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Outdoors

Fourth consecutive record count of bighorn sheep

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2023 bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs in March, revealed a record 364 bighorn sheep in the grasslands of western North Dakota, up 5% from 2022 and 16% above the five-year average. The count surpassed the previous record of 347 bighorns in 2022. Altogether, biologists counted 106 rams, 202 ewes and 56 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 ...

NDGF pays $762,000 in property taxes

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently paid more than $762,000 in taxes to counties in which the department owns or leases land. The 2023 in-lieu-of-tax payments are the same as property taxes paid by private landowners. The Game and Fish Department manages more than 200,000 acres for wildlife habitat and public hunting in 51 counties. The department does not own or manage any land in Traill or Renville counties.

ANS sticker required for watercraft in ND

Boaters with watercraft registered outside the state must have a 2024 aquatic nuisance species sticker before operating watercraft in North Dakota. State law requires a $15 ANS fee for motorized watercraft not licensed in North Dakota to be paid for each calendar year, and the ANS sticker must be displayed on the watercraft.

2024 paddlefish season underway soon

A highlight of my early years with the Game and Fish Department as a district game warden was the variety of field training opportunities. New wardens learn different required skills from seasoned wardens at stations literally in every corner of North Dakota. My primary training warden was ...

IN OUR BACKYARD: Spring brings start of camping adventures

Ah, April – the hope that winter is finally over, the promise of warmer days, and for me, the signal that camping season is upon us once again. With over 40 years of camping adventures under my belt, it’s safe to say that my relationship with the great outdoors has seen its fair share of evolution. As a child, camping was synonymous with sleeping beneath the starry night sky, cocooned in a sleeping bag, bellies full of freshly toasted marshmallows and dreaming of the adventure that awaited us. That is, until the heavens decided to open up and rain on our parade – quite ...

North Dakota Outdoors: Lottery system balances opportunity

There’s just something to be said for consistency. Not just because I’m an old man and don’t like change, either. Changing fishing regulations year to year and lake to lake can maximize management at the expense of confusion leading to angler frustration. Same with hunting. Case in ...