This week’s North Dakota Game and Fish Department webcast, Outdoors Online, is now online at http://gf.nd.gov/. NDGF wildlife division chief Randy Kreil discusses the upcoming 2012 Deer Lottery.  You can watch the webcast below.

The webcast can be seen on the following community access channels:

Grand Forks

• GFTV Channel 2 – Saturday, 10 p.m.
• UND Studio One Channel 3 – Monday, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Dickinson

• Consolidated Channel 18 – Monday, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Fargo

• TV Fargo Channel 12 – Thursday, noon, and Sunday, 7 p.m.

Bismarck

• Community Access Cable Channel 12, Thursday, 9:30 p.m.

Jamestown

• Cable Services, The Replay Channel, CSi Channel 10

Minot

• Cable Channel 19, Thursday, 6 p.m

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - This Week’s Outdoors Online Details the Upcoming 2012 North Dakota Deer Lottery

North Dakota’s 2012 deer season is set, with 65,300 licenses available to hunters this fall, 44,650 fewer than last year and the lowest since 1988.

Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the State Game and Fish Department, said the decline in the deer population is a result of increased adult mortality and reduced fawn production following the severe winters of 2008-10. In addition, the extreme winter conditions followed nearly a decade of aggressive deer management featuring large numbers of antlerless licenses in many units.

“It is expected there will be very few, if any licenses remaining after the initial lottery,” Kreil said. “Therefore, there is not a concurrent season this year.”

Hunters are able to draw one license for the deer gun season and one for the muzzleloader season, and purchase an archery license. Unlike the past several years, however, Kreil said a hunter will not be able to receive more than one license for the deer gun season.

Low deer numbers are evident in all portions of North Dakota, Kreil said, as all but two hunting units are below management goals. The statewide hunter success rate in 2011 was 52 percent, the lowest on record and well below the typical 70-75 percent success rate experienced by North Dakota deer hunters.

“The large decrease of licenses in 2012 is necessary to allow the deer population to grow toward management goals,” Kreil said.

The mule deer population in the badlands was also stung by three consecutive harsh winters, with the three lowest years of fawn production observed from 2009-11. Survey numbers indicate mule deer in the badlands are down 23 percent from last year and 52 percent below 2007.

As a result, no antlerless mule deer licenses are available for the 2012 deer season in units 3B1, 3B2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F, Kreil said. “This restriction applies to regular gun, resident and nonresident any-deer bow, gratis and youth licenses,” he added.

The number of licenses available for 2012 is 1,200 antlered mule deer, a decrease of 3,350 mule deer licenses from last year; 1,282 for muzzleloader, down 826 from last year; and 120 restricted youth antlered mule deer, a decrease of 130 from last year.

North Dakota’s 2012 deer gun season opens Nov. 9 at noon and continues through Nov. 25. Online applications for the regular deer gun, youth, muzzleloader, and resident gratis and nonresident landowner seasons will be available about May 9 through the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Also, paper applications will be at vendors throughout the state the week of May 14. The deadline for applying is June 6.

Total deer licenses are determined by harvest rates, aerial surveys, deer-vehicle collision reports, depredation reports, hunter observations, input at advisory board meetings, and comments from the public, landowners and department field staff.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota’s Deer Season Set, Online Applications Available May 9

Individuals interested in taking the game warden exam scheduled for May 18 are reminded to submit a letter of intent to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department before 5 p.m., May 17.

Letters of intent should be addressed to chief game warden Robert Timian, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501?5095. The test will be given at 10 a.m., May 18 at the department’s main office in Bismarck.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and have a bachelor’s degree. Other requirements are a current North Dakota peace officer license, or eligibility for a license, and a valid driver’s license. Candidates must have excellent interpersonal skills in communications and writing, and must not have a record of any felony convictions.

Game wardens enforce game and fish laws and related regulations in an assigned district and other locations as determined by the department. Wardens normally work alone under varied conditions, at all hours of the day, night and weekends. In addition to law enforcement duties, wardens assist in the areas of public relations, education programs, and hunter and boat safety education.

