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Outdoors

Deer season set, apply online

North Dakota’s 2025 deer season is set, with 42,300 licenses available to hunters, down 7,800 from last year. In addition, muzzleloader licenses decreased by 150 and restricted youth antlered mule deer licenses remained the same. Casey Anderson, North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife division chief, said population, harvest and survey data indicate the state’s deer population is stable to decreasing throughout the state. “The state’s deer population continues to recover from the 2021 EHD outbreak and the severe winter of 2022-23, which limited population growth ...

May highlights safe boating

A week-long national safe boating public awareness campaign is May 17-23, an annual event that serves to educate boaters and water users heading into summer. A boat should have enough U.S. Coast Guard approved wearable life jackets on board for all passengers. North Dakota law requires all children ages 10 and younger to wear a personal flotation device while in boats less than 27 feet in length. The law also requires all personal watercraft users to wear a life jacket, as well as anyone towed on skis, tubes, boards or other similar devices. However, state law allows an individual ...

Early spate of drownings in Midwest raises concerns

OMAHA, Neb. - Drowning has claimed seven lives already this year at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recreation areas across the Midwest. A common factor in each of these incidents: none of the victims were wearing a life jacket. USACE’s Northwestern Division has documented two drownings in Missouri, one in Kansas, two in South Dakota and two in Colorado. There also have been other drownings in the region along the Missouri River. “We urge everyone who is on or near water to wear a life jacket,” said Jonathan Carlisle, Northwestern Division Natural Resources program ...

North Dakota Outdoors: Who doesn’t love having monarch butterflies?

Revering walleye, pheasants, or bucks is about as Midwestern as loving summertime baseball, hot dogs and mom. In an honest conversation you’ll hear an underscoring appreciation for pike, meadowlarks and monarchs. Who doesn’t love the fight of a northern, the sound a meadowlark makes ...

Fish Challenge open

Anglers are once again invited to participate in the North Dakota Fish Challenge. The challenges, which started in 2022, encourage exploration of North Dakota’s many fisheries, and this year, promote active stewardship of the resource. Anglers can choose to complete the Total Catch Challenge by coaching a new angler, cleaning up a local water body, cooking a catch and casting a story. In addition, anglers can complete the Rough Fish Challenge by catching a bullhead, carp and sucker; the Sportfish Challenge by catching a bluegill, walleye, bass and trout; or the inaugural Classic ...

2024 upland game seasons summarized

North Dakota’s 2024 pheasant and sharp-tailed grouse harvests were up, while gray partridge was similar to 2023, according to the state Game and Fish Department. Upland game biologist RJ Gross said the overall harvest was likely a result of more hunters, more trips and more birds in the population. “The winter of 2023-24 was mild, and no die-offs were reported. In 2024, we observed an increase in pheasant crows heard during our spring crowing counts and sharptails during spring lek surveys,” Gross said. “Although chick production was decreased by the wet and cold nesting ...