NDGNF August Weekly Newsletter

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Deer Lotteries Held, Antlerless Licenses Remain

More than 36,000 antlerless deer gun licenses are still available after the North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently completed its lottery drawing. These first-come, first-served licenses are for hunters who don’t already have a license, or for those who want additional licenses.

Hunters can apply online at the Game and Fish Department HSOforum. Paper applications will be available by the end of August from the department’s HSOforum at gf.nd.gov, Game and Fish offices, county auditors and license vendors. Hand delivered applications will not be processed at the department while the applicant waits. Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply.

Hunters are reminded that these additional doe licenses can be used 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. Hunters must stay in the unit to which the license is assigned.

The regular deer gun season begins at noon Nov. 9.

Deer, Pronghorn Archery Seasons Open Aug. 31

North Dakota’s deer and pronghorn archery seasons open Friday, Aug. 31 at noon, and hunters should refer to the 2007 deer and pronghorn hunting guides for season information and regulations.

The pronghorn archery season runs through Oct. 7, while the archery deer season is open through Jan. 6, 2008.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has received inquiries from bow hunters about what can be done if a tree stand is stolen, moved or tampered with. Kurt Aufforth, district game warden at Cando, said tree stands are private property and theft constitutes a criminal violation that should be reported to the local sheriff's department.

Aufforth suggests a few proper etiquette guidelines for bow hunters using tree stands: do not erect or use tree stands on private property without landowner permission; follow all regulations of the managing agency when using tree stands on public hunting areas; do not use the tree stand of another hunter without that hunter’s permission; and do not remove or tamper with a tree stand without the owner’s or landowner’s permission.

Hunters are also reminded of baiting restrictions on Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national wildlife refuges, waterfowl production areas and wildlife development areas; all North Dakota state school lands; and all North Dakota state park lands. Baiting is prohibited on these lands, and is defined as the placement and/or use of bait for attracting big game and other wildlife to a specific location for the purpose of hunting.

The Game and Fish Department made available 148,550 deer gun licenses to hunters this fall. Bowhunters are reminded that those individuals with additional concurrent season doe licenses can use these during the archery season in the designated hunting unit.

HIP Certification Required for Migratory Bird Hunters

As early Canada goose, dove, sandhill crane and regular waterfowl seasons open in September, migratory game bird hunters are reminded to register with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting in North Dakota this fall.

HIP certification is required for all migratory bird hunters, regardless of age, before hunting ducks, geese, swans, mergansers, coots, cranes, snipe, doves or woodcock.

Hunter compliance is essential in order to obtain reliable national and regional estimates of annual harvest of all migratory game bird species. These estimates provide information biologists need to make sound decisions concerning hunting seasons, bag limits and population management.

Hunters who purchase a license through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department can easily get HIP certified.

Otherwise, hunters must call 888-634-4798, or log on to the Game and Fish HSOforum at gf.nd.gov, and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate.

Those who registered to hunt the spring light goose season in North Dakota do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year. However, hunters must HIP register in each state for which they are licensed before hunting migratory game birds.

Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest is accepting entries, and the deadline for submitting photos is Sept. 30.

The contest encompasses all North Dakota wildlife in a variety of categories – nongame species, game species, insects and plants. The winning photograph will appear on the department’s 2008 Watchable Wildlife program promotional poster.

The photographer submitting the poster winner, and all place winners in each category, receive prizes. Each of the prize-winning photographs will also appear in North Dakota OUTDOORS.

Rules have been changed slightly this year to allow a greater range of entries to qualify for the poster. The poster image will be selected from entries that are original, vertical-composition transparencies (slides) or a minimum 8.0 megapixel digital image. Prints, slides and digital photos are all acceptable formats for entries in each category.

The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers. North Dakota Game and Fish Department employees and immediate family members are not eligible. Photographs must be taken in North Dakota.

The contest is limited to 35mm slides or larger format transparencies, or five-by-seven-inch or larger color prints in either vertical or horizontal composition. Prints made from unaltered digital files are accepted. Photographers are limited to no more than five entries each. The overall winner must be in vertical format, or be able to be cropped or manipulated into a vertical poster.

