North Dakota Deer News
 Mountain Lion Study On Track in North Dakota May 22, 2013 North Dakota, The Epoch Times ... Mountain lions have a reputation of preying on large animals like deer and elk and while that is a part of their diet, Wilckens said they fairly versatile in what they will eat. He said they are known to also hunt smaller mammals like porcupines, beavers, raccoon and in one case, there is evidence a mountain lion killed a coyote. Units in SW ND see increase in deer licenses May 9, 2013 North Dakota, Dickinson Press Though the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has dropped its number of deer licenses to the lowest issued since 1983, not everything is grim... The reason for the increase in buck licenses from last year to this season is the mild winter in southwestern North Dakota... North Dakota Deer Season Set May 8, 2013 NDGF News Release North Dakota’s 2013 deer season is set, with 59,500 licenses available to hunters this fall, 5,800 fewer than last year and the lowest since 1983. Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the State Game and Fish Department, said after a significant reduction in gun licenses in 2012, harvest and survey data revealed deer populations are still below management objectives in most units. “The statewide hunter success rate in 2012 was 63 percent, which is higher than in 2011 (52 percent), but is still lower than our goal of 70 percent,” Kreil said. “The decrease of licenses in 2013 is necessary to allow deer populations to increase toward management goals.”Winter aerial surveys showed deer numbers were down from 2011 levels in the northern and eastern portions of the state, specifically units 1, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2K1, 2K2, and 3A1. Kreil said although deer are still below management objectives in 2A, 2F1 and 2F2, aerial surveys showed numbers were slightly above levels recorded in 2011 or 2012. “The winter of 2012-13 was severe in the northern and eastern portions of the state, which will impede population recovery in those areas,” Kreil said. “Furthermore, high quality deer habitat continues to be lost statewide and will limit the potential for population recovery.” Currently, all hunting units in the state are below management objectives except in 3E2, 3F1, 3F2 and 4F. Out west, mule deer licenses in the badlands will decrease slightly this year. As was the case last year, no antlerless mule deer licenses are available in units 3B1, 3B2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F. This restriction applies to regular gun, resident and nonresident any-deer bow, gratis and youth licenses. According to Kreil, the spring mule deer survey did show positive trends, with numbers up 15 percent over last year. “This modest increase indicates the mild winter of 2011 and no doe harvest in 2012 might be having a positive effect on the mule deer herd,” he added. “With the no-doe-harvest regulation remaining in place for 2013, there may be some reason for optimism concerning mule deer.” ... The number of licenses available for 2013 is 1,150 antlered mule deer, a decrease of 50 mule deer licenses from last year; 1,166 for muzzleloader, down 116 from last year; and 115 restricted youth antlered mule deer, a decrease of five from last year... HB 1131 also allows residents who turn age 12 in 2013 to receive an antlerless white-tailed deer license, and allows an individual who turns 14 this year to receive one deer license valid for the youth deer season. Previously, a young hunter had to turn the appropriate age prior to the end of the respective big game season. NDGF Department proposes another cut in deer licenses May 2, 2013 North Dakota, Dickinson Press ... The biggest reduction is coming from the northern Red River Valley ... This year’s tough, lingering winter has dealt another setback to northeast deer herds, ... “We’re losing a lot of habitat out there as well, and that’s not helping.” ... According to Randy Kreil, wildlife division chief for Game and Fish in Bismarck ... Again this year ... the department is proposing no mule deer doe tags anywhere in the state ... Fewer deer licenses available again this year April 29, 2013 North Dakota, The Bismarck Tribune ... the proposed number of licenses for the regular gun season are 59,500 compared to 65,300 a year ago. No mule deer doe tags will be issued this fall for the second consecutive season because of low numbers in the state’s six western mule deer units... “The entire northern half and the eastern half of the state had real winter,” ... The state’s deer population is still rebounding from three consecutive brutal winters in 2009-11... ND deer hunting success improves, but lags below average in 2012 April 28, 2013 North Dakota, Grand Forks Herald ... it was a combination of a lower deer population and an opening weekend snowstorm across much of the state that contributed to a kill of about 34,500 deer and overall hunter success of 63 percent. That success rate was up from about 51 percent in 2011... this past season’s hunter success rate of 63 percent “is fairly good, but still below the long-term average of around 70 percent.” ... Hunters waiting for start of deer season, 2012 deer harvest April 25, 2013 North Dakota, Dickinson Press it was a combination of a lower deer population and an opening weekend snowstorm over much of the state that contributed to a harvest of approximately 34,500 deer and overall hunter success of 63 percent... this past season’s hunter success rate of 63 percent clip “is fairly good, but still below the long-term average of around 