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From North Dakota Game & Fish<\/p>\nFrom North Dakota Game & Fish<\/p>\n
Pheasant, Sharptail and Partridge Numbers Up<\/strong><\/p>\n North Dakota\u2019s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate total pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and gray partridge numbers are up from last year.<\/p>\n State Game and Fish Department upland game biologist RJ Gross said the survey shows total pheasants observed per 100 miles are up 10% from last year. In addition, broods per 100 miles are up 17%, while the average brood size is down 5%.\u00a0The final summary is based on 275 survey runs made along 101 brood routes across North Dakota.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the first year in a while that we\u2019ve had good residual cover to start the year, and good weather for nesting and brood-rearing,\u201d Gross said. \u201cIn the southwest portion of the state, which is our primary pheasant district and most popular hunting area, local populations are slowly improving.”<\/p>\n Gross said hunters should not overlook pheasant opportunities in northwest and southeast North Dakota. \u201cTwo good years of chick production should translate to more birds for hunters to pursue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Statistics from the northwest indicate pheasants are up 49% from last year, with broods up 75%. Observers recorded five broods and 39 pheasants per 100 miles. Average brood size was six.<\/p>\n Results from the southeast show birds are up 32% from last year, and the number of broods up 27%. Observers counted six broods and 51 birds per 100 miles. The average brood size was six.<\/p>\n Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicate total pheasants were down 7% and broods observed up 2% from 2018.\u00a0For every 100 survey miles, observers counted an average of six broods and 41 pheasants. The average brood size was five chicks.<\/p>\n The northeast district, generally containing secondary pheasant habitat with lower pheasant numbers compared to the rest of the state, showed two broods and 15 pheasants per 100 miles. Average brood size was four.<\/p>\n Sharptails observed per 100 miles are up 113% statewide from 2018, and partridge are up 58%.<\/p>\n Upland game management supervisor Jesse Kolar said sharptail numbers are still roughly 50% below 2012-15. \u201cHowever, we observed slight increases in all metrics this year during our surveys, especially in counties east of the Missouri River where we observed the highest numbers of grouse per 100 miles since 2013,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Brood survey results show statewide increases in number of grouse and broods observed per 100 miles, and in average brood size. Observers recorded 1.7 sharptail broods and 13.6 sharptails per 100 miles. Average brood size was five.<\/p>\n Although partridge numbers have shown a slight increase, Gross said the majority of the partridge harvest is incidental while hunters pursue grouse or pheasants. Partridge densities in general, he said, are too low to target. Observers recorded 0.5 partridge broods and 6.8 partridge per 100 miles. Average brood size was 10.<\/p>\n The 2019 regular pheasant season opens Oct. 12 and continues through Jan. 5, 2020. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Oct. 5-6.<\/p>\n The 2019 grouse and partridge seasons open Sept. 14 and continue through Jan. 5, 2020.<\/p>\n The Game and Fish Department is allocating five bighorn sheep licenses for the 2019 hunting season, two more than last year.<\/p>\n Three licenses are issued in unit B1 and a portion of B3, and one license is valid for units B3 and B4. Also, one license, as authorized under North Dakota Century Code, was auctioned in March by the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, from which all proceeds are used to enhance bighorn sheep management in North Dakota.<\/p>\n The number of once-in-a-lifetime licenses allotted to hunters is based on data collected from the Game and Fish Department’s summer population survey. Brett Wiedmann, big game management biologist in Dickinson, said results showed a 10 percent decline in ram numbers from 2018, with the population dominated by young rams.<\/p>\n “Our objective this hunting season is to reduce the number of rams in the southern badlands, to lessen the risk of transmitting disease to the northern population,” Wiedmann said, while mentioning the concern is the ongoing effects of the bacterial pneumonia outbreak that was first detected in 2014, which resulted in a loss of 15-20% of the adult population.\u00a0“Moving forward, our intention is to have the southern badlands wild sheep herd as a discussion item during our fall district advisory board meetings.”<\/p>\n Wiedmann noted there are more than 300 bighorn sheep north of Interstate 94, but only 20 south of the interstate.<\/p>\n Game and Fish announced in February the status of the bighorn sheep hunting season would be determined after completion of the summer population survey. Now that the survey is complete, the bighorn lottery was held and successful applicants have been notified.