Game warden duties also require the ability to perform physically demanding tasks involving lifting and carrying large, heavy objects, walking and running over uneven terrain and tolerating adverse weather and other environmental conditions.

Selection procedures following the test may include an evaluation of the application, a structured oral interview, background and reference checks, and psychological and medical examinations.

The salary for beginning game wardens through training is $3,000 per month. Upon successful completion of training, the salary is $3,550 per month. Wardens also receive the state benefits package, including travel allowance. Uniforms and other equipment are provided.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota Game Warden Exam is May 18

Delta Waterfowl applauds the recent decision by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) to increase the percentage of duck stamp dollars going to the prairie breeding grounds for habitat conservation in 2012.

The commission’s decision calls for an increase of the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF) dollars for the prairie pothole states (Region 6 and Region 3). The majority of increased funding will be used for taking perpetual voluntary wetland and grassland easements, particularly in North Dakota and South Dakota, which attract the vast majority of ducks nesting annually in the United States.

“This is a historic decision, spearheaded by director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he deserves enormous praise for his vision and leadership on this issue,” said John Devney, director of U.S policy for Delta Waterfowl, which for years has publically supported increased funding to the prairie breeding grounds. “In an era of tight budgets and scare resources, director Ashe followed the science and made the best decision for the future of ducks and duck hunters everywhere. We applaud this move wholeheartedly.”

Long recognized as North America’s “duck factory”, the grasslands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) produce roughly 50 percent of the continent’s ducks on an average year and up to 70 percent when water and grass are abundant, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The commission’s decision will reallocate upwards of 70 percent (nearly $30 million) of the MBCF to breeding grounds, with roughly $20 million going to North Dakota and South Dakota. In 2011, the PPR states received $17 million. The MBCF receives revenues from federal duck stamp sales, important duties on guns and ammunition, among several other sources.

Devney says increasing funding for waterfowl conservation on the prairie breeding grounds is critical to the long-term future of duck hunting.

“The duck factory is in trouble,” said Devney. “The wetland and grassland resources here are at greater risk than they have been in decades. Every region in the country has pressing needs, but these are duck stamp dollars, and right now the greatest need for ducks is on the breeding grounds.”

Devney says roughly 6.2 million acres of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts will expire in September nationwide, and few expect those acres to be renewed, thanks in large part to high commodity prices, high land values and higher cash rents.

“CRP habitat, particularly in the Dakotas and parts of Montana, has been a boon for prairie-nesting ducks, but those acres are disappearing more and more every year, which makes the funding reallocation to the breeding grounds all the more important,” said Devney.

North Dakota currently has 2.5 million CRP acres (down from more than 3 million), but contracts on roughly 800,000 acres will expire in September. In South Dakota, contracts on 200,000 acres will expire this year as well, dropping its total CRP allotment to 900,000 acres.

“When you factor in all the native prairie we’re also losing in the Dakotas each year, the amount of grassland habitat loss in the duck factory is staggering,” said Devney, noting an estimated 50,000 acres of native prairie in South Dakota is broken each year for agricultural production. “The rich wetland base of the Dakotas is also at risk. There’s a burgeoning interest in tiling and draining as producers look for increased tillable acreage and higher yields.”

The good news is that demand for landowner easements across the PPR remains high, including “the best of the best duck habitat” in the Dakotas the USFWS is targeting.

Said one USFWS official, “We still have a sizeable waiting list of willing landowners. I hope demand stays high. I believe it will. But there’s no getting around the fact there are a lot of economic forces working against duck conservation on the breeding grounds.”

Delta Waterfowl Scientific Director Dr. Frank Rohwer, who is also a professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Renewable Natural Resources, says increased investments on the prairies are important to waterfowlers across the U.S.

