Elk management practices and elk hunting seasons are changing in ND

Science and wildlife management are not stationary. Continuous research and fact gathering result in adjustments to management strategies and through this evolving process hunters directly see changes in hunting seasons.

This year’s North Dakota elk season is a good example. Just since 2006, the State Game and Fish Department has nearly doubled the number of elk licenses available in the lottery drawing. Last fall some of the seasons were extended by special proclamation. This year, the Department is proposing to eliminate the August seasons that have been part of elk management for many years.

With so many changes, hunters still looking for their once-in-a-lifetime elk license will likely have a lot of questions. Here’s a rundown on a few of the more likely questions, with answers provided by Randy Kreil, the Game and Fish Department’s wildlife division chief.

Why is there such a dramatic increase in the number of elk licenses in E3 and E4 for the 2008 season?

Elk numbers continue to grow at an amazing rate inside Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and more elk are coming out and staying out of the park. The National Park Service is currently working on a plan to reduce numbers in the park, but the implementation of whatever plan they might choose is several years off.  Therefore, in an effort to use this resource and reduce the possibility of elk depredation problems on surrounding private land, the Department is dramatically increasing not only elk license numbers but also the length of the season.

There is an increasing trend in game farms complicating elk patterns, thus the need for an expanded elk hunting season

Why is the August hunting season being eliminated?

The August hunting season was first implemented as a way to harvest elk that were comingout of TRNP, but returned to the park before the traditional October elk season. The August season was effective and elk hunting opportunities and harvest were fairly good. Over the past several years as the TRNP elk population has grown, elk behavior has changed and the number of animals leaving and not returning to the park has increased. This results in more opportunity in the months following August. In addition, there has always been a concern about the hot weather during August and all the problems that come with hunting and retrieving a big game animal at a time when warm to hot temperatures are common. In 2006, an October time period was added and in 2007 additional time periods spanning November and December was also added. Elk hunting opportunities available September through December negated the need to have an August season.

Why are lottery license holders allowed to hunt in either unit after the first three days of the September and October season openers?

Hunters are restricted to the unit on their license for the first three days of the September and October seasons to make sure hunting pressure in Unit E4, which is directly adjacent to TRNP, is not too high. The unit is relatively small and allowing all license holders to be in that area during the opening weekends would lead to problems.

Licenses remaining after the lottery will be issued on a first come, first served basis. These will be once-in-a-lifetime licenses. Are you anticipating there will be licenses remaining?

There is a chance that cow (antlerless) elk licenses may remain following the lottery.  The thinking behind the first-come, first-served option is that if someone wanted an antlerless elk license they have their chance to apply in the lottery, either as a first or second choice. If licenses remain, Game and Fish will announce details on how the first-come, first-serve process will work.

Unit E5 is a new unit that encompasses most of North Dakota outside traditional elk range. Why is this area open to all lottery license holders? 

Over the past several years the number of instances where wild elk have been attracted to farmed elk operations has increased. It is critically important for both wild elk management and the farmed elk industry that wild elk are not allowed to have contact or mingle with farmed elk. The first course of action in these situations is to haze the wild elk away from the farmed elk enclosures. Should hazing or exclusion by double or electric fencing not work, then the wild elk must be removed. In the past, department personnel have killed some of these animals, while in other instances we have used the legislatively authorized method of drawing a name from the unsuccessful applicant list and allowed that person to kill the elk.

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A chance at a moose in ND is extremely rare

March 19 is the deadline for the “big three,” or moose, elk and bighorn sheep license applications in North Dakota. I’d wager a guess that even some non-hunters have heard discussion on the odds of winning the big three lottery, and we’re not talking a financial lottery either.

Hunters nod with understanding when the moose, elk and bighorn sheep licenses are referred to as the big three, as they are all once-in-a-lifetime hunts and the odds of drawing also can be accurately associated with big, as in big odds to overcome.

Here’s a quick rundown of last year’s big three numbers: 146 moose licenses were available and 13,216 applications received; 435 elk licenses and 12,991 applications received; and five bighorn sheep licenses and 9,632 applications recorded. It’s easy to see how far hunter interest outweighs hunting opportunity.