70 percent.” ... Hallock sets up urban deer hunt season April 10, 2013 North Dakota, Grand Forks Herald ... The hunt was established in the Kittson County seat of 900 people to reduce the town's deer population, estimated at more than 100. The impetus for the urban deer season was residents' complaints about damage the whitetail deer did to gardens and bushes ... The city will issue 30 bow-hunting licenses ... the town’s deer population, estimated at more than 100... Deer success rates improve after all-time low in 2011 March 21, 2013 North Dakota, Dickinson Press-by Royal McGregor ... NDGF Department wildlife chief Randy Kreil said deer population took a hit undergoing three tough winters in 2008, 2009 and 2010... after dropping the number of licenses issued to its lowest since 1988 — hunters found more success in the field... average success rate per year is around 70 percent... 2012 North Dakota deer season stats March 18, 2013 North Dakota Outdoors and Beyond ... North Dakota deer hunters took approximately 34,500 deer during the 2012 deer gun hunting season. The State Game and Fish Department made available 65,150 deer gun licenses in 2012, and more than 95 percent were issued. Overall hunter success was 63 percent, and each hunter spent an average of 4.4 days in the field... Deer samples test negative for CWD in ND March 11, 2013 North Dakota, Jamestown Sun ... Samples taken from North Dakota deer during the 2012 hunting season have all tested negative for chronic wasting disease ... samples for CWD testing were taken from more than 1,300 deer harvested by hunters in the western third of the state. Researchers study effects of oil drilling on North Dakota wildlife March 10, 2013 North Dakota, Grand Forks Herald ... Mule deer in the Little Missouri Badlands recently were equipped with radio collars ... the number of oil wells in North Dakota, now about 7,000, will multiply to 35,000 or more in the next two or three decades ... A recent study shows hunting and fishing, which depend on habitat, contribute $1.4 billion a year to the North Dakota economy... ND game department studies deer movement, survival February 23, 2013 North Dakota, Aiken Standard ... The study in northeast North Dakota began last winter when a helicopter crew trapped 40 adult does, mainly in Walsh County, and fitted them with VHF radio-collars and vaginal implant transmitters — or VITs, for short. High-tech little gizmos, the VITs react to the temperature change after being ejected when a doe gives birth, sending out a signal that alerts researchers and helps them track down the fawns for radio-collaring... Wildlife get another break this winter February 21, 2013 North Dakota, Bismarck Tribune ... Deer populations across the state are still rebounding from three back-to-back brutal winters from 2009-11. Not only were there a lot of deaths in the deer herds because of heavy snow and cold, but bred does that did make it through into the spring were stressed physically and aborted, putting a major dent in production ... So far, this winter has been fairly mild ... Trapping and tracking: researches fit deer with radio-collars February 3, 2013 North Dakota GrandForksHerald.com ... The goal of the project ... is to learn more about deer movement patterns, survival and reproduction in a region largely dominated by agriculture. The Wing-Tuttle study, by comparison, was in a part of the state where grasslands comprised nearly 70 percent of the habitat. “The movement part of (the project) is because the state is concerned about bovine tuberculosis in Minnesota and just wants to get a handle on the movements of these deer,” [ Jonathan Jenks, a professor at SDSU and project adviser] Researchers fit deer with radio-collars February 3, 2013 North Dakota, Grand Forks Herald ... four of the five cage-like “Clover traps” — named after a biologist by the name of M.R. Clover — baited with a mix of alfalfa, molasses and a cup or two of corn had deer in them. Problem was, they weren’t the right deer. The research crew working along an area of the Red River east of Grafton was trying to catch adult female whitetails and fit them with radio-collars as part of an ongoing study of deer movement and mortality in northeast North Dakota... ND to have just 180 nonresident any-deer bow licenses January 17, 2013 North Dakota, Sioux Falls Argus Leader .... That is down from just under 700 licenses last year, and about 1,100 in 2011... because mule deer reproduction is at record-low levels in the state ... Settling a dispute, deer depredation January 14, 2013 North Dakota, AG Week Bill Dethloff of Bismarck, N.D., will be the first to use North Dakota Mediation Services to help settle a dispute with the state over deer depredation remedies... This is the latest in a longstanding dispute between Dethloff and the department. Dethloff in November 2011 was convicted of shooting 17 deer in an attempt to protect his cattle feed from deer depredation ... Mule deer at a crossroads December 20, 2012 North Dakota, Bismarck Tribune Mule deer are much more limited in their range in North Dakota compared to other Western states, where they can move to a summer range and winter range to take advantage of the best food sources. Badlands mulies are locked in to one area and as oil exploration, roads and other activities expand, it pushes them farther away from prime habitat... Bruce Stillings, big game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said a five-year study to gauge the impact of the oil boom will begin in late January or early February. Leier: 2012 will be remembered for