North Dakota places new restrictions on nonresident waterfowlers at the urging of resident hunters
Bismarck, N.D. — Ron Nerva realized his out-of-state waterfowl-hunting plans were sliced in half Aug. 1. That’s when he read about changes to North Dakota’s rules for nonresident hunters.
Nerva, a waterfowler from Tomahawk, Wis., has owned a hunting camp in Esmond, N.D., since 2003. Since then, each fall in the past, he’d hunted ducks and geese for the maximum of 14 days that out-of-staters were allowed. But his plans for this October have been thwarted by rule changes recently announced by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
Effective this season, North Dakota has created six new geographic zones for nonresident waterfowl hunters, replacing what used to be three waterfowl zones. Nonresidents may continue to hunt waterfowl for a maximum of 14 days, but they’re now limited to a seven-day period in any single zone.
As a result, nonresidents may opt to hunt in two different zones for seven days each, or hunt in two zones simultaneously for seven days, which then counts as using the allotted 14 hunting days.
“We’ve certainly enjoyed it out there, but you can kinda see the writing on the wall,” Nerva said.
MORE WATERFOWL COVERAGE FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:
Are you as good at identifying ducks as you should be? Here are ways to learn
7% bump in Wisconsin’s breeding duck numbers from ’24 may not tell the full story
Top duck hunting club in southern Illinois closed after baiting case
Nerva’s North Dakota house sits in the center of the new nonresident North-Central Zone, and he’s not interested in making a long drive each morning to hunt in a different zone.
“I’d have to drive an hour and a half to get to the next zone,” said Nerva, a retired Wisconsin conservation warden who enjoys field hunting for waterfowl. “I’m 61 years old and I’m winding down. I was going to hunt two weeks in North Dakota, and now I’m down to seven days. I think this will put me over the edge and I’ll sell my house. It’s a bummer.”
North Dakota is enacting the new rules to disperse hunters and reduce hunting pressure, with a stated goal of ensuring resident hunters have ample opportunities to enjoy quality outings in pursuit of ducks and geese, according to Bill Haase, Wildlife Division chief for NDG&F.
“The changes are due to a lot of concerns from resident waterfowl hunters in North Dakota – enough to where they formed a new association, the North Dakota Waterfowl and Agriculture Association. The group has concerns with the decline in resident waterfowl hunters and a dramatic increase in nonresident waterfowl hunters in the state,” Haase said. “They also have concerns with nonresidents buying land for the sole purpose of waterfowl hunting and about losing that access and increasing the land values.”
RELATED COMMENTARY FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:
Ryan Rothstein: Out-of-state whitetail tags getting harder and harder to come by
Ryan Rothstein: In Oklahoma, more of the same wrong thinking about nonresident hunters
Nonresident waterfowler numbers have continued to increase while the numbers of North Dakotans hunting ducks and geese have steadily declined. The disparity reached a peak level in 2024, when North Dakota sold 28,158 nonresident waterfowl licenses, while only about 16,000 North Dakota residents hunted waterfowl.
“I think what we’re feeling is the pressure from a lot of the changes happening in the provinces and states around us,” Haase said, pointing to Manitoba’s 2023 implementation of a lottery draw system for foreign waterfowl hunters. “And South Dakota issues roughly 6,100 nonresident licenses. North Dakota has become the state that if you don’t get one of those other permits, that’s where you go. It’s a bit of a crowding issue. It’s supply and demand. There’s less access than there was before. There’s getting to be more people hunting here, so something has to give.”
NDG&F also announced Aug. 1 that all waterfowl hunters – regardless of age or residence – must now purchase a $5 electronic state duck stamp. Nonresidents are required to buy $153 zone-restricted waterfowl-hunting licenses, a $20 general game and habitat license, a $5 fishing, hunting, and furbearer certificate, and the new $5 state waterfowl stamp. A $25 federal duck stamp is also required of all migratory bird hunters age 16 and older.
The 2025 regular duck season opener in North Dakota is Sept. 27 for residents, while the nonresident opener is Oct. 4. In a future rule change, NDG&F communicated that beginning in 2026, residents will have the first nine days of waterfowl season afield without nonresident hunters.
“It affords another weekend exclusively for resident hunters,” Haase said. “All of the changes are a compromise to spread out the hunters by putting on some restrictions.
“We really want to keep an over-the-counter license,” he said. “We were getting pressure to put on a very stringent cap similar to South Dakota. We really don’t want to do that right now. We want to try other means to allow as many people as possible to hunt (in) North Dakota. We have great resources, and it’s tradition for a lot of folks to hunt here. It’s an incredible experience, and we want to have as many people as we can but still maintain a quality experience for everybody.”
Nerva said he plans to enjoy waterfowling in North Dakota this season and says his Esmond house will be buzzing with duck hunters.