The Game and Fish Department reserves the right to copy and print winners to promote the Watchable Wildlife program. By submitting an entry, photographers grant permission to Game and Fish to publish winning photographs in its magazine, North Dakota OUTDOORS, and also as part of the magazine on the department’s web page, gf.nd.gov. Appropriate credit will be given in any publication where such photos are used.

All entries should be sent to: Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095.

Nonwinning entries will be returned following contest judging.

Slides, transparencies or prints must be accompanied by the photographer’s name, address and phone number. Other information such as photo site location and month taken, equipment used, film speed and type, and lens/aperture settings would be useful.

Although care will be taken with submitted material, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department assumes no financial responsibility for lost or damaged materials.

Photos are judged on quality, composition, content and general appeal. Preference will be given to nongame species for the poster.

Please respect private lands by obtaining permission and be sure to use proper wildlife-watching ethics while photographing.

State Record Fish is a Pure Muskie

Lab results confirm Cory Bosch’s state record fish is a pure muskie.

The Mandan angler caught a 46-pound 8-ounce muskie on July 3 from New Johns Lake. Genetic material was sent to a lab to determine whether the fish was a pure muskie or a tiger muskie, a cross between a northern pike and pure muskie.

Bosch’s catch broke the previous record by half-a-pound.

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Game and Fish Announces 2007 Waterfowl Season Proposal

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has announced the 2007 waterfowl season proposal that was sent to the Governor’s office for consideration, according to Randy Kreil, wildlife chief.

Opening day for North Dakota residents is Sept. 22 for ducks, geese, coots and mergansers. Nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl in North Dakota Sept. 29.

Hunters may take five ducks per day with the following restrictions: two scaup, two redheads, two wood ducks; and only one from the following group: one hen mallard, or one pintail, or one canvasback. For example, if you take a hen mallard, you cannot take a pintail or canvasback. For ducks, the possession limit is twice the daily limit.

The daily limit of five mergansers may include no more than two hooded mergansers.

The hunting season for Canada geese and light geese will close Dec. 21, and the season for whitefronts closes Dec. 2. Shooting hours for all geese are one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. each day through Nov. 3. Beginning Nov. 4, shooting hours are extended until 2 p.m. each day.

Extended shooting hours for all geese are permitted on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with shooting hours on those days from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

The daily bag limit for Canada geese during the regular season is three, with six in possession. The white-fronted goose daily limit is two, with four in possession, and light goose limit is 20 daily, with no possession limit.

The special youth waterfowl hunting season is Sept. 15-16. Legally licensed residents and nonresidents 15 years of age or younger can hunt ducks, coots, mergansers and geese statewide. A licensed adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the youth hunter into the field.

The daily bag limit and species restrictions for the youth season are the same as for regular duck and goose seasons, and the September Canada goose season. Since the early September Canada goose season overlaps with the youth waterfowl season on Sept. 15, young hunters can harvest five Canada geese Saturday, Sept. 15, but only three on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Nonresidents have the option of buying either a statewide waterfowl license or one with zone restrictions. Nonresidents who designate zones 1 or 2 may hunt that zone for only one seven-day period during the season. Nonresident hunters who chose to hunt in zone 1 or 2 and wish to use the full 14 consecutive days allowed, must use the other seven days in zone 3. Hunters in zone 3 can hunt that zone the entire 14 days.

In accordance with state law, nonresidents are not allowed to hunt on Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas or conservation PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) areas from Oct. 13-19.

All waterfowl hunters must register with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting. Hunters purchasing a license from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department can easily get a HIP number. Otherwise, hunters must call 888-634-4798, or log on to the Game and Fish HSOforum at gf.nd.gov, provide the registration information, and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate. Those who HIP registered to hunt this spring’s light goose season do not have to register again, as it is required only once per year.

Hunters should refer to the 2007 North Dakota Waterfowl Hunting Guide, available in early September, for further details on the waterfowl season.