The March 19 deadline means hunters need to do more than just haphazardly throw their name in the hat, especially for elk hunting in North Dakota. “Hunters need to think about a few things, even before applying,” says Randy Kreil wildlife division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. “If you’ve never been to the badlands, our elk hunts in North Dakota are not like deer hunting. A success rate of 40 percent for elk is considered very good, especially when looking at other states. If you take a room of 10 hunters and tell them six of you will be unsuccessful, that’s hard for North Dakota hunters to swallow.”

Something view hunters can witness in North Dakota during the hunting season

Especially for deer hunters accustomed to success rates of 75 percent over much of the state. “Don’t just send in an application without considering the time investment needed,” Kreil advises. “First, make sure you are mentally and physically prepared to hunt. We’ve had scenarios where once-in-a-lifetime license holders have made one trip out to the badlands and never returned.”

It’s really not that different than planning a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation. You’ll spend countless hours researching and planning. If you draw one of the big three licenses, you should be willing to do the same thing.

Jerry Gulke, Game and Fish data processing coordinator, has a few interesting numbers relating to odds of drawing elk or moose licenses, depending on the unit and whether the hunter isn’t worried about whether the license is for a bull or cow.

“If you apply for cow tags, the chance to draw is similar to drawing a mule deer buck tag in many units,” Gulke said. “In E3 (elk unit) last year there were 55 licenses with 44 applications, and the last three or four years the odds have been pretty good in that unit of drawing a cow tag. And the same goes for cow tags in E1 with 6-to-1 odds and E2 of 4-to-1 odds.”

Looking at moose, the best odds for a cow moose license have been in units M10 and MC at 9-to-1. At the other end of the spectrum, last year unit M8 had 4,345 applications for a mere 15 tags, or odds of 290-to-1.

That’s a lot of numbers to digest, but as I mentioned before, these are once-in-a-lifetime hunts for North Dakotans. We should feel fortunate just having a chance to apply for these licenses, and those of you (this does not include me) who have beat the odds should feel blessed for having the opportunity to hunt one of the big three.

Next week I’ll walk through the many adjustments to elk management in North Dakota that will be part of the 2008 season.

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When a person thinks about elk, the states that often first come to mind are Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, or Arizona. What a lot of people do not know is that North Dakota has “world class” elk right out its back door in the beautiful badlands. The 2nd biggest elk killed in the “world” was killed here in North Dakota by a gentleman named Kevin Fugere. If you’ve got time, Kevin’s elk sits in the Great Plains National Bank in Belfield, ND. It’s definitely worth the stop.

Of course knowing that North Dakota has tremendous elk hunting and being able to hunt elk in North Dakota are two very different things. An elk tag in North Dakota is a “Once In A Lifetime” tag. If you want a shot at a North Dakota elk hunt, you have to put your name in a hat with thousands of other eager Dakotan’s, but only few are drawn. Some people apply their whole life for a North Dakota elk license and never get one.

This year I was blessed with being drawn for the illustrious North Dakota elk tag and in the process got to learn first hand of the great elk hunting opportunities North Dakota has to offer.

When I first got word that I drew a North Dakota elk license, the first thing I did was got on the phone and started retrieving as much info as I could. I spoke to landowners, Game and Fish employees, past elk license holders and everybody under the sun who have hunted elk. The one fact that they all shared was that elk hunting is tough work.

I’ve heard people compare elk to “ghosts.” Its not often you see elk out and about like deer. Elk are hidden creatures. They find sheltered places, far from roads and any human activity. With this knowledge I decided to do some hiking. At first I had planned to make three trips out to my elk unit in the off season; in the end I made eight. In the final five weekends before my elk season, I logged over 30 miles of hiking. Thank God I have an understanding wife, because I drug her along with me for most of the way. To get her to come with me I would tell her, “Honey, if I get bit by a rattle snake, no one will be around to run for help.” I think by the end she wished that darn rattlesnake would just bite me and save her the misery of another butte-filled hike.

