Big 3 harvest statistics

North Dakota Game and Fish Department harvest statistics show overall success for the 2025 season was 100% for bighorn sheep, 87% for moose and 62% for elk.

The department issued eight bighorn sheep licenses, one of which was an auction license. The Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife issued two licenses in 2025, one to a tribal member and one to a Game and Fish Department applicant. All 10 hunters were successful.

The department issued 292 moose licenses last year. Of that total, 281 hunters harvested 245 animals – 147 bulls and 98 cows/calves.

The department issued 1,021 elk licenses last year. Of that total, 929 hunters harvested 576 elk – 280 bulls and 296 cows/calves.

Elk, moose, bighorn sheep applications

Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The application deadline is March 25.

A total of 1,062 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, an increase of 102 from last year.

A total of 296 moose licenses are available, which remains the same as last year.

A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled for 2026, depending on the sheep population. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after summer population surveys.

Bighorn sheep applicants must apply for a license at the same time as moose and elk, but not for a specific unit. Once total licenses are determined for each unit in late summer, the bighorn lottery will be held and successful applicants will be contacted to select a hunting unit.

Because the bighorn sheep application fee is not refundable as per state law, if a bighorn season is not held, applicants would not receive a refund.

Elk, moose and bighorn sheep lottery licenses are issued as once-in-a-lifetime licenses in North Dakota. Hunters who have received a license through the lottery are not eligible to apply for that species again.

NDGF offers wildlife food plot seed

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is once again offering free seed for the 2026 growing season to landowners interested in planting wildlife food plots for pheasants and other wildlife species.

Rather than a traditional corn or sunflower food plot, Game and Fish is offering a seed mix that provides increased plant diversity, including flowering plants from spring through fall, which will attract insects, the major diet component of pheasant chicks. Additionally, the mix will provide needed cover during spring and summer, as well as a winter food source.

This food plot campaign does not require a department Private Land Open To Sportsmen contract; however, participating landowners are encouraged to allow reasonable public access. This could mean simply providing permission to hunters from time to time, utilizing custom dates in electronic posting, putting up “Ask Before You Enter” signs around the area, or not posting the surrounding land. Additionally, participating landowners cannot charge a fee for hunting.

The department will provide enough seed to cover up to a maximum 5-acre planting at no cost to the landowner.

Landowners interested in receiving the seed must sign up online by April 3. Seed will be available in May at Game and Fish offices in Bismarck, Jamestown, Devils Lake, Harvey, Dickinson, Williston and Riverdale.

Game and Fish private land biologists can provide technical assistance on food plot location and site preparation.

Landowners interested in additional financial incentives may be considered for the PLOTS program. More information is available by contacting a private land biologist at any Game and Fish office, or email privatelands@nd.gov.

2025 CWD test results

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department tested 1,224 animals for chronic wasting disease during the 2025 sampling season. Game and Fish confirmed 16 deer tested positive for CWD, all of which were taken by hunters.

Deer that tested positive for CWD came from the following units:

– 3A1 (five mule deer, one whitetail)

– 3D2 (two mule deer)

– 3E1 (one mule deer and one whitetail)

– 3E2 (one mule deer)

– 3F1 (one whitetail)

– 3F2 (two mule deer and one whitetail)

– 2B (one whitetail)

CWD was not previously detected in units 2B and 3D2.

Game and Fish will use its 2025 surveillance data to guide CWD management moving forward. Regulations related to CWD are set annually by proclamation.

CWD is a fatal disease of deer, moose and elk that remains on the landscape and can cause long-term population impacts as infection rates climb.

More information about CWD is available by contacting NDGF.

Guide, outfitter exam set

The next guide and outfitter written examination is March 28 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. Preregistration is required no later than March 20 by calling the department’s enforcement office at 328-6604.

In addition to passing a written exam, qualifications for becoming a guide include a background check for criminal and game and fish violations; certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and standard first aid; and employment by or contract with a licensed hunting outfitter.

Hunting outfitter eligibility requirements include the guide qualifications, as well as an individual must have held a hunting guide license for two years and must have proof of liability insurance.

The test is given periodically to anyone interested in becoming a guide or outfitter in the state.