Breaking News

Outdoors

Spring grouse counts reported

North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologists summarized the spring survey results for sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and greater sage grouse. Summaries from the spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 13% decrease in the number of male grouse counted compared to last year. Statewide, 2,639 sharptails were observed on spring dancing grounds this year compared to 3,281 in 2021. Male grouse recorded per square mile (4) was slightly above the 10-year average (3.8). “These declines align with poor reproduction documented during the 2021 drought,” said ...

2021 upland game seasons summarized

North Dakota’s 2021 pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge harvests were down from 2020, according to the state Game and Fish Department. Upland game biologist RJ Gross said the overall harvest was likely a result of fewer hunters and below average reproduction. “We anticipated a slight decrease in upland game harvest for the fall in 2021 based on small brood sizes and a decline in observations per mile during our late summer roadside counts.” Gross said. “Although anecdotal reports from hunters indicated 2021 reproduction was better than we reported, the ...

Entries being taken for Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest

Photographers who are interested in sending photos for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest must follow guidelines for submitting their work. Photographers should go to the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov/photo-contest. Then it is a matter of providing some pertinent information about the photo and uploading it. Doing so helps both with ease of submitting photos for the photographer and managing those images for department staff. The contest is now open and the deadline for submitting photos is Oct. 3. For more ...

Mussel dogs safeguard Governor’s Walleye Cup

GARRISON — The North Dakota Governor’s Walleye Cup, which was held this past weekend, is the premiere fishing tournament in the region. Over 260 boats were launched by anglers looking to bring a whopper home, but before getting into the water they had to pass the scrutiny of two hardnosed ...

Mussel-sniffing dogs to attend walleye tournament

The effort to combat the spread and introduction of invasive zebra mussels in North Dakota, water is going to the dogs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has partnered with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens who will employ their professionally trained K-9 companions to detect the presence of zebra and quagga mussels on boats being launched in the North Dakota Governor’s Walleye Cup tournament. The Corps will host a mussel K-9 demonstration open to the public July 14 at 10 a.m. at Fort Stevenson State Park, south of Garrison. The K-9s and handlers will ...

Boaters reminded to report accidents

Regardless of how safe and cautious boaters are on the water, accidents happen. If a boating accident involves injury, death or disappearance of a person, an accident report must be completed and sent to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department within 48 hours of the occurrence. If property damage exceeds $2,000, but no deaths or injuries occur, a boat operator has five days to file a report. These reporting requirements are mandatory whether one or more boats are involved. A boat accident form is available on the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, at any Game and ...