ND GNF Weekley Newsletter 10-May-06

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- Deer Applications Available Online, Paper Apps Mid-May

- Spring Mule Deer Survey Complete

- Safe Boating Week May 20-26

Deer Applications Available Online, Paper Apps Mid-May

Online applications for the 2006 regular deer gun, youth and muzzle-loader seasons are available now for prospective hunters to apply through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s internet HSOforum, while paper applications will be available to vendors throughout the state by mid-May. The deadline for applying is June 7.

Applicants can access the department’s HSOforum at gf.nd.gov to submit a lottery application online, or to print an application for mailing. Regular license fees apply and no service charge is added.

Lottery and gratis applications will be available at Game and Fish offices, county auditors and license vendors the week of May 15. Prospective hunters may also apply by calling 800-406-6409. A service fee is added for license applications made over the phone.

Spring Mule Deer Survey Complete

The badlands mule deer population index for western North Dakota remains higher than the long-term average, based on observations during the state Game and Fish Department’s annual spring mule deer survey in April.

Biologists counted 2,567 mule deer in 24 study areas, covering 291 square miles, according to Bruce Stillings, big game biologist, Dickinson. Mule deer density per square mile was 8.8, slightly less than 9.9 in 2005, but higher than the long-term average of 6.2 mule deer per square mile.

Biologists have surveyed the same 24 study areas from the air since the 1950s, Stillings said, in order to obtain solid mule deer population data for the badlands. Each October, these same study areas are surveyed to monitor trends in demographics and production (buck-to-doe and fawn-to-doe ratios).

Stillings cites good production in 2005, a conservative and responsible harvest strategy and the recent mild winters as reasons for the continued above-average mule deer density in the badlands.

Safe Boating Week May 20-26

A Safe Boating Week theme consisting of only two words – “Wear It!” – sends a direct and clear message about boating and safety, according to Nancy Boldt, boat and water safety coordinator for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

The annual week-long event – running this year from May 20-26 – emphasizes the need for boaters to wear a personal flotation device, more commonly called life jackets. Failure to wear a PFD is the main reason people lose their lives in boating accidents.

Nationwide, each year on average 700 people die in boating-related accidents. Nearly 70 percent are caused by drowning, and eight out of 10 victims were not wearing a life jacket. No fatalities were reported in North Dakota last year.

North Dakota law requires Coast Guard approved PFDs in the following circumstances:

· On watercraft less than 16 feet in length, one wearable PFD must be on board for each person.

· Anyone being towed on water-skis, surfboard, or a similar device must wear a PFD.

· No person may operate or permit the operation of a personal watercraft without each person on board wearing a PFD.

· Watercraft of 16 feet or longer must have one wearable PFD for each person on board, and one throwable flotation device.

· On any vessel less than 27 feet in length, all persons 10 years of age or younger must wear and have properly fastened a Coast Guard approved PFD.

Boaters are reminded to test life jackets for serviceability and fit. All straps and buckles must be intact and there should be no rips or tears in the fabric.

“Test life jackets by wearing them in the water,” Boldt said. “A properly fitted life jacket should keep the wearer’s face and mouth out of the water and enable him or her to float without effort.”