Two weekends before the start of my season, the hiking paid off, because we finally came across our first elk. He was a nice 6×6. The sore legs and empty water bottles seemed to disappear as we watched the big bull. The spot where he stood was a 5 ½ mile hike from the nearest road and would set the stage for my first and final hunting spot for my elk season.

A day before the season started, my dad and I filled our frame packs with camping gear and set up on a five mile hike to the area where we had seen that beautiful elk. Hiking buttes for miles in 80 to 90 degree August heat with 60 pounds of camping gear on your back makes a guy want to rethink his plan, but we knew that if we wanted to add a trophy to this memory, we had to work hard. That evening, with shoulders sore and sweat filled shirts, we arrived at our camp spot. Shortly after setting up camp and a quick bite to eat, we set out to do some scouting. That evening we sat one ridge west of where I had seen the 6×6. A couple deer was all we saw that night. As we hiked back to camp, I started to second guess myself.

“What if we weren’t in the right spot? What happens if we come up empty after all this work?” I had been on unsuccessful hunts before. I love the outdoors and am usually happy just being out there, but this was a “Once in a Lifetime” hunt, no do-overs or a next year. It’s easy for people to put a lot of pressure on themselves with a “Once in a Lifetime” tag and I was no exception. I said a quick prayer as I laid down for the night. Little did I know that in the morning, all the hard work and prayers would pay off and a North Dakota memory to last a lifetime was hours away!

We got up about 5 a.m. It would take us about 25 minutes to walk to the ridge where we would set up shop for the morning. As we walked, I couldn’t help but think that the defining moment was upon us. All the hiking, all the practice shooting, all the research, and all the preparation was coming to a head. It didn’t matter if I hiked 1,000 miles or got advice from a thousand elk hunters, there will be a moment that I look through my scope at a trophy elk and I was going to have to perform. It was hard to imagine what that moment was going to feel like. I had no idea that moment was less than an hour away.

Through the dark we made our way to our ridge of choice. To give you an idea of where we sat, we were sitting on the north side of the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Our ridge over looked the final low spot on the west side of the Little Missouri River. The low spot runs east and west and the south wall of the low spot was the park fence. From our high vantage point, we looked strait east and could see the river at the end of the bottom.

As we finished our climb to the tip of the ridge, the eastern sky had filled red. We were a bit behind schedule, so I quickly found a spot to set up. It took me a couple of tries to find just the right spot, but finally I was able to find a little tree cover to break up my sky line. My dad and I sat about 15 yards apart. With binoculars in hand, we glassed the low spot, waiting for one of those ghosts to show itself.

About 15 minutes after sunrise, just as the full sun was staring us right in the face, they appeared. About 600 yards away, two big bulls were making their way up the low spot, right to us! My dad and I spotted the giants at the same time, turned to one another with big eyes, and both yelled a whisper, “Two Bulls!” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Walking in plain view up a grass strip that followed the entire bottom where two giants, walking like majestic soldiers. They looked like two kings, commanding attention from every eye in the audience with their massive horns. I am used to looking at whitetails, so those massive horns swaying back and forth was enough to keep from blinking.

Soon the two bulls where followed by another. Never did I dream that my defining moment would involve a 6×6, a 5×5, and a 4×4 walking right toward us. The bulls slowly made their way up the bottom. Soon they were 500 yards away, then 400. Many times I was temped to take a 400+ shot. Along side the grass strip, there was a thick grove of trees that ran along the entire bottom. At any moment, the elk could duck into the trees and never be seen again. I’m not used to shooting 400 yards and I would hate to wound such a magnificent animal, so I decided to wait until they got in range and prayed that they would stay out of the trees. Just then, the 6×6 went into the trees. You win some, you lose some…that’s why they call it hunting.

I switched my attention to the 5×5. He stood in the middle of the grass and raked a tree with his antlers. I decided that I would take the 5×5 if he presented me with a good shot. The 5×5 raked the tree for about 3 minutes and then continued up the trail towards us. Suddenly, the 6×6 popped out of the trees and took the lead of the three bulls. I couldn’t believe the size of the body of the 6×6. His antlers were slightly bigger than the 5×5, but his body dwarfed the size of the other two animals.

