Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
2023-24 licenses needed April 1
North Dakota anglers, trappers and hunters are reminded that new licenses are required beginning April 1.
Licenses can be purchased online by visiting the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Once the license is processed, hunters and anglers will have the option to print a hard copy and/or download the license to a smart phone or mobile device, which is helpful when asked to show proof while hunting or fishing in rural areas that lack cellular service.
Licenses can also be purchased at more than 140 vendor locations throughout the state. The 2023-24 small game, fishing and furbearer licenses are effective April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
Elk, moose, bighorn sheep applications online
Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. The deadline for applying is March 29.
A total of 603 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, an increase of 40 from last year.
Licenses in units E1E and E1W increased due to a stable to increasing elk population. Licenses in elk units E2, E3, E4 and E6 remain the same as in 2022.
A total of 257 moose licenses are available, a decrease of 147 from last year.
Licenses in units M6 and M8 remain the same as the moose population appears to be stable with good hunter success in these units. Licenses in M5 increased slightly due to a stable population and several consecutive years with all hunters successful in this unit. Licenses in M9, M10 and M11 are reduced due to an observed decrease in the population from winter aerial surveys, a decrease in hunter success and a winter tick outbreak the previous spring that impacted the population in these areas. Moose units M4 and M1C will remain closed due to a continued downward population trend in the northeastern part of the state.
A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled for 2023, depending on the sheep population. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after summer population surveys are completed.
Bighorn sheep applicants must apply for a license at the same time as moose and elk, but not for a specific unit. Once total licenses are determined for each unit in late summer, the bighorn lottery will be held and successful applicants contacted to select a hunting unit.
Because the bighorn sheep application fee is not refundable as per state law, if a bighorn season is not held, applicants would not receive a refund.
Elk, moose and bighorn sheep lottery licenses are issued as once-in-a-lifetime licenses in North Dakota. Hunters who have received a license through the lottery in the past are not eligible to apply for that species again.
Grant application to assist R3 efforts
Wildlife, shooting, fraternal and nonprofit civic organizations can submit an application for the Encouraging Tomorrow’s Hunters program, a North Dakota Game and Fish Department grant program developed to assist in the recruitment, retention and reactivation of hunters.
The program supports projects and events that provide a positive environment to develop the skills and confidence needed to create lifelong, conservation-minded hunting and shooting sports participants.
Application deadline is May 1.
The maximum grant allowed is $3,000. The program currently helps fund approximately 40 club and organization events and projects each year, with an average grant of $1,550.
Funds help cover event expenses, including promotional printing; event memorabilia such as shirts, caps or vests; ammunition and targets; and eye and ear protection.
Past funding has enabled groups to conduct learn-to-hunt events, or sponsor trap and other shooting events, including archery and rifle shooting. Game and Fish has separate grant programs that support National Archery in the Schools Program and high school trapshooting teams.
Clubs or organizations interested in applying should note the grant process, application and records requirements. For more information, including a grant application, visit the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov, or contact Cayla Bendel, department R3 coordinator, at 701-220-3461.
