Duck brood, fall flight numbers spike in N.D.
Anticipated to be about 26% above last year’s fall flight.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department Reports
Sharpies down, ruffies up in N.D.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologists summarized the spring survey results for sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and greater sage grouse. Summaries from the spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 13% decrease in the number of male grouse counted compared to last year. Statewide, 2,639 sharptails were observed on spring dancing grounds this year compared to 3,281 in…
N.D. walleye tournament brings mussel-sniffing dogs
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has partnered with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens who will employ their professionally trained K-9 companions to detect the presence of zebra and quagga mussels on boats being launched in the North Dakota Governor’s Walleye Cup tournament.
With spring water index up whopping 616%, N.D. spring breeding duck numbers spike
Spring breeding duck index was the 23rd highest on record and stands 38% above the long-term (1948-2021) average.
New state-record buffalo in North Dakota
The fish is the largest weighed in the state that was not a paddlefish or pallid sturgeon.
Drought takes toll on North Dakota mule deer herd
“This year’s count was the lowest fawn-to-doe ratio since 2011 and 2012, following the severe winters of 2008 through 2010.”
It’s official: North Dakota has a new state walleye record
It’s the first 16-plus-pounder recorded in the state.
Bighorn boom in North Dakota
“It’s likely there are more bighorns today than before North Dakota’s statehood in 1889.” But will the all-time record count mean more hunting licenses?
Canada geese, mallard numbers soar over 10-year average in N.D.
“We’ve had an unusually mild winter with little snow accumulation. Availability of food should have been good and overall wintering conditions were excellent.”
In North Dakota, record number of lakes stocked with walleyes
In the first seven days of this year’s walleye production, haulers traveled more than 8,200 miles and stocked over 150 lakes with 7.6 million fish.
For the first time, CWD reaches North Dakota Badlands
Two mule deer taken in September have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, including one taken during the archery season from deer gun unit 4B in McKenzie County, where CWD had not previously been found.
Pheasant, sharptail, partridge numbers: Reason for hope in North Dakota
Observers recorded five broods and 39 pheasants per 100 miles. Sharptails observed per 100 miles are up 113% statewide from 2018, and partridge are up 58%.
Hatchery comes up big for North Dakota walleye stocking
Game and Fish Department fisheries personnel recently finished stocking more than 140 lakes across the state with walleye fingerlings, completing one of the largest stocking efforts in the history of the agency.
In North Dakota, ‘Sharptails are beginning to rebound’
Statistics from the spring sharp-tailed grouse census indicate a 9 percent increase in the number of male grouse counted compared to last year.
First report of bighead carp in North Dakota waters
The invasive was verified in the James River near LaMoure.
Big jump in North Dakota spring breeding duck numbers
72nd annual spring breeding duck survey showed an index of 3.4 million birds, up 20 percent from last year. That’s the 22nd highest index on record and stands 40 percent above the 71-year average.
North Dakota sees uptick in spring pheasant count
The primary regions holding pheasants ranged from up 14 percent in the southeast and up 17 percent in the northwest, to down 8 percent in the southwest, and the count in the northeast, which is not a primary region for pheasants, was up 33 percent from last year.
North Dakota sees major hike in available deer hunting licenses
Increases in all categories add up to 65,500 licenses available to hunters this fall, 10,350 more than last year.
Western North Dakota sees dip in mule deer numbers
But population is said to be above objective and remains at a level able to support more hunting opportunities this fall.
North Dakota deer gun hunters find success at 64% clip
And mule deer buck success was 81 percent, and antlerless mule deer was 83 percent.
After rare CWD-positive whitetail in North Dakota, a whole lot of negatives, too
Following the positive detection, Game and Fish removed an additional 52 deer for testing. All tested negative.
North Dakota Game and Fish citations: license-related violations most prevalent
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s enforcement division has tallied the number of hunting, angling and boating citations for 2018, and failure to carry a license was the number one violation. Game wardens issued more than 2,400 citations last year, compared to 2,500 in 2017 and 2,300 citations in 2016. Counties with the most violations were Ramsey (343), Williams…
North Dakota midwinter waterfowl survey: Canada geese numbers up from 10-year average
It’s said that the number likely would have been higher, but the blizzard that hit North Dakota in late December undoubtedly pushed some birds south prior to the survey.
CWD detected in new area of North Dakota
While two positive deer were taken in unit 3F2, an area of North Dakota known to have CWD, a third was taken from Divide County in deer unit 3A1, previously considered free of CWD.
In North Dakota, ‘One of the highest collection of eggs in the history of the salmon program’
Average size of Lake Sakakawea female salmon was 6 pounds, and once again there was an abundance of young male salmon, which typically forecasts a good run the next couple years.
North Dakota mule deer survey reason for optimism
Big game biologist: Mule deer fawn production has been on a positive trend since 2013.
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