be.

Game and Fish biologists will take as many sharptail and partridge feathers as they can get because the more collected, the better the data. Biologists can determine if birds are male or female, age ratios, survival, nesting success, hatch dates and overall production.

What biologists learn from samples is vital to helping manage North Dakota’s upland game birds.

Instructions for submitting wing data are printed on the envelope.

Hunters interested in receiving wing envelopes should visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Fall Turkey Deadline



North Dakota’s fall turkey application deadline is Sept. 6.

Fall turkey hunters, including gratis applicants, can submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply. Nonresidents can apply for remaining fall turkey licenses following the first lottery.

New Upland Bird Hunting Course Available



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department was recently a partner on a Multistate Conservation Grant project to create a comprehensive online course on how to hunt upland birds.

In this free course, five stories of different upland hunters and landscapes are featured, including North Dakota. It also covers the basics of equipment, technique, safety and more with companion video modules.

The course is available on the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever website.

Game Wardens Association Offers Scholarships



The North Dakota Game Wardens Association is sponsoring scholarships for enrolled higher education students interested in majoring in wildlife law enforcement or a related field.

Applications are available by contacting the North Dakota Game Warden’s Association, ndgamewardens@gmail.com, and must be received no later than Oct. 15.

Hunters Be Mindful of Farmers, Ranchers



Hunters should be respectful and cautious as farmers and ranchers are busy with field work this time of year.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department officials said hunters should pull to the side of the road or find an approach when meeting combines, grain trucks or tractors pulling equipment.

In addition, hunters should avoid parking along roadways or field approaches where vehicles could block travel by farm machinery, leave gates as you found them, collect trash and empty shells, and not clean game in the road ditch or approach.

CWD Testing During Deer Bow, Elk, Moose Seasons



With the deer bow, elk, and moose seasons opening soon, North Dakota Game and Fish Department officials remind hunters of the options for getting animals tested for chronic wasting disease.

Hunters can drop off heads at any of the following locations:

View interactive map

  • Bismarck – North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife health lab, 3001 East Main Ave.
  • Devils Lake – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 7928 45th St NE.
  • Dickinson – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 225 30th Ave SW.
  • Fargo – North Dakota Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, 4035 19th Ave N.
  • Grand Forks – Grand Forks County Sheriff, 5205 Gateway Dr.
  • Jamestown – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 3320 E Lakeside Road.
  • Kenmare – Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, 42000 520th St NW.
  • Lonetree – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 1851 23rd Ave NE (Available only during office hours, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Friday).
  • Lamoure – Community Volunteer EMS of Lamoure, 300 4th St SE.
  • Minot – State Fairgrounds, 2005 E Burdick Expy (map).
  • Napoleon – Transportation Department, 59 Broadway St.
  • Riverdale – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 406 Dakota Ave.
  • Wahpeton – Transportation Department, 7930 180th Ave SE.
  • Williston – North Dakota Game and Fish Department district office, 5303 Front St W.

Self-sampling kits are also available to hunters who wish to have their animal tested but are unable to drop the head off at a collection site. The kits allow hunters to remove the lymph nodes and ship them to the Department's wildlife health lab for testing. A sampling kit request form can be found on the Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.

Also note, whole carcasses of animals harvested in North Dakota must remain in the deer unit or may be transported anywhere in the state, but carcass waste must be disposed of via landfill or waste management provider. This does not apply to heads dropped at CWD collection sites or lymph nodes submitted for CWD surveillance. Taxidermists and game processors can also accept intact carcasses of animals harvested within North Dakota but assume responsibility for disposal.

Overnight Camping Restriction Lifted for Holiday



The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will lift the Tuesday-Wednesday camping restriction on state wildlife management areas for the Labor Day holiday week.

The removal of the restriction will allow overnight camping Sept. 5-6 on those WMAs that otherwise have the two-day restriction in place.

A complete list, including other WMA regulations, is available on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.