NDGF, COE Continue Missouri River Habitat Improvement Projects

The state Game and Fish Department and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are continuing with year two of a wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement project for species of concern along the Missouri River System in North Dakota.

In late August or early September, the corps will use helicopters to spray herbicides on approximately 85 acres of vegetation, covering portions of three sandbars south of Bismarck on Lake Oahe. The herbicides are EPA approved for spraying in or adjacent to water, and are intended to kill vegetation on the sandbars.

After the islands are sprayed, the dead vegetation will be removed mechanically by mowing or cutting equipment. Weather permitting, spraying is scheduled to occur the last week of August, and dead vegetation will be removed this fall or next spring.

Last year, vegetation was removed from 150 acres of sandbars south of Bismarck on Lake Oahe, primarily for two shorebird species – endangered least terns and threatened piping plovers – that depend on bare sandbars for nesting habitat.

Steve Dyke, Game and Fish Department conservation supervisor, said several of the sandbars treated in 2006 had birds nesting on them this summer. “Most of this year’s spraying is to retreat portions of islands that were sprayed last year,” Dyke said.

Russ Somsen with the corps office in Pierre indicated his agency will continue to monitor the sites for several years to evaluate effectiveness and see if birds use the sandbars that have been treated.

Pronghorn Lottery Held, Licenses Remain

The 2007 pronghorn lottery has been held and nearly 400 doe/fawn licenses remain in seven units. Licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Two licenses per hunter are allowed for the 2007 regular gun season.

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 1-D, 33 licenses; Unit 2-A, 81; Unit 3-B, 55; Unit 4-A (late season), 60; Unit 4-C, 76; Unit 5-A, 16; and Unit 6-A, 72.

Hunters can apply by accessing the North Dakota Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. Otherwise, interested hunters can request an application by calling the department’s Bismarck office at 701-328-6300.

Only North Dakota residents are eligible for pronghorn gun licenses. The season runs Oct. 5-21.

Swan Hunt Lottery Held, Licenses Remain

The 2007 swan lottery has been held and more than 600 licenses remain. Only hunters who do not have a swan license can apply, as regulations limit hunters to one license per year.

First come, first served licenses can be purchased online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. Hunters may also request an application by calling the department’s Bismarck office at 701-328-6300.

The statewide tundra swan hunting season is Sept. 29 – Dec. 9. North Dakota residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply. The fee is $5 for residents and $25 for nonresidents.

Landowner-Sportsman Council to Meet Sept. 4

The North Dakota Landowner-Sportsman Council has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 4. The meeting will be held at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, in Bismarck. Meeting time is 7:30 p.m.

Any person who requires an auxiliary aid or service must notify Doug Howie, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, at 701-328-6333 prior to the scheduled meeting date.

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Sharptails, Ruffed Grouse and Partridge Seasons Open Sept. 8

When sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge seasons open Sept. 8, hunters should expect bird numbers similar to last year, but improved vegetation in the state might make it a little harder to find them.

Both bird species came through winter in good shape, based on reports that spring counts were up slightly from last year. “Increased vegetation will provide additional escape cover, so hunters will have to work a little harder to locate birds,” said Stan Kohn, North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game management supervisor.

While the 2007 season opens Sept. 8 for sharptails, partridge and ruffed grouse, sage grouse season does not open until Sept. 24.

The spring sharp-tailed grouse census was up nearly 10 percent statewide, Kohn said, with areas southwest of the Missouri River and the Missouri Coteau region showing the largest increases.

Preliminary results from July and August roadside counts indicate improved numbers in birds and broods per mile, higher average brood size, and an increase in the number of young birds seen on routes compared to adult birds.

Hunters can expect the same for Hungarian partridge. Rural mail carriers saw more partridge per 1,000 miles this spring, and data gathered by biologists on summer roadside counts show the highest number of birds seen per mile of survey in five years in the southwestern and Missouri Coteau portions of the state. However, the central and northeastern sections are down slightly from last year, but still better than two years ago.

