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Sandhill crane season opens Sept. 17

North Dakota’s sandhill crane season opens Sept. 17 and runs through Nov. 13. 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 ...

Upland game brood survey results released

North Dakota’s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate pheasant and gray partridge were up from last year, while sharp-tailed grouse numbers were down. State Game and Fish Department upland game supervisor Jesse Kolar said the annual upland late summer counts showed mixed results. “We observed an increase in pheasant and partridge densities and reproductive rates with average brood size and age ratios, while sharptails decreased in density but had improved reproductive rates from 2021,” Kolar said. Total pheasants observed (49 per 100 survey miles) are up 9% ...

Grouse, partridge seasons open Saturday

North Dakota’s hunting seasons for grouse and partridge will open Saturday. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Sharptails, ruffed grouse and Hungarian partridge each have a daily limit of three and a possession limit of 12. All hunters, regardless of age, must have a general game and habitat license. In addition, hunters 16 and older need a small game license. Grouse and partridge hunters should refer to North Dakota OUTDOORS August-September issue for an outlook on the fall hunting season, available online by the season opener on the state Game and ...

CWD testing available

With the deer bow, elk, and moose seasons opening soon, North Dakota Game and Fish Department officials remind hunters there are options for getting their animals tested for chronic wasting disease. A list of locations where hunters can drop off heads is available at the N.D. Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. 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 ...

Duck brood numbers up

State Game and Fish Department migratory bird biologists expect a fall flight of ducks from North Dakota similar to 2007, 2008 and 2017. To bring that forecast closer to home, the fall flight is anticipated to be about 26% above last year’s fall flight, based on observations from the department’s annual mid-July duck production survey. According to Mike Szymanski, department migratory game bird management supervisor, the department’s 75th annual breeding duck survey conducted in May showed an index of 3.4 million ducks in the state. This year’s breeding duck index was the ...