unusual conditions December 18, 2012 North Dakota, In-Forum The mild, dry winter was also beneficial to most resident North Dakota wildlife like deer, pronghorn, pheasants and even fish in lakes that are subject to winterkill during severe winters... To help get both the mule deer and whitetail populations headed in the right direction, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department allocated the fewest licenses in 25 years. The final count of just over 65,000 greatly reduced the number of whitetail doe licenses and did not allow for any mule deer doe licenses in the badlands units. Group offers reward in North Dakota moose, antelope killings December 12, 2012 WDAY ... the illegal killings occurred during the first week of North Dakota's deer gun season... a young bull moose was shot near Moffit. And two pronghorns were shot and left along a county road northwest of Mandan ... $6,000 reward ... Deer and coyotes overshadow oil issues at NDGF meetings, mule deer decline December 2, 2012 North Dakota, Grand Forks Herald ... In response to fewer deer and poor hunting success last year, Game and Fish this year cut the number of licenses to 65,300, down from nearly 110,000 in 2011 and the lowest number since 1988... Mule deer populations are floundering, but three consecutive severe winters before last year likely are a big reason... An upcoming study on mule deer in the Oil Patch will shed more light on how energy development is affecting the species ... Game and Fish Department Director Terry Steinwand ... North Dakota Collaring Study November 29, 2012 Dickinson Press The most alarming numbers for mule deer populations that spread from North Dakota down to Texas is the ratio of doe to fawns, because they are so low ... Jesse Kolar, a graduate student from the University of Missouri, will spend the next five years collaring and surveying mule deer populations around oil activity, talked about it during the North Dakota Game and Fish Department District 8 advisory meeting on Wednesday at Whiting Oil in Dickinson. Warden seeks information on illegal shooting of moose in ND November 28, 2012 North Dakota, Dickinson Press ... bull moose was shot near Moffit during the first week of the deer gun season, from Nov. 11-18... Anyone with information is asked to call the Game and Fish Department’s enforcement office in Bismarck at 701-328-6604, or the Report All Poachers telephone number at 800-472-2121. The RAP line has offered a $1,000 reward for information ... How well can oil development, wildlife co-exist? November 27, 2012 North Dakota, Bismarck Tribune ... The Sporting and Oil Industry Forum, as the group is known, has been meeting since March to formulate recommended management practices to minimize the effect on wildlife from oil exploration in western North Dakota, said Terry Fleck, spokesman for the group... mule deer and pronghorn antelope, have been in decline in recent years... after three harsh winters ... Official: Lack of pipelines threat to ND wildlife November 27, 2012 North Dakota, Seattle Post Intelligencer ... a spokesman for the state chapter of The Wildlife Society said ... building more pipelines would reduce traffic and cut the number of animal-vehicle collisions in the oil patch... ND Deer Rifle Season Wraps Up November 25, 2012 Valley News Live Rifle season on deer came to an end today in North Dakota ... The North Dakota Game and Fish Department says even with last years mild winter, it was the three previous ones that effected deer populations... The state of North Dakota issued about 45 thousand less tags this year compared to last ... CWD is a modern deer issue November 15, 2012 North Dakota, Dickinson Press ... North Dakota’s first positive test for CWD came during the fall 2009 hunt ... The disease itself affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and is always fatal.... This year the North Dakota Game and Fish Department continues its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2012 hunting season, by collecting deer heads to sample for CWD and bovine tuberculosis... CWD Surveillance Continues November 14, 2012 North Dakota, The Roundup The state Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2012 hunting season, by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis from 17 units in North Dakota. In addition, all moose and elk harvested in the state are eligible for testing... Mule deer production remains low in North Dakota November 12, 2012 North Dakota, Dickinson Press ... an aerial survey in October ... The fawn-to-doe ratio of 0.59 equaled the lowest ratio since the survey began in 1954. The long-term average is 0.92 fawns per doe. Big Game Supervisor Bruce Stillings says mule deer densities in the Badlands haven't been this low since 1996. He says the three consecutive harsh winters beginning in 2008 were devastating to the population... | Search for news and information by keyword above or find links to state news stories organized by topic. Other useful links: - North Dakota Wildlife Action Plan - North Dakota Game and Fish Department Mission Statement: The mission of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is to protect, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations and their habitat for sustained public consumptive and appreciative use. 2010 Deer Management Goals Every five years, North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists establish a benchmark for deer licenses in the state – a number that will guide management decisions for several years. |
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