“The science is clear,” said Dr. Rohwer, who regularly hunts Louisiana’s coastal marshes. “The greatest biological need for habitat conservation is on the breeding grounds. If we don’t protect key habitats on the prairies, our ability to raise ducks for hunters everywhere will be greatly diminished.”

Devney says Delta Waterfowl supports increased funding to the breeding grounds beyond 2012. He says that effort could be bolstered by increasing the price of the federal duck stamp. The stamp, required by all hunters who hunt migratory birds, has cost $15 for the past two decades—the longest period without an increase since the stamp’s inception in 1934.

President Obama’s latest budget proposal would increase the price to $25 in 2013, the same proposal made by former President George W. Bush in 2008, and which Congress declined.

“Inflation has greatly diminished the purchasing power since the last duck stamp increase in 1991,” said Devney. “An increase would greatly improve our efforts to preserve critical duck-nesting habitat for years to come. Delta Waterfowl supports the increase because it’s the best investment in habitat conservation available for ducks and duck hunters alike.”

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Delta Waterfowl Praises Decision to Increase Funding to Breeding Grounds

North Dakota’s spring turkey season opens Saturday, April 14 and continues through May 20.

Hunters are reminded a 2012-13 hunting license is required, as last year’s 2011-12 licenses expired March 31. In addition to the spring turkey license, hunters must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate, and a general game and habitat license. Also, hunters ages 16 and older must possess a small game license, or combination license.

The governor’s proclamation allows a maximum of two licenses per hunter. Licenses remain in unit 06 (Bowman County) and unit 31 (Mountrail County).

These first-come, first-served licenses are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, or call (701) 328-6300 to request an application. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota Spring Turkey Season Opens April 14, Licenses Remain

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has scheduled an examination to select candidates for the position of district game warden. The test is at 10 a.m., May 17, at the department’s main office in Bismarck.

Applicants must register to take the exam by submitting a letter of intent to chief game warden Robert Timian, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501?5095. Letters of intent must be submitted before 5 p.m., May 14.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and have a bachelor’s degree. Other requirements are a current North Dakota peace officer license, or eligibility for a license, and a valid driver’s license. Candidates must have excellent interpersonal skills in communications and writing, and must not have a record of any felony convictions.

Game wardens enforce game and fish laws and related regulations in an assigned district and other locations as determined by the department. Wardens normally work alone under varied conditions, at all hours of the day, night and weekends. In addition to law enforcement duties, wardens assist in the areas of public relations, education programs, and hunter and boat safety education.

Game warden duties also require the ability to perform physically demanding tasks involving lifting and carrying large, heavy objects, walking and running over uneven terrain and tolerating adverse weather and other environmental conditions.

Selection procedures following the test may include an evaluation of the application, a structured oral interview, background and reference checks, and psychological and medical examinations.

The salary for beginning game wardens through training is $3,000 per month. Upon successful completion of training, the salary is $3,550. Wardens also receive the state benefits package, including travel allowance. Uniforms and other equipment are provided.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota Game Warden Exam Set for May 17

North Dakota’s spring turkey season opens Saturday, April 14 and continues through May 20.

Hunters are reminded a 2012-13 hunting license is required, as last year’s 2011-12 licenses expired March 31. In addition to the spring turkey license, hunters must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate, and a general game and habitat license. Also, hunters ages 16 and older must possess a small game license, or combination license.

The governor’s proclamation allows a maximum of two licenses per hunter. Licenses remain in unit 06 (Bowman County) and unit 31 (Mountrail County).

These first-come, first-served licenses are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, or call (701) 328-6300 to request an application. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota Spring Turkey Season Opens April 14, Licenses Remain

Hunters and conservationists in and around Elgin, North Dakota, have formed a new Pheasants Forever chapter.

Known as the Heart River Pheasants Forever chapter, the group is dedicated to improving the area’s wildlife habitat, providing area youth with opportunities to hunt and establishing Grant County as a leader in North Dakota’s upland conservation efforts.

