Results from North Dakota’s spring sage grouse survey indicate the number of strutting males observed remains well below management objectives. Therefore, the sage grouse hunting season will remain closed in 2015.

Aaron Robinson, North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game bird biologist, said biologists counted a record low 30 males on six active strutting grounds. Last year, 31 males were counted on the same leks in the southwest.

Sage grouse are a long-lived species with low reproductive output, which makes population recovery slow. Currently, Robinson said, natural reproduction cannot keep up with natural mortality, and the densities of active leks may be limiting hens from finding males to breed.

“It might be that our last chance to increase the genetic diversity of our population is if another state is willing to provide some birds for a translocation, but the success of such a project is not guaranteed either,” Robinson said.

However, Robinson said the potential for a successful nesting season is good this year due to abundant residual grass cover brought about by last summer’s rainfall. “The outlook for a favorable hatch this year looks optimistic for the limited number of birds we have in the state,” he added.

Sage grouse management in North Dakota follows a specific plan developed by a diverse group of participants. With the threats facing the species and the decline in population, Game and Fish Department biologists do not foresee a hunting season in the near future.

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.

Boat owners are reminded that children ages 12-15 who want to operate a boat or personal watercraft this summer must first take the state’s boating basics course.

State law requires youngsters ages 12-15 to pass the course before they operate a boat or personal watercraft with at least a 10 horsepower motor. In addition, major insurance companies give adult boat owners who pass the course a premium discount on boat insurance.

The course is available for home-study from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office. Two commercial providers also offer the course online, and links to those sites are found on the department’s website at gf.nd.gov.

While the home-study course is free, students will be charged a fee to take it online. The online provider charges for the course, not the Game and Fish Department. The fee stays with the online provider.

Upon completion of the online test, and providing a credit card number, students will be able to print out a temporary certification card, and within 10 days a permanent card will be mailed.

The course covers legal requirements, navigation rules, getting underway, accidents and special topics such as weather, rules of the road, laws, life saving and first aid.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program is accepting registrations for the annual summer workshop Aug. 7-9 at Lake Metigoshe State Park, Bottineau.

Enrollment is limited to participants age 18 or older. Workshop fees of $150 cover instruction, program materials, use of equipment, all meals and lodging.

Participants can choose from a number of different activities, including archery, firearms, fishing, hunting, paddling sports, wildlife and plants, cooking and outdoor knowledge.

BOW workshops are designed primarily for women with an interest in learning skills associated with hunting, fishing and outdoor endeavors. Although open to anyone age 18 or older, the workshops are tailored primarily to women who have never tried these activities or who are beginners hoping to improve their skills.

Women interested in attending the summer workshop can register online, or print and mail an information brochure and enrollment form at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. More information is available by contacting Alegra Powers at 701-527-3075, or email ndgf@nd.gov.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department completed its annual spring mule deer survey in April, and results indicate western North Dakota’s mule deer population has increased 24 percent from last year.

Bruce Stillings, big game supervisor, said the increase is a result of less severe winters the past couple of years, no harvest of antlerless mule deer during the past three deer hunting seasons, and improved fawn production. The 2015 index is 16 percent higher than the long-term average.

“In order to maintain further population growth we need to maintain a conservative management approach, with no antlerless mule deer harvest again in 2015,” Stillings said.

Biologists counted 2,376 mule deer in 306.3 square miles during this year’s survey. Overall mule deer density in the badlands was 7.8 deer per square mile, which is up from 6.3 deer per square mile in 2014.

The spring mule deer survey is used to assess mule deer abundance in the badlands. It is conducted after the snow has melted and before the trees begin to leaf out, providing the best conditions for aerial observation of deer. Biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 study areas since the 1950s.

It doesn’t matter if you hunt, fish, trap, or simply just enjoy catching a passing glimpse of the rainbow bright spring plumage of a drake wood duck. The sights of the North Dakota outdoors are a wonderful array of fish, wildlife, and landscapes with sunrises and sets or storms and clouds as an unequaled backdrop.

While these “gotta be there” moments are etched in our memory forever, we’re also familiar with how a lasting image can stamp a date, time and place for future reference.