<\/p>\n Prospective hunters were required to apply for a bighorn license earlier this year on the bighorn sheep, moose and elk application. A record 15,518 applicants applied for bighorn sheep.<\/p>\n 2019 Waterfowl Season <\/strong><\/p>\n The season for swans opens Sept. 28 for both residents and nonresidents who have purchased a swan license.<\/p>\n Hunters may take six ducks per day with the following restrictions: five mallards of which two may be hens, three wood ducks, three scaup, two redheads, two canvasbacks and one pintail. Hunters can take an additional two blue-winged teal from Sept. 21 through Oct. 6. The daily limit of five mergansers may include no more than two hooded mergansers. For ducks and mergansers, the possession limit is three times the daily limit.<\/p>\n The hunting season for Canada geese will close Dec. 16 in the eastern zone, Dec. 21 in the western zone and Dec. 27 in the Missouri River zone. The season for whitefronts closes Dec. 1, while the season on light geese is open through Dec. 29.<\/p>\n Shooting hours for all geese are one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. each day through Nov. 2. Beginning Nov. 3, shooting hours are extended until 2 p.m. each day.<\/p>\n Extended shooting hours for all geese are permitted from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset on Saturdays and Wednesdays through Nov. 26, and on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays from Nov. 27 through the end of each season.<\/p>\n The bag limit for Canada geese during the regular season is eight daily and 24 in possession, except in the Missouri River zone where the limit is five daily and 15 in possession.<\/p>\n The daily limit on whitefronts is three with nine in possession, and light goose is 50 daily, with no possession limit.<\/p>\n In accordance with state law, nonresidents are not allowed to hunt on North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas or conservation PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) areas from Oct. 12-18.<\/p>\n Hunters who do not HIP certify<\/a> when they buy a North Dakota license, can add it through the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov, or by calling 888-634-4798 and recording the HIP number on their printed license.\u00a0Those who registered to hunt North Dakota\u2019s spring light goose season or August Management Take\/Early September Canada goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required in each state only once per year.<\/p>\n Hunters should refer to the\u00a0North Dakota 2019-20 Hunting and Trapping Guide<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>for further details on the waterfowl season.<\/p>\n Hunters Asked to Submit Wing Envelopes<\/strong><\/p>\n The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is once again asking upland game hunters to help biologists monitor hatching dates and reproductive rates by submitting wings and appropriate feathers\/legs in wing envelopes this fall.<\/p>\n Harvested birds provide a good random sample that biologists use to assess the ratio of juveniles to adults, and estimate the average ages of harvested juveniles.<\/p>\n Instructions for submitting wing data are printed on the envelope.<\/p>\n Hunters interested in\u00a0receiving wing envelopes<\/a>\u00a0should visit the Game and Fish website (gf.nd.gov), or contact the department\u2019s main office in Bismarck by phone (701-328-6300) or email (ndgf@nd.gov<\/a>).<\/p>\n In addition, Game and Fish district offices have a supply of wing envelopes for distribution. District offices are located at Devils Lake, Jamestown, Riverdale, Dickinson, Williston and Lonetree Wildlife Management Area near Harvey.<\/p>\n Trap League, Shooting Range Grant Deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n The deadline for clubs or communities interested in submitting an application to receive a grant to help support a local high school trap team, or for firearm and shooting ranges, is Oct. 1.<\/p>\n North Dakota Game and Fish Department education section leader Marty Egeland said the grant to support North Dakota high school trap teams are for infrastructure to support youth shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, this grant is intended to be used for trap throwers, trap houses, sidewalks and voice pulls,\u201d Egeland said.<\/p>\n Firearm and shooting range grants can be used on projects that provide free public access, storage buildings, or on such items as berms, benches, target hangers and throwers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis grant encompasses any type of shooting range, with priority given to certain projects that you can find on the application,\u201d Egeland said.<\/p>\n Interested applicants can print out the grant application<\/a> online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/BighornSheep-300x202.jpg\")
Game and Fish Allocates Five Bighorn Sheep Licenses<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/DuckMaleMallard-300x202.png\")
North Dakota\u2019s 2019 waterfowl season opens for North Dakota residents Sept. 21, while nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl Sept. 28.<\/p>\n