The chapter is led by Myles Stoller, an Elgin resident, lifelong upland hunter and the chapter’s newly elected president. “What is most important to us is to make sure we have something to pass on to the next generation of North Dakota hunters,” says Stoller, “We also understand that what helps pheasants helps everything else, so even though we are a Pheasants Forever chapter, there are a multitude of species that will benefit from our habitat work.”

Stoller, who lives on a fifth generation family ranch, knows proper land management is of the utmost importance to a healthy wildlife balance. “If we take care of the land, it will take care of us,” he noted, “Our forefathers cared for the land before they passed it on to us, and I’m going to do everything I can to pass it on for others to enjoy in the same capacity as I did.”

Pheasants Forever empowers county and local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent – the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. As a result, chapter volunteers are able to see the fruits of their efforts locally, while belonging to a larger national organization with a voice on federal and state conservation policy. “The Heart River Pheasants Forever chapter is a dedicated and experienced group of conservationists, who will make a major contribution to North Dakota wildlife,” says Jesse Beckers, Pheasants Forever North Dakota Regional Wildlife Biologist, “North Dakota has long been known as one of the premier upland hunting states, and I know with the help of the Heart River Pheasants Forever it will continue to be a leader for years into the future.”

Heart River Pheasants Forever chapter

• The Heart River Pheasants Forever chapter has also elected Ronald Bartz as the chapter’s treasurer.
• The chapter’s first banquet will be at Our Place Cafe in Elgin on Friday, March 30th at 6:30pm.
• For more information about the chapter, contact Myles Stoller at (701) 220-3458 / Email Myles.

North Dakota is home to 31 Pheasants Forever chapters and more than 4,000 Pheasants Forever members. For more information on Pheasants Forever in North Dakota, please contact Jesse Beckers at (701) 202-8120 / Email Jesse. For all other inquiries, please contact Rehan Nana, Pheasants Forever Public Relations Specialist, at (651) 209-4973 / Email Rehan.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - New Heart River Pheasants Forever Chapter Springs into Action for N.D. Wildlife

North Dakota, the only state with a spring turkey season that does not sell non-resident spring turkey tags, has donated one of these great non-resident permits to the NWTF. The NWTF is now auctioning off this one-of-a-kind turkey tag and you could get to harvest your bird on either public or private land.

Tag Information:

• The tag is good for one North Dakota spring turkey and is good for the entire season – April 14 to May 20.
• You can hunt any open turkey hunting unit in the state.
• This is the only North Dakota spring turkey tag available to non-residents on public or private land.
• Additional state general game license(s) are required with a cost of approximately $15-20.
• This is a non-guided hunt. However, assistance in planning the hunt (general areas, places to stay, etc.) will be available from North Dakota NWTF State Chapter board members. The winning bidder is responsible for travel, food, lodging and all other costs.

To place a bid on this tag, email Marc at mkurz@undeerc.org. The auction will end at 8 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, March 25, and you can review the current bid at www.facebook.com/DakotaNWTF.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Win an Exclusive North Dakota Non-Resident Turkey Tag

The 2012 spring wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 700 licenses remain in nine units. The governor’s proclamation allows a maximum of two licenses, and hunters who did not apply in the first drawing are also eligible.

Licenses remain in unit 03, Benson and Ramsey counties and a portion of Pierce County; unit 06, Bowman County; unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and portions of Morton County; unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties; unit 31, Mountrail County; unit 45, Stark County; unit 47, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties; unit 51, Burke County and portions of Renville, Bottineau and Ward counties; and unit 99, Mercer and Oliver counties.

Licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning March 8. Hunters can download and print an application by accessing the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov, or request an application by calling (701) 328-6300. Online applications will be available March 8. Only North Dakota residents are eligible to apply.

The spring turkey season opens April 14 and continues through May 20.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - North Dakota Spring Turkey Drawing Held, Licenses Remain