Did you know the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has a virtual scrapbook of North Dakota outdoors available? It may be of use for helping identify a particular bird or just simply to admire the majesty of a bull elk or a unique piece of North Dakota scenery.

In the course of their work, Game and Fish Department staff take many photos of work projects, events, habitat and sometimes animals that happen along the way. The Photo Gallery section of this website provides an opportunity to share some of these photos and their accompanying stories.

The most recent update includes photography from the North Dakota’s sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse spring leks.

So you may want to grab a cup coffee while you enjoy the sights of North Dakota Outdoors by clicking  here: http://www.gf.nd.gov/photos

PLEASE READ: These galleries may also include photos taken by private individuals (*Please note that the rights to photos taken by private individuals are retained by the photographer. Those photos may not be used in any way without the permission of the photographer.)

This week’s North Dakota Game and Fish Department webcast, Outdoors Online, is now online at http://gf.nd.gov. This is the fourth of our annual fishing reports. District fisheries supervisors Randy Hiltner and BJ Kratz give overviews of the fishing prospects in the northeast and southeast fishing districts.   Click here to Watch!  And the visit the Game and Fish websites fishing portal where you’ll find information on stocking, contour maps, fishing access, get your license and more right here! 

North Dakota’s paddlefish snagging season opens May 1, and the season is scheduled to continue through the end of May. However, depending on the overall harvest, an early in-season closure may occur with a 24-hour notice issued by the state Game and Fish Department.

Paddlefish tags are available over-the-counter-only in Bismarck at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s main office; in Williston at the Williams County auditor’s office, Scenic Sports and Wal-Mart; and in Dickinson at Runnings Farm and Fleet.

Snaggers should be aware that mandatory harvest of all snagged paddlefish is required on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On these days, all paddlefish caught must be tagged immediately.

All paddlefish snagged and tagged must be removed from the river by 9 p.m. of each snagging day. The use or possession of a gaff hook within one-half mile in either direction of the Highway 200 bridge on the Yellowstone River is illegal at any time during the snagging season.

Snag-and-release of all paddlefish is required on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. Those planning to participate during snag-and-release-only days need to have in their possession a current season, unused paddlefish snagging tag. Use or possession of gaffs is prohibited on snag-and-release-only days, and, if it occurs, during the snag-and-release extension period.

Legal snagging hours are from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. One tag per snagger will be issued. Snagging is legal in all areas of the Yellowstone River in North Dakota, and in the area of the Missouri River lying west of the U.S. Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border, excluding that portion from the pipeline crossing (river mile 1,577) downstream to the upper end of the Lewis and Clark Wildlife Management Area (river mile 1,565).

If the season closes early because the harvest quota is reached, an extended snag-and-release-only period will be allowed for up to four days immediately following the early closure, but not to extend beyond May 31. Only snaggers with a current season, unused paddlefish snagging tag are eligible to participate. Only a limited area at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers is open to this extended season snagging opportunity.

All paddlefish snaggers must possess a paddlefish tag in addition to a valid fishing license and certificate that may be required. Cost of a paddlefish tag is $10 for residents and $25.50 for nonresidents.

Addresses and phone numbers of vendors selling tags:

Bismarck Game and Fish Office

100 N. Bismarck Expressway

Bismarck, ND 58501

701-328-6300

Williams County

Williams County Auditor

PO Box 2047

Williston, ND  58802

701-577-4500

Scenic Sports

1201 East Broadway

Williston, ND 58801

701-572-8696

Wal-Mart, Inc.

4001 2nd Avenue West

Williston, ND  58801

701-572-8550

Runnings Farm and Fleet

2003 3rd Avenue West

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-483-1226

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue to implement camping restrictions on some wildlife management areas in western North Dakota and along Lake Sakakawea.

Overnight camping is prohibited on the following WMAs: Antelope Creek, Lewis and Clark, Big Oxbow, Ochs Point,  Neu’s Point, Overlook, Sullivan and Tobacco Garden in McKenzie County; Van Hook in Mountrail County; and Hofflund Bay and Trenton in Williams County.