“I guess I’m part of the problem out there,” he said. “My house is full from opening day (for nonresidents) through the first week of November, but all of the guys only hunt a week. I’m the only one who hunts more than a week. I don’t think this is going to work to alleviate pressure. You’re only hurting a few people – guys who own houses.”
Share on Social
- Tags: Hunting, Minnesota, North Dakota, Waterfowl, Wisconsin
Hand-Picked For You
Northern Moose Alliance wants your trail camera images of moose from northeast Minnesota
Wisconsin’s statewide fishing report on May 7, 2026
Michigan Fishing Report – May 6, 2026
Iowa’s statewide fishing report on May 7, 2026
Bill Hilts, Jr.: Upcoming Great Lakes preview an invitation to explore amazing waters
Lead-tainted venison bill moving in New York legislature
Related Articles
Federal judge in Wisconsin suspends Lac du Flambeau fishing limitations placed on non-tribal anglers
Wisconsin’s non-tribal members trolled, used live sonar and fished for walleyes and muskies on state waters within the Lac du
Northern Moose Alliance wants your trail camera images of moose from northeast Minnesota
Do you have a trail camera in northeast Minnesota that occasionally captures photos of moose? If yes, Northern Moose Alliance
Bill Hilts, Jr.: Upcoming Great Lakes preview an invitation to explore amazing waters
New York’s Great Lakes are a celebration of all things sport fishing in the Empire State.
Our shared waters
10 thoughts on “North Dakota places new restrictions on nonresident waterfowlers at the urging of resident hunters”
North Dakota is going to loose a lot of license revenue and sales tax money on this. Looks like they plant to make it up by charging more fees. Also, many of the small town businesses rely on this boast of business before winter. Hunting among North Dakota residents is declining because many rural families have quit farming and moved to the big city. City dwellers in Fargo are more concerned about their kids activities and the next Bison game.
So ND quit hunting and they’re going to punish non residents!! I know a number of folks who own houses/camps in ND and a number are talking about selling and looking at Montana. Our hunting place is very far NW corner in the NW zone, minimum of 2 hours. Had already put in for swan tags and bought licenses. Going to have to really think about 2026 season.
I own a house in divide county and pay property taxes, in addition own farm land in Bottineau county and pay additional taxes there. I also do not post my land. The locals have no problem hunting on my non resident owned land. Maybe its time to pull the plug on my out of state kindness…….
So, nonresident hunters can’t hunt the first two weekends but can hunt the third, huh? Oh, wait, but they can’t hunt state land during the pheasant opener that weekend.
Yes, we nonresidents will lose a good hunting resource but it will be the resident resorts, motels, restaurants and groceries stores will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue at a time when they welcome a financial “bump” before their off season. Oh, and good luck with the loss of state revenue from licenses.
I hope it’s worth it for you, state legislators.
This legislative change doesn’t show the whole picture. In 2024, 28,158 non-resident and 16,000 resident waterfowl licenses were sold. How many non-resident licenses were sold to nonresident landowners? While nonresident landowners were limited to two seven day windows, there’s something very incomplete about this change in regulations. Moreover, if fewer North Dakota families are farming their lands, does this new regulation fix that situation? Putting more restrictions on non-residents won’t change that. It will adversely impact retailers and hospitality companies with reduced receipts before the onset of winter months. The fact that non-residents appeared to have no input in this legislation suggests decisions made in a vacuum. The change doesn’t appear to fit the challenge.
Was planning on waterfowling for a week in ND this year. The increases in license fees and types and reduction in opportunity has changed my mind. I will be hunting waterfowl elsewhere.
We’ve had a group of six hunters that have been hunting in ND for over 30 years, making two trips per year. The motel owner has told us that if it wasn’t for us they wouldn’t be able to make it. Three of the guys said they’re not going this year.
I am a UND graduate, as is one of my daughters. Like you, I HAD hunted in North Dakota for over 30- years, with a group of other hunters from NE Minnesota.
No more! We do not hunt where we are not welcome.
So, instead, we hunt elsewhere. And, oh, by the way, my annual contribution to UND now goes toward paying for my pheasant hunting in Iowa.
Doesn’t make sense from a revenue generating perspective. Resident license sales are down. So discourage nonresidents from hunting in North Dakota.
Well, I’m 64. I bought a house several years ago for a possible retirement,. I have been coming to North Dakota cause I absolutely love the area and enjoyed hunting ducks two weeks in a row. I contributed to the town helped out the little league the little league met new friends, homeowners, people live in the town. I’ve built relationships with so many people,but to come up there for only one week and drive 20 hours to get there it’s really not worth it at this point and it’s a shame cause I think in the long run, this will hurt North Dakota, North Dakota statistics people need to understand that resident hunters are declining everywhere, not just in North Dakota. This will just cause other people to quit hunting overall and decrease the gun population, which will make a lot of people happy on the other side