NDGNF July Weekley Newsletter

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Deer Lottery Held, Antlerless Licenses Remain

North Dakota’s 2007 deer gun lottery has been held and successful applicants will receive their license in the mail within a couple of weeks, according to Carrie Whitney, licensing supervisor for the state Game and Fish Department.

More than 60,000 antlerless deer gun licenses are still available. Applications for hunters who want to apply for a first, second, third or fourth license are now available online at the Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. Paper applications will be available from Game and Fish offices, county auditors and license vendors by mid-July.

The first lottery application process – deer gun, muzzleloader, youth and landowner – had 94,000 applicants, 3,000 more than in 2006. The number of hunters applying for regular deer gun licenses increased by about 2,000, while muzzleloader applicants increased by 1,000. Fifty-one percent of the applications came in online, the first time more than half the applications were filed through the Internet.

“We had a record number of people apply, and coincidently, a record number of unsuccessful applicants,” Whitney said.

Unsuccessful applicants in the first drawing will be mailed a blue application form with a July 25 deadline. Hunters who have not yet applied, or who want additional licenses, have to submit a third lottery ivory-colored application by Aug. 1. The lottery drawing for those who have not yet received a 2007 deer gun license will take place prior to the lottery for hunters seeking additional licenses.

After the third lottery application procedure, any remaining licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis, including hunters who want more than four deer gun licenses.

Hunters can use additional doe licenses during the archery season with a bow; the deer gun season with a bow, rifle, or muzzleloader; or during the muzzleloader season with a muzzleloader. These licenses must be used for antlerless deer only, and hunters must stay in the unit to which the license is assigned.

Mailed applications must be postmarked by midnight of the respective deadline. Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply in the third lottery. The regular deer gun season starts at noon Nov. 9 and runs through Nov. 25.

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More Elk Hunting Opportunities Possible in Southwestern North Dakota

The state Game and Fish Department is calling for changes to the 2007 elk hunting season in southwestern North Dakota.

Changes include issuing additional licenses and expanding hunting time periods in elk hunting units adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit. The amendment to the 2007 season has been signed by Governor Hoeven.

“The department is recommending this aggressive action in response to landowner concerns over the increasing number of elk coming out of the park onto private lands, and the fact the park elk herd continues to grow while the National Park Service goes through its legally mandated Environmental Impact Statement process,” said Terry Steinwand, Game and Fish Department director. “Because of the unpredictable movements of elk in and out of the park, it’s uncertain what hunter success will be for those holding these additional licenses.”

The amendment calls for an additional 160 second season licenses – 100 any-elk and 30 antlerless licenses in Unit E3, and 15 any-elk and 15 antlerless licenses in Unit E4. The licenses will be issued by lottery using applicants from all units who were unsuccessful in 2007. New applications won’t be necessary.

These licenses are considered once-in-a-lifetime licenses. However, if a person is selected and does not want to hunt in 2007 in the newly-proclaimed second season, they can return the license and participate in future lotteries.

The additional licenses will be valid for a second season running Aug. 31 through Sept. 30. Both regular season (August and October time periods), and second season license holders will be able to participate in the extended season Nov. 2 through Dec. 30.

“We anticipate that some regular season license holders might be concerned about the new group of hunters being in the field in September,” said Randy Kreil, chief of wildlife. “These hunters need to remember that they will have three different opportunities to hunt – they go first in August, then have all of October, and now can hunt the later part of the season as well.”

An additional 20 landowner licenses will be drawn in Unit E3. Landowner preferential license holders will be able to hunt in any open season.

Following are some questions and answers regarding the second season and second season extension.

Q: Who is eligible to participate in the lottery for second season licenses?

A: All 2007 unsuccessful elk applicants from all units. If someone is drawn for a second season license and does not want it, they can alert the department and maintain their eligibility for future years.

Q: How will the licenses be issued?

A: By lottery using the existing 2007 applicant list. There will be no new applications or deadlines. A random lottery of unsuccessful applicants will be used and those drawn will be notified.

Q: Will second season licenses count against the once-in-a-lifetime restriction?

A: Yes, but successful applicants will have the choice of not accepting the license and remain eligible to participate in future lotteries.

Q: What is the purpose of the season?

