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OUTDOOR NOTES: NDGF sets sheep, elk moose seasons

NDGF sets sheep, elk moose seasons The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed its 2014 bighorn sheep, elk and moose proclamation, and March 26 is the deadline to apply for licenses. The bighorn sheep season will have five licenses av...

NDGF sets sheep,  elk moose seasons

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed its 2014 bighorn sheep, elk and moose proclamation, and March 26 is the deadline to apply for licenses.

The bighorn sheep season will have five licenses available, one more than last year. Licenses in Unit B1 increased from one to two because of skewed male-to-female ratios caused by declining numbers of females. Unit B2, which was created to prevent overharvest of Sully Creek rams, has been immersed into B1 because of low numbers in the area. Similar to last year, collared rams may not be taken in Unit B3. The season length has been extended to two months, and the new opening date corresponds with the peak of the rut to improve prospects of finding mature rams.

A total of 261 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, the same as in 2013, and 111 moose licenses are available, also the same as last year. Hunting units M1C and M4 will remain closed because of a continued downward trend in moose numbers in the northeast part of the state.

Info/applications: gf.nd.gov.

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- N.D. Game and Fish Department

Did you know?

  •   The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed its spring wild turkey lottery, and more than 600 licenses remain in 11 units: Unit 06, Bowman County; Unit 13, Dunn 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 40, Rolette County and portions of Bottineau, Renville, and Pierce counties; Unit 44, Slope 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. Turkey season is April 12-May 18. Info: gf.nd.gov.
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  •   More than 273.6 million total visits were recorded to the 401 U.S. national parks in 2013, the National Park Service reported. That’s down 9.1 million visits from 2012, largely because of the federal shutdown that shuttered national parks for the first 16 days of October. Golden Gate National Recreation Area was the most visited site in the system, with nearly 14.3 million visits, while Great Smoky Mountains National Park retained its top spot among the 59 sites formally designated as “national park,” with 9.35 million visits in 2013. Info: https://irma.nps.gov/Stats .

 

Brad Dokken joined the Herald company in November 1985 as a copy editor for Agweek magazine and has been the Grand Forks Herald's outdoors editor since 1998.

Besides his role as an outdoors writer, Dokken has an extensive background in northwest Minnesota and Canadian border issues and provides occasional coverage on those topics.

Reach him at bdokken@gfherald.com, by phone at (701) 780-1148 or on Twitter at @gfhoutdoor.
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