Company Partners Again in Bird Study
A marsh bird study in central North Dakota again received a generous boost in funding from a pipeline company that transports natural gas across the state.

This is the second year Alliance Pipeline will contribute $10,000 to a study that will evaluate the distribution of wetland bird species and the influence that surrounding landscapes, such as grasslands and crop fields, have on them.
Alliance is partnered in the study with the state Game and Fish Department, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and Ducks Unlimited.

"The collaboration with Alliance is an important milestone. It is the first industrial company to partner with the department on a State Wildlife Grants project," said Steve Dyke, Game and Fish Department conservation coordinator. "We hope this is the first of many such projects and partnerships with private industry."

The study, which is in its third year, will provide wildlife managers valuable information to better manage wetland bird populations in the future.

Deer Lotteries Held, Antlerless Licenses Remain
More than 32,000 antlerless deer gun licenses are still available after the North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently completed its lottery drawing.
These first-come, first-served licenses are for hunters who don't already have a license, or for those who want additional licenses, according to Carrie Whitney, Game and Fish Department licensing supervisor.

Hunters can apply online starting Aug. 23, on the Game and Fish Department's website, gf.nd.gov. Paper applications will be available by Aug. 25 from Game and Fish offices, county auditors and license vendors. Hand delivered applications will not be processed at the department while the applicant waits. Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply.

Hunters are reminded that doe licenses purchased after the first lottery drawing can be used during the archery season with a bow; the deer gun season with a bow, rifle, or muzzle-loader; or during the muzzle-loader season with a muzzle-loader. Hunters must stay in the unit to which the license is assigned.

The regular deer gun season begins at noon Nov. 10.

Landowner-Sportsman Council to Meet Aug. 29
The North Dakota Landowner-Sportsman Council has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. The meeting will be held at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, in Bismarck. Meeting time is 7:30 p.m.

Any person who requires an auxiliary aid or service must notify Doug Howie, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, at 701-328-6333 prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Early Canada Goose Season Opens Sept. 1
An early season geared at helping to reign in North Dakota's resident Canada goose population is set for Sept. 1-15.

Last year, about 6,000 hunters shot approximately 26,000 birds during the early Canada goose season. Mike Szymanski, waterfowl biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the state's Canada goose breeding population objective is 80,000 birds. The breeding population this spring was about 200,000.

Hunters will have a daily bag limit of five Canada geese and a possession limit of 10. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset daily. Limits and shooting hours are different from the regular season, Szymanski said, as the proposed regular season bag is three daily and six in possession.

The purpose of the early season is to increase harvest of birds that nest and raise young in North Dakota and whose statewide population has grown considerably in recent years. The early to mid-September season promotes harvest of resident birds, as migrants do not usually begin filtering into the state until later in September.

All migratory bird hunters must register with Harvest Information Program prior to hunting. Hunters who purchase a license through the department's website (gf.nd.gov) or instant licensing telephone number (800-406-6409) can easily get HIP certified. Otherwise, hunters must call 888-634-4798 and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate. Those who registered to hunt the spring light goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year.

Normal licensing requirements for the regular season, including a federal duck stamp, apply to the September Canada goose season. Nonresidents who hunt in Sargent and Richland counties during the early season may do so without counting against their 14-day regular season license.

Waterfowl rest areas, closed to hunting during the regular season, will be open during the early September season. Most land in these rest areas is private, Szymanski said, so hunters may need permission to hunt.  

Dove Hunters Reminded of HIP, Asked to Report Bands
North Dakota 's mourning dove season opens Sept. 1 and hunters are reminded to register with the Harvest Information Program before going afield.

The season is open statewide through Oct. 30, and the daily limit is 15 and possession limit 30. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Hunters who purchase a license through the game and fish website (gf.nd.gov) or instant licensing telephone number (800-406-6409) can easily get HIP certified, something all migratory bird hunters must do.

Otherwise, hunters can call 888-634-4798 to register and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate. Those who registered to hunt the spring light goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year.

"It should be a good dove season in North Dakota as we are seeing a lot of hatch-year birds out there," said Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird biologist for the state Game and Fish Department. "Statewide this year, there was the potential for adult birds to have two to three nesting attempts."

Dove h unters are reminded to check harvested birds for leg bands this fall and report their findings, Szymanski said.

In the last three years more than 96,000 mourning doves were trapped and banded in 27 states - including more than 3,150 in North Dakota - as part of a nationwide mourning dove study.

Doves have been fitted with metal leg bands, each inscribed with a bird identification number and a toll-free telephone number to report the band. In return, wildlife managers will receive important information that will allow researchers to update survival and harvest models for mourning doves.

Later in fall, Szymanski said hunters are also encouraged to check harvested ducks and geese for bands and report what they've found. The bands many times tell an interesting story. For example, a researcher in Manitoba, Canada recently recaptured a snow goose that he banded 37 years earlier, when the bird was already an adult. In 2005, a mourning dove banded in northwestern North Dakota was shot by a hunter nearly 2,000 miles south in southern Mexico. The bird made the trip in less than two months.

Reporting band information is simple. Call the U.S. Geological Survey's bird banding lab at 800-327-2263 or visit its website at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl. The band number, date and location of recovery are needed. After the band information is processed, hunters can expect a certificate of appreciation and information about the bird. Hunters can keep all bands they recover.

The toll-free number is for reporting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bands only, not those from pheasant farms or found on other upland game. Also, questions about hunting regulations should be directed to the Game and Fish Bismarck office at 328-6300.

Pronghorn, Deer Archery Seasons Open Soon
Pronghorn and deer archery seasons open in North Dakota Sept. 1 at noon.

The pronghorn archery season runs through Oct. 8, while the archery deer season is open through Jan. 7, 2007.

Hunters are reminded of baiting restrictions implemented last year on North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas. Baiting is prohibited on these lands, and is defined as the placement and/or use of bait for attracting big game and other wildlife to a specific location for the purpose of hunting.

Opportunities for archers hunting white-tailed deer are many in the state. Winter aerial surveys, hunter observations and deer-vehicle collisions data all suggest stable to increasing deer numbers along a band running diagonally from southwestern North Dakota to the northeastern corner of the state.

The state Game and Fish Department made available 143,500 deer gun licenses to hunters this fall. Bowhunters are reminded that those individuals with second and third (or more) doe licenses can use these during the archery season in the designated hunting unit.