Lewis and Clark and Trenton WMAs are closed from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise unless users are legally engaged in fishing, hunting or trapping.

However, camping is allowed for paddlefish snaggers only during the open paddlefish season, at the Lewis and Clark WMA Pumphouse area, and by boat access only at Neu’s Point WMA.

In addition, the following WMAs are closed to camping on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but open to camping Thursday-Monday: North Lemmon Lake in Adams County; Bull Creek in Billings County; Alkali Creek and Spring Creek in Bowman County; Smishek Lake and Short Creek Dam in Burke County; Harris M. Baukol in Divide County; Killdeer Mountains in Dunn County; Camels Hump Lake in Golden Valley County; Audubon, Custer Mine, Deepwater Creek, deTrobriand, Douglas Creek and Wolf Creek in McLean County; Beaver Creek and Hille in Mercer County; Crown Butte Lake and Storm Creek in Morton County; Cedar Lake and Speck Davis Pond in Slope County; and McGregor Dam in Williams County.

On those WMAs where camping is allowed Thursday through Monday, all equipment must be removed on Tuesday and Wednesdays when camping is not allowed.

The Game and Fish Department will lift the Tuesday-Wednesdaycamping restriction for the week of Memorial Day, May 25-29. This same waiver will allow camping on those WMAs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during all state-recognized holiday weeks throughout the year, including 4^thof July week (June 29-July 3), and Labor Day (Sept. 7-11).

Glass bottles are prohibited on all WMAs. Other camping restrictions at all WMAs are posted at entry points.

These rules ensure that WMAs are available for hunters and anglers.

While there are likely 125 more active bald eagle nests in the state than 15 years ago, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department continues to monitor this bird that once flirted with extinction.

Sandra Johnson, Game and Fish conservation biologist, said the department is looking for locations of nests with eagles present, not individual eagle sightings.

Johnson said eagles are actively incubating eggs in March and April, and it’s easy to distinguish an eagle nest because of its enormous size.

“While bald eagles were removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007, it’s still important to keep an ongoing list of nesting birds to make sure they are not heading back the way they came,” Johnson said.

Historically, Johnson said eagle nests were found along the Missouri River. Now, they have been observed in more than half of the counties in the state, mostly near streams and mid- to large-sized lakes. However, they are also found in unique areas such as shelterbelts surrounded by cropland or pasture.

Johnson estimates the state has around 140-150 active bald eagle nests.

Nest observations should be reported to Johnson at 701-328-6382, or by email at ndgf@nd.gov.

Observers are asked to not disturb the nest, and to stay away at a safe distance. “It is important not to approach the nest as foot traffic may disturb the bird, likely causing the eagle to leave her eggs unattended,” Johnson said.

As snow geese continue to make their way through the state, hunters are advised to properly identify their target as whooping cranes could potentially be in the same areas.

Whooping cranes are also in the midst of their spring migration and sightings will increase as they make their way through North Dakota over the next several weeks. Anyone seeing these birds as they move through the state is asked to report sightings so the birds can be tracked.

Whoopers stand about five feet tall and have a wingspan of about seven feet from tip to tip. They are bright white with black wing tips, which are visible only when the wings are outspread. In flight they extend their long necks straight forward, while their long, slender legs extend out behind the tail. Whooping cranes typically migrate singly, or in groups of 2-3 birds, and may be associated with sandhill cranes.

Other white birds such as snow geese, swans and egrets are often mistaken for whooping cranes. The most common misidentification is pelicans, because their wingspan is similar and they tuck their pouch in flight, leaving a silhouette similar to a crane when viewed from below.

Anyone sighting whoopers should not disturb them, but record the date, time, location, and the birds’ activity. Observers should also look closely for and report colored bands which may occur on one or both legs. Whooping cranes have been marked with colored leg bands to help determine their identity.

Whooping crane sightings should be reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office at Lostwood, 701-848-2466, or Long Lake, 701-387-4397, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, 701-328-6300, or to local game wardens across the state. Reports help biologists locate important whooping crane habitat areas, monitor marked birds, determine survival and population numbers, and identify times and migration route