Ruffed grouse populations tend to run in 8-10 year cycles. Spring counts in 2006 showed small increases in the number of birds drumming, but 2007 counts were again at the lower end. The Turtle Mountains in Bottineau and Rolette counties and the Pembina Hills area of Cavalier and Pembina counties should provide hunters with the best opportunities this fall.

The sage grouse population should also be similar to last year. “Sage grouse tend to move toward water areas with green vegetation, but these may be hard to find in the southwest,” Kohn said.

For further season information and regulations, hunters should consult the North Dakota 2007-08 Small Game Guide.

Sandhill Crane Season Opens Sept. 15

North Dakota’s sandhill crane season opens Sept. 15. Hunters are urged to use caution and identify birds to prevent shooting at whooping cranes as they begin their fall migration.

The sandhill crane season is open through Nov. 11 in unit 1 (west of U.S. Highway 281), and through Oct. 21 in unit 2 (east of U.S. Highway 281). Limits are three daily and six in possession in unit 1, and two daily and four in possession in unit 2. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. each day through Nov. 3. Beginning Nov. 4, shooting hours are extended until 2 p.m. each day.

As in past years, prospective hunters need a $5 crane permit. Hunters can apply online, or print out a resident or nonresident application for mailing, at the Game and Fish Department HSOforum, gf.nd.gov. HIP certification is required.

Hunters can also send the permit fee, along with personal information, including height, weight, sex, social security number, date of birth, color of hair and eyes, and hunter education number and state issued, to Crane Permit, NDGF, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501.

Hunters are also asked to report any whooping cranes that they see to: Bismarck-Mike Szymanski (701-328-6360), Long Lake NWR-Paul Van Ningen (701-387-4397), or Crosby-Tim Kessler (701-965-6488).

Youth Waterfowl Hunting Weekend Set Sept. 15-16

North Dakota’s two-day youth waterfowl season is Sept. 15-16. Legally licensed resident and nonresident youth waterfowl hunters age 15 and younger may hunt ducks, geese, coots and mergansers statewide.

The daily bag limit and species restrictions for the youth season are the same as for regular duck and goose seasons, and the September Canada goose season. Since the early September Canada goose season overlaps with the youth waterfowl season on Sept. 15, young hunters can harvest five Canada geese Saturday, Sept. 15, but only three on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Youth waterfowl hunters must be HIP certified, youth ages 12 and older need to have passed a certified hunter education course, and a general game and habitat license is required. Hunters age 15 and younger do not need a federal duck stamp.

Hunters who purchase a license through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department can easily get HIP certified.

Otherwise, hunters must call 888-634-4798, or log on to the Game and Fish HSOforum at gf.nd.gov, and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate.

Hunters are reminded to HIP register in each state for which they are licensed before hunting migratory game birds.

Shooting hours for the youth waterfowl season are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. An adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the resident youth hunter into the field, and a licensed adult is required to accompany a nonresident youth hunter. The two-day weekend hunt does not count against a nonresident adult hunter’s 14-day regular season waterfowl dates.

Youth Deer Hunting Season Opens Sept. 14

North Dakota’s youth-only deer hunting season opens for first-time hunters Friday, Sept. 14 at noon, and continues through Sunday, Sept. 23.

The season is statewide, except for restricted licenses and units in western North Dakota. After opening day, hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Solid daylight fluorescent orange vests or coats, and hats are required for all youth deer season hunters and their adult mentors.

Each youth deer hunter must be accompanied by an adult while in the field.

Active Military on Leave Can Hunt Small Game, Fish, Trap Without License

A new law allows some active military personnel to hunt small game, fish or trap in North Dakota without a license.

The 2007 North Dakota state legislature passed a bill that allows a resident who is on leave and on active duty with the United States military to hunt small game, fish or trap during the open season without a license. However, a federal duck stamp is required to hunt waterfowl, and HIP certification is also necessary.

Proof of valid leave papers and a North Dakota operator’s license are required.

Qualified military personnel are asked to contact the state Game and Fish Department for additional details.