A: To address increasing numbers of elk venturing out of Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit and to help alleviate landowner concerns regarding the increasing number of elk on surrounding private lands.

Q: Why allow applicants from E1 and E2 to be eligible in the second season lottery?

A: It’s a matter of fairness. The offering of a second season and an extended season was not known by people applying in March 2007. Some of those people may have applied in E3 or E4 if they were aware of these additional opportunities.

Q: This seems overly complicated with the split seasons, second season, and extended season. Can’t it be simpler?

A: It is complicated and we wish it wasn’t that way. However, we need to be fair to the first season hunters while at the same time offering a fair chance to second season hunters. In future years, we will find ways to simplify this aspect of the season, but based on the need to act and react quickly – and still be fair – it had to be done this way this year.

Q: Does this mean there will be more landowner preference licenses available?

A: There will be additional licenses available in E3, but not in E4 where special elk management provisions already exist.

Prairie Chicken Applications Due Aug. 8

Hunters interested in chasing prairie chickens in October will need to have their applications in the mail and postmarked no later than Aug. 8.

The prairie grouse hunting season – good for either sharp-tailed grouse or prairie chickens – will be held Oct. 13-21 in two hunting units, one in Grand Forks County (north unit) and in southeastern North Dakota (south unit). Fifty licenses will be awarded to resident hunters in each unit.

To apply, hunters need to send a postcard containing their name, address, phone number and choice of hunting unit (north or south) to Prairie Chicken Application, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, N.D. 58501.

Only one application per postcard and one application per hunter is permitted. Successful applicants will be notified through the mail.

A total of 30 prairie chickens and 52 sharp-tailed grouse were taken during the state’s 2006 prairie chicken hunting season. Forty-six hunters bagged 12 prairie chickens and 33 sharptails in the north unit, while 39 hunters took 18 prairie chickens and 19 sharptails in the south unit.

The department received 299 applications in 2006 – 175 for the north unit and 124 for the south unit.

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Pheasant Crowing Counts Down from Last Year

North Dakota’s 2007 ring-necked pheasant spring crowing count survey revealed a 9 percent decrease statewide compared to last year, reports Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the State Game and Fish Department.

The survey indicated crowing counts are down 8-10 percent in all areas of the state except the northwest, which was up 10 percent from last year. “These decreases are not large, and do not depict a major decline in the breeding population,” Kohn said.

Pheasant crowing counts are conducted each spring throughout North Dakota. The index does not measure an entire population density, Kohn said, but is an indicator of the pheasant population trend. Observers drive specified 20-mile routes, stopping at predetermined intervals, and count the number of pheasant roosters heard crowing during the stop. The information recorded is compared to previous years’ data, providing a population trend.

The breeding rooster index still looks good compared to the last several years. “Our breeding population remains strong, and it continues to be as high as we have had in the last 30-40 years,” Kohn said.

With average production this summer, Kohn expects a good pheasant hunting season in many parts of the state. His only concern is what effect, if any, the heavy rains that fell from late May through mid-June may have had on hatching success and brood mortality. “Unfortunately, these extremely wet conditions came at about the peak of the pheasant hatch,” he said.

Brood surveys begin in mid-July, and by mid-August biologists will have a feel for what pheasant production was this summer. “At that time we will be able to provide a better insight on what to expect this fall,” Kohn said. “But as of now, early signs point toward a strong pheasant population.”

Spring Sharp-tailed Grouse Census Tallied

Preliminary reports from the 2007 spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 7 percent increase in the number of male grouse recorded compared to last year.

Statewide, observers counted 4,670 sharptails on spring dancing grounds this year compared to 4,347 in 2006, according to Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

More than 630 square miles were covered. Male grouse recorded per square mile on comparable census areas increased from 5.5 in 2006 to 5.9 this year.

An indication of the fall season won’t be known until mid-August, Kohn said, upon completion of brood surveys.

Biologists Complete Spring Sage Grouse Census

North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists recently completed the 2007 sage grouse survey, and census data showed 159 males were counted on 19 active strutting grounds. In 2006, biologists counted 196 males on 17 active grounds.

An attempt is made to visit all active and inactive leks each spring and count all strutting males. The all-time high number of male sage grouse counted on leks in the southwest was 542 birds in 1953, compared to a low mark of 111 in 1996.

