• Bismarck Office Temporarily Closed to Public Access
• Order 2024 OUTDOORS Calendars
• PLOTS Regulations
• Fall Mule Deer Survey Begins
• Fall Cleanup Events Eligible for Earth Day Patch
Bismarck Office Temporarily Closed to Public Access
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s main office in Bismarck will close to public access the week of Oct. 9 to complete a construction project that started in early August. The pond and nature walk on the outdoor wildlife learning site adjacent to the main office will remain closed to fishing and other activities.
Licensing staff will be able to provide assistance for hunters and anglers by calling 701-328-6300.
Hunting and fishing licenses, and watercraft registrations can be purchased online by visiting the Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
Order 2024 OUTDOORS Calendars
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is taking orders for its North Dakota OUTDOORS calendar, the source for all hunting season and application dates for 2024. Along with color photographs of North Dakota’s wildlife and outstanding scenery, it also includes sunrise-sunset times and moon phases.
Calendars must be ordered online by visiting the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
The calendar is the North Dakota OUTDOORS magazine’s December issue, so current subscribers will automatically receive it in the mail.
PLOTS Regulations
Hunting small game, waterfowl, furbearers or big game by nonresidents is prohibited by state law on Private Land Open To Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas from Oct. 7-13, the first seven days of the pheasant season. However, nonresidents can hunt on PLOTS land they own during that week.
In addition, leaving equipment on PLOTS overnight, such as tree stands, blinds, decoys, firearms, archery equipment, or trail cameras, is not allowed without written permission from the landowner.
Permission from the landowner is always required for motorized vehicle access on PLOTS, such as for setting decoys in a field, unless specifically designated on the PLOTS sign.
Fall Mule Deer Survey Begins
The state Game and Fish Department’s annual fall aerial mule deer survey is set to begin early to mid-October in western North Dakota. Weather permitting, the survey takes about two weeks to complete.
During the survey period, people could notice low-flying small airplanes over some parts of the badlands.
Game and Fish biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 badlands study areas since the 1950s. The survey is used to collect mule deer population data for monitoring demographic trends, such as buck-to-doe and fawn-to-doe ratios.
Fall Cleanup Events Eligible for Earth Day Patch
Are you planning a fall cleanup event at your school or in your community? Your cleanup group is eligible for the 2023 Earth Day patch. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has for years encouraged students to design Earth Day patches to bring greater awareness to the environment in the state and elsewhere.
Yet, like Earth Day, which began in 1970 and kicked-started the environmental movement, the concern for our outdoor places isn’t simply a once-a-year-thing, but ongoing.
Understanding this, the Game and Fish Department has initiated Earth Day, Every Day to promote continual awareness about the environment.
Groups that engage in environmental clean-up projects, landscaping or other efforts that promote environmental awareness, will receive an Earth Day patch for all participants.
The patches are used to recognize groups that work to celebrate the Earth Day concept, and everyone is encouraged to participate in Earth Day, Every Day awareness campaign.
For more information about Earth Day, Every Day, or to request patches for your project, contact Sherry Niesar, Earth Day coordinator, at 701-527-3714 or sniesar@nd.gov.
