Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department's website, gf.nd.gov. The application deadline is March 25. A total of 1,062 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, an increase of 102 from last year. A total of 296 moose licenses are available, which ...

By Doug Leier Early March often creates the impression that winter is nearly over. Day length is increasing, snow begins to settle, and we can see the finish line of our annual winter marathon. However, it's too early to assume pheasants and deer are going to win the race. Winter lingering on can impact wildlife surviv...

March is the month to connect with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' fisheries offices across the state. The agency is updating fisheries management plans for 197 lakes in 52 counties in 2026, and is inviting Minnesotans to reach out and share their input. The DNR encourages people with thoughts on the fut...

Turkey hunters can now buy licenses for the spring 2026 season through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Licenses may be purchased online (mndnr.gov/buyalicense), by phone at 888-665-4236 or in person at approved vendors (mndnr.gov/licenses/agents.html) throughout the state. Interested individuals can hunt...

Weekly CO report CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) attended a departmental meeting. Much time was spent this week working snowmobile enforcement with the quality trail conditions and high traffic. Time was spent patrolling with CO Lawler over a large swath of northeastern Minnesota. Bermel is happy to report that all groups ...

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is launching a new program to expose high school aged students to much of what goes on inside and outside the agency's walls. The Explorer Program, for students ages 16-18, is designed to engage and mentor youth interested in pursuing a career in natural resources, conservation...

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is once again offering free seed for the 2026 growing season to landowners interested in planting wildlife food plots for pheasants and other wildlife species. Rather than a traditional corn or sunflower food plot, Game and Fish is offering a seed mix that provides increased pl...

March in Minnesota means the sun is higher in the sky, and plants are getting ready to come back from dormancy. When that combines with a cycle of daytime temperatures in the 30s and 40s and overnight temps below freezing, one gets perfect the conditions for maple sap to start flowing. The Minnesota Department of Natur...

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department tested 1,224 animals for chronic wasting disease during the 2025 sampling season. Game and Fish confirmed 16 deer tested positive for CWD, all of which were taken by hunters. Deer that tested positive for CWD came from the following units: 3A1 (five mule deer, one whitetail) 3D...

By Doug Leier Every few years the question of whether North Dakota should offer a bounty on coyotes surfaces again. It usually follows a tough fall deer season, a hard, cold, snowy start to winter, or a combination of it all. It's been asked for years. But from a wildlife management standpoint, a bounty system simply d...

Anglers can now fish for bass before the traditional May fishing opener The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' fishing regulations for 2026 include a new catch-and-release season that makes fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass open all year on inland waters. These changes for bass fishing and a variety of...

CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) spent the weekend patrolling snowmobile trails and lakes. A few snowmobilers were out, but trail conditions haven't recovered from the heat wave, despite recent snow. Anglers have shifted to targeting panfish, with decent success. A few fish houses were observed that haven't been moved recent...

The next guide and outfitter written examination is March 28, 2026 at 1 p.m. at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department office in Bismarck. Preregistration is required no later than March 20 by calling the Department's enforcement office at 701-328-6604. In addition to passing a written exam, qualifications for becom...

An egg has been laid in the nest featured on the DNR EagleCam. An adult has been consistently sitting in the nest, a sign that incubation has begun. Bald eagles begin incubating the first egg as soon as it is laid. Based on the eagles' behaviors, the DNR believes the first egg was laid Sunday afternoon. Watch the egg-c...

Hunters can help reduce the population of light geese through a federally authorized spring conservation harvest from Feb. 18 through April 30. Light geese are a group of overabundant migratory waterfowl that include snow geese, blue-phased snow geese and the smaller Ross's geese. This conservation action aims to reduc...

District 1 - Baudette area Last updated: 2026-02-17 CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked anglers on Lake of the Woods. Fishing has been slow during this past week of warm weather. Violations were mostly anglers using extra lines, shelters without licenses, and one possession overlimit. Tullibees and whitefish are starting to...

North Dakota's spring light goose conservation order opens Feb. 21 and continues through May 10. Residents must have a 2025-26 (valid through March 31) or 2026-27 (required April 1) combination license; or a small game, and general game and habitat license. Resident youth under age 16 only need the general game and hab...

The 2026 spring wild turkey lottery and more than 1,600 licenses remain in 12 units. Remaining licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Feb. 25 at 8 a.m. Central time. Hunters are allowed two licenses for the spring season. Licenses remain in unit 04, portions of Billings and Golden Valley coun...

By Doug Leier Almost 40 years ago, legislators heard from folks who wanted to do a little more for the critters most of us don't see every day. While game species often get the headlines, it's the nongame wildlife - the bulk of North Dakota's fish and wildlife - that quietly fills the prairies, coulees and river bottom...

The deadline to remove fish houses from the ice on inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is quickly approaching, and the DNR reminds anglers to start planning for their removal. The statutory shelter removal deadline for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 2. The...