Sage grouse are North Dakota’s largest native upland game bird. They are found in extreme southwestern North Dakota, primarily in Bowman and Slope counties.

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Game and Fish Honored with National Conservation Award

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has received a prestigious international award from leaders of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Called the National Great Blue Heron Award, it recognizes significant contributions to waterfowl and wetland conservation. Gov. John Hoeven was on hand to accept the award from Paul Schmidt, an assistant director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last week during a special presentation in Bismarck.

“We’re extremely proud of our wildlife, and very proud of the work Game and Fish does,” Hoeven told a gathering of NAWMP officials. “All the Game and Fish staff are passionate about what they do, and I think that’s why they’re so successful with these programs.”

Since the North American Waterfowl Management Plan was launched more than 20 years ago, the Game and Fish Department has contributed more than $10 million in matching funds – more than any other nonfederal entity – toward NAWMP projects. In addition, Game and Fish has dedicated one staff position to coordinate waterfowl plan goals for the North Dakota Action Group, a committee of representatives from state and federal agencies as well as private conservation and agricultural organizations.

Because of these efforts, Schmidt said, more than 900,000 acres have been enhanced for waterfowl within 44 different projects in the state. In addition, North Dakota has received more than $20 million in federal grants for those projects, much of which has ended up with farmers and ranchers who voluntarily cooperate on habitat projects.

“Putting together habitat on the ground, that to me represents success,” Schmidt said, “and is the kind of partnership and state success that really makes the North American Waterfowl Management Plan come alive.”

The award recognizes not only efforts to benefit waterfowl, but also many other migratory bird species that rely on wetlands.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne wrote in a letter to Gov. Hoeven: “The North American Waterfowl Management Plan success in North Dakota, one of the most important waterfowl breeding areas in North America, is due in large part to the significant leading role that the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has readily assumed. They are extremely deserving of this prestigious award, and you have a heart-felt congratulations and thanks for your support in continuing conservation for all the partners in North Dakota.”

Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand said his agency is proud to receive the award. ”It couldn’t happen without the support of the governor,” he stated.

Pronghorn Season Set, Online Applications Available

North Dakota’s pronghorn hunting season has been set and a record 6,095 licenses are available for 2007, an increase of 2,285 from last year. The total consists of 2,445 any-pronghorn licenses and 3,650 doe/fawn licenses.

The state’s pronghorn population has fully recovered from the 1997 winter die-off due to a unit-by-unit harvest strategy and a series of extremely mild winters, said Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The result has been good adult survival, excellent fawn recruitment and expanded hunting opportunities.

More than 16,000 square miles, 90 percent of the primary range for pronghorn in the state, were surveyed in late June and early July. Statistics indicate the statewide population increased 20 percent from last year.

“The state’s pronghorn population estimate has increased from 12,500 in 2006 to more than 15,000 in 2007,” Kreil said. “The population is above the statewide objective.”

The 2007 proclamation allows for hunters to purchase additional licenses in specific units if an adequate number of licenses remain after the regular lottery.

Prospective hunters are encouraged to apply online, or print out an application to mail, at the Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. Applications will also be available from license vendors by July 27.

The deadline for submitting applications is Wednesday, Aug. 8. Mailed applications must be postmarked before midnight. Hand-delivered applications are due at the department’s Bismarck office by 5 p.m. Applications should be mailed early because some post offices use the following day’s postmark if received after office hours.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible for pronghorn gun licenses. Archery season is open to residents and nonresidents. Gun season dates are Oct. 5 (noon) – Oct. 21. Pronghorn bow season runs Aug. 31 (noon) – Oct. 7.

Fall Turkey Licenses Remain, Online Apps Available July 25

The 2007 fall wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 3,000 licenses remain in 16 units. Licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis to hunters who do not already have a license, or for those who want additional licenses. There is no limit to the number of licenses a person can receive.

Resident and nonresident hunters can apply online, or print out an application to mail, at the Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov, beginning July 25. Paper applications will be at license vendors by July 27.

