NDGF Newsletter - July 19

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Record Number of Walleye Fingerlings Stocked in State Waters

North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries crews stocked a record number of walleye into state waters, according to Jerry Weigel, fisheries production and development section leader. 

The Garrison Dam (10 million) and Valley City (1.5 million) national fish hatcheries produced 11.5 million fingerlings, besting the record of 10.9 million in 1991. “Fish quality and stocking conditions were great, with really nice fish and lots of cool water and flooded vegetation at the stocking sites,” Weigel said. “The federal hatchery system really delivered given the record walleye request this year.”

The record total was driven by a higher than normal request of 10.1 million fingerlings, with 4 million targeted for Lake Sakakawea.

“We had another 440,000 requested if surplus production occurred, and all of those requests were filled with most getting up to an additional 10 percent,” Weigel said. “In addition, we also supplied Wyoming and Iowa with walleyes as part of a trade or to cover their production shortages.”

Altogether, 114 lakes and rivers were stocked in North Dakota, Weigel said, covering every corner of the state. “Coupled with natural reproduction, we have set the stage for a phenomenal walleye year,” Weigel continued. “We will know more this fall when our crews follow up to check on survival rate of the stocked fish and determine the amount of natural reproduction.”

 

Game and Fish Agencies Increase CWD Surveillance Efforts

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Game and Fish, and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks are coordinating efforts to increase surveillance in and around the location where a mule deer taken last fall in southwestern North Dakota tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

According to officials, all three agencies will sample hunter-harvested deer, elk and moose, road kills and sick-acting animals.

The increased surveillance area includes North Dakota deer hunting unit 3F2 (eastern Adams County, southeastern Hettinger County, southern Grant County, south central Morton County and all of Sioux County), the Standing Rock Reservation, and South Dakota deer units 53A (northern Perkins County) and 20A (Corson County).

The majority of collections will occur during each agency’s deer rifle season, with coordinated collection efforts from hunter harvested animals planned for November. Additional details regarding collection points will be distributed prior to this fall’s deer rifle seasons.

North Dakota Game and Fish officials were notified in March that a sick-looking mule deer taken last fall in western Sioux County tested positive for CWD, the first time an animal has tested positive in North Dakota.

Since the location is near the South Dakota border, SDGFP will expand their monitoring efforts to the northwest. CWD efforts had been concentrated in southwestern South Dakota where the disease is established – the Black Hills and Custer and Fall River counties. In addition, SDGFP has a statewide surveillance program that samples sick deer when they are reported.

In addition to targeted surveillance, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has sampled the entire state twice by annually collecting samples taken from hunter-harvested deer in specific regions of the state. Since sampling efforts in North Dakota began in 2002, more than 14,000 deer, elk and moose have tested negative for CWD.

CWD affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and is always fatal. Scientists have found no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock.

For additional information regarding CWD sampling in these areas, or to report a sick acting deer, contact the appropriate agency: North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Bismarck – (701) 328-6300; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Fort Yates – (701) 854-7236; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Rapid City – (605) 394-2391, or Mobridge – (605) 845-7814.

 

Fall Turkey Lottery Held, Remaining Licenses Issued Aug. 4

The 2010 fall wild turkey lottery has been held and more than 1,800 licenses remain in 14 units. Unsuccessful applicants who applied online will have a refund issued directly to their credit card.

Beginning Aug. 4, all remaining licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters are allowed a maximum of 15 licenses for the fall season.

Resident and nonresident hunters will be able to apply online, or print out an application to mail, at the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Paper applications will also be available at license vendors.

The fall turkey season runs from Oct. 9 – Jan. 9, 2011.

Licenses remain for the following units: Unit 03, Benson and Ramsey counties and a portion of Pierce County, 166 licenses; Unit 13, Dunn County, 314; Unit 17, portions of Billings and Golden Valley counties north of Interstate 94, 81; Unit 19, Grant and Sioux counties and a portion of Morton County, 86; Unit 25, McHenry County and portions of Pierce and Ward counties, 292; Unit 27, McKenzie County, 125; Unit 30, a portion of Morton County, 212; Unit 31, Mountrail County, 33; Unit 44, Slope County, 95; Unit 45, Stark County, 82; Unit 47, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties, 28; Unit 51, Burke County and portions of Renville, Bottineau and Ward counties, 180; Unit 98, Burleigh, Emmons and McLean counties, 53; and Unit 99, Mercer and Oliver counties, 108.

 

Landowner-Sportsman Council to Meet July 27

The North Dakota Landowner-Sportsman Council has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, July 27. 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.