Fall Turkey Deadline
North Dakota’s fall turkey application deadline is Sept. 6.
Fall turkey hunters, including gratis applicants, can submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply. Nonresidents can apply for remaining fall turkey licenses following the first lottery.
Hunters Be Mindful of Farmers, Ranchers
Hunters should be respectful and cautious as farmers and ranchers are busy with field work this time of year.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department officials said hunters should pull to the side of the road or find an approach when meeting combines, grain trucks or tractors pulling equipment.
In addition, hunters should avoid parking along roadways or field approaches where vehicles could block travel by farm machinery, leave gates as you found them, collect trash and empty shells, and not clean game in the road ditch or approach.
New Upland Bird Hunting Course Available
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department was recently a partner on a Multistate Conservation Grant project to create a comprehensive online course on how to hunt upland birds.
In this free course, five stories of different upland hunters and landscapes are featured, including North Dakota. It also covers the basics of equipment, technique, safety and more with companion video modules.
The course is available on the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever website.
Submit Wing Envelopes
Hunters can help in the effort to manage upland game birds in North Dakota by collecting feathers from harvested birds and sending in wing envelopes.
Birds included in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game wing survey, which has been in practice for decades, are ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge, turkeys and ruffed grouse.
Collecting enough pheasant samples is typically never a problem, but securing enough sharptail and partridge feathers can be.
Game and Fish biologists will take as many sharptail and partridge feathers as they can get because the more collected, the better the data. Biologists can determine if birds are male or female, age ratios, survival, nesting success, hatch dates and overall production.
What biologists learn from samples is vital to helping manage North Dakota’s upland game birds.
Instructions for submitting wing data are printed on the envelope.
Hunters interested in receiving wing envelopes should visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
Game Wardens Association Offers Scholarships
The North Dakota Game Wardens Association is sponsoring scholarships for enrolled higher education students interested in majoring in wildlife law enforcement or a related field.
Applications are available by contacting the North Dakota Game Warden’s Association, ndgamewardens@gmail.com, and must be received no later than Oct. 15.
