The work of North Dakota game wardens is so much more than checking hunting and fishing licenses. The men and women wearing a badge and working the frontlines of game and fish law enforcement are the first called when a hunter has a question or a landowner is dealing with deer depredation. ...
Do you think much about wild turkeys in North Dakota? If you’re like me, when you see a turkey you call them out: “tom, jake, hen … how many are there? Are they on private land? Where did they come from and where are they headed?” Game and Fish biologists wonder some of the same ...
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 ...
Landowners interested in a 2024 deer gratis license must apply with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department by June 5. General deer and muzzleloader lottery applications will be available in early May, also with a deadline of June 5. Gratis applicants who have previously applied 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 2024 application.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will have 337 any-deer bow licenses available to nonresidents in 2024. Applicants can apply after April 15. The deadline to apply is May 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 2,124 people applied in 2023. The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15% of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation.
With the 2023 chronic wasting disease surveillance season completed, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department reported 11 deer tested positive. “The good news is that all these cases came from units where CWD has already been detected. None came from the southeastern part of the state where we were focusing our surveillance efforts,” said Dr. Charlie Bahnson, wildlife veterinarian. “However, CWD was detected right across our border in eastern Manitoba near Winkler, and again near Climax, Minnesota, where it was first found in 2021.” Positive cases detected in 2023 came from ...
