North Dakota waterfowl hunting season opens Saturday
BISMARCK TRIBUNE STAFF 2 hrs ago 0

North Dakota’s waterfowl hunting season opens for residents Saturday, while nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl in the state a week later.

Duck and goose hunting is big business in the state -- resident waterfowl hunters spend an estimated $20 million annually, according to state Tourism Division data. Extensive drought in North Dakota could have an impact on duck hunting this year, however.

The number of duck broods observed during the Game and Fish Department's annual mid-July survey was the lowest in nearly three decades, and this year's fall duck flight is expected to be down 36% from last year, according to Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird management supervisor. The fall duck flight estimate is based on the breeding population, duckling production and adult survival between spring and fall.

Game and Fish said last month that hunters this fall should expect "unfamiliar" conditions, and Szymanski said, "We won’t be able to depend on local duck production to the extent that we have in the past.”

Hunters may take six ducks per day with the following restrictions: five mallards of which two may be hens, three wood ducks, two redheads, two canvasbacks, one scaup and one pintail. Hunters can take two additional blue-winged teal from Sept. 25 through Oct. 10. The daily limit of five mergansers may include no more than two hooded mergansers. For ducks and mergansers, the possession limit is three times the daily limit.

The hunting season for Canada geese will close Dec. 18 in the Eastern Zone, Dec. 23 in the Western Zone and Dec. 31 in the Missouri River Zone. The season for whitefronts closes Dec. 5, while the season on light geese is open through Dec. 31.

Shooting hours for all geese are half an hour before sunrise to 2 p.m. each day.

Extended shooting hours for all geese are permitted from half an hour before sunrise to sunset on Saturdays and Wednesdays through Nov. 27, and on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays from Nov. 28 through the end of each season.

The bag limit for Canada geese during the regular season is eight daily and 24 in possession, except in the Missouri River Zone where it's five daily and 15 in possession.

The daily limit on whitefronts is three with nine in possession, and light geese has a daily limit of 50 with no possession limit.

Nonresidents are not allowed to hunt on Game and Fish wildlife management areas or conservation Private Land Open To Sportsmen areas from Oct. 9-15, with the exception of nonresidents hunting on PLOTS land they own.

Migratory bird hunters of all ages need to register with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting. Those who registered to hunt during the spring light goose conservation order season in North Dakota do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year.


HIP registration is a cooperative program designed to determine a sample of hunters from which to measure the harvest of migratory birds for management purposes.

For more details on the waterfowl season, go to https://gf.nd.gov/regulations/small-combined.

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