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 03, portions of Benson, Towner, Pierce and Ramsey counties, 150 licenses; Unit 04, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties south of Interstate 94, 132; Unit 06, Bowman County, 25; Unit 13, Dunn County, 511; Unit 15, Emmons County, 95; Unit 17, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties north of Interstate 94, 837; Unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and a portion of Morton County, 30; Unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties, 223; Unit 27, McKenzie County, 324; Unit 30, portion of Morton County, 203; Unit 31, Mountrail County, 29; Unit 44, Slope County, 92; Unit 45, Stark County, 101; Unit 51, Burke County and portions of Renville, Bottineau and Ward counties, 109; Unit 98, Burleigh and McLean counties, 124; and Unit 99, Mercer and Oliver counties, 258.

Fishing Statistics Positive in 2006

Despite North Dakota’s low water levels and dry climate last year, fishing license statistics showed positive results. In 2006, residents and nonresidents purchased more than 170,000 North Dakota fishing licenses, and including children, about 200,000 people fished state waters.

Fishing has long been a popular pastime for North Dakota residents. “Most families have one or more members who fish and virtually every North Dakota resident has a family member or close friend who fish,” said Greg Power, North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries division chief. “In 2006, more than one in four residents, 15 years or older, bought a fishing license and on average spent parts of 19 days fishing.”

The three big fisheries in North Dakota include Lake Sakakawea, Devils Lake and the Missouri River/Lake Oahe. Numerous small lakes and rivers played a large role for anglers as well. “While Devils Lake and the Missouri River System are important, North Dakota’s 300 small lakes, reservoirs and rivers account for nearly 50 percent of all fishing effort and are very important locally,” Power said. “Fishing is good not only for walleye, but for northern pike, large and smallmouth bass, catfish, trout and panfish.”

While license sales are up from 2005, license sales have been consistently good since rebounding in the mid-1990s. The number of nonresidents coming to North Dakota to fish is also on the rise. “Over a 20-year period, we’ve seen an increase in nonresident fishing effort in the state,” Power said.

The current numbers reflect anglers’ enjoyment of fishing in North Dakota. “The state has a strong tradition and heritage of fishing and the statistics speak for themselves,” Power said. “The respectable level of license sales can be attributed to a number of events and actions, but most importantly we have decent water levels across most of the state and good to very good fishing.”

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Swan Hunt Applications Available

Applications for North Dakota’s 2007 tundra swan licenses are available and the deadline for submitting an application is Aug. 15.

North Dakota residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply. Interested hunters can print out an application for mailing, or submit a lottery application online at the state Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. Regular license fees apply and no service charge is added.

Applications will also be available by Aug. 1 from Game and Fish offices, county auditors and license vendors, or by calling 800-406-6409. A service fee is added for license applications made over the phone.

The statewide tundra swan hunting season is Sept. 29 – Dec. 9. A total of 2,200 licenses are available. Successful applicants will be issued a tag to take one swan during the season. Since swans are classified as waterfowl, nonresidents may hunt them only during the period their nonresident waterfowl license is valid.

Duck Brood Index Down from Last Year

North Dakota's 2007 fall duck flight is expected to be down about 50 percent from last year and similar to the fall flight of 2004, according to Mike Johnson, game management section leader for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Even though the 2007 brood index from the department’s annual mid-July survey was down from last year’s record high index, it is still 72 percent above the 1955-2006 average. Average brood size was 6.4 ducklings, down slightly from last year. The long‑term average is 7.1 ducklings per brood. The water index observed during the survey was up 84 percent from 2006, and 49 percent above the long-term average.

Average age of broods was similar to the long-term average, Johnson said. Brood survey results, Johnson expects, may be somewhat low due to tall dense vegetative cover on many wetlands and high water levels and flooded vegetation from heavy rains. Recent rains have improved brood habitat across much of the state and should improve the survival of late-hatched broods.

The index does not count every water body or duckling in the state. Instead, representative transects across the state are sampled each year. Over time, survey results provide biologists with trend information that allows annual comparisons of waterfowl production in the state.

Hunting Guide and Outfitter Test Set for Aug. 25

The next guide and outfitter written examination is Saturday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. The test is given periodically to anyone interested in becoming a hunting guide or outfitter in the state.

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.

Interested individuals are required to preregister by calling the Game and Fish Department’s enforcement office at 328-6604.