The grass strip that the bulls were walking on moved all the way up the draw, but because of the tree cover in front of me, there was a point where the bulls would drop out of sight. I knew that I had to shoot before they reached that point. The 6×6 reached it first and then stopped to feed. This was it, the defining moment. I stared through my scope for a couple seconds at the animal. I couldn’t believe that it was finally time to pull the trigger. I put the cross hairs on the top of its back and pulled. The loud shot filled the silent air.

The bulls had no idea what happened, they all put their heads up in wonder of what that noise was. They didn’t run or walk. They stood still, waiting for me to jack another shell. To our advantage, we were a good distance away, the wind was in our favor and we were hidden. The bulls had no idea we were there.

I jacked in another shell and pulled up on the animal for a second shot, except for this time the trigger would not pull. My safety had jammed. I jacked in and out another shell, pulled up on the animal, and again the trigger wouldn’t pull. I frantically jacked in and out shells and banged on the gun to try to get my safely to release. Finally I was able to slam the safety out of the fire position, into safe, and back into the fire position. That was the ticket, because the next pull sent a killing shot right behind the shoulder of the 6×6.

I  ended up shooting two more times. Even after my last shot the 6×6 stayed standing. He swayed back and forth, back and forth. It was amazing to watch the elk go from being wild, to becoming a memory that I could physically show my kids someday. Not until the 6×6 fell over did the other two bulls jog away. The defining moment had passed. The result of that moment was a “Once in a Lifetime” North Dakota trophy bull elk.

It made it even better to be able to share this experience with my dad. My dad is the one who instilled an interest in hunting in me and there is no way I could appreciate this North Dakota elk hunt without his teaching.

The elk was harvested in the true spirit of the North Dakota hunting heritage. Besides paying for equipment and gas, there was no money paid to harvest this animal. No landowners were paid for access. My trophy 6×6 was killed on public land. It was a completely “Fair Chase” hunt. The elk that we hunted were wild and free to elude my every effort.

To compliment this hunt, the landowners that I did work with or visited were extremely helpful and inviting. One landowner was even nice enough to take three hours of his Saturday to drive me around my elk unit. He gave me priceless advice on where the elk travel, successful ways to hunt them and he showed me where he and others have harvested elk. Even though I harvested my elk on public land, I had permission to hunt quite a bit of private land. A couple landowners I spoke to chose not to grant me access, but they were very polite about it. This hunt has elevated my impression of North Dakota landowners.

So, to sum things up, my “Once in a Lifetime” North Dakota elk hunt, proved to be just that, a once in a lifetime hunt. Answered prayers, hard work, a forgiving wife, a good dad, helpful sportsmen and generous landowners made this North Dakota elk hunt a success.

By no means am I an expert, but for those of you who are reading this who draw an E4 North Dakota elk tag in the future, please feel free to look me up. I would be happy to share the information I collected. Getting tapped into the knowledge of the sportsmen and landowners of North Dakota will be the key to your hunt. I know it was the key to mine.

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It’s March and time to think about moose, elk and bighorn sheep hunting. While the fall seasons are still half a year away, the license application process begins and ends in March. If you want to have even a small chance of hunting one of North Dakota’s special big game species, the most important step is submitting an application before the March 23 deadline.

Like all North Dakota big game hunts, the application period is well ahead of the actual hunting season. This usually gives hunters plenty of time to plan and prepare once they learn if they have a license, and that’s especially important for the “Big Three” because a license for any one of these species is once in a lifetime.

While the odds of drawing a moose, elk or sheep license are slim, it’s even a good idea to think about how you will fit in a hunt for one of these species before you apply. Most hunters who receive one of these coveted licenses spend a great deal more time in preparation and in actual hunting than you would normally devote to hunting deer.

Here’s a rundown on the big three species and some things to consider before you apply.

Elk

Last year, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department made available 219 elk licenses and 12,052 prospective hunters applied, which breaks down to one lucky hunter for every 55 who sent in their $3 fee.

As long as those odds seem, an elk license is the easiest to get of the big three. On the other hand, elk are the hardest big game animal to hunt in North Dakota. Hunters contemplating submitting an application must realize that less than half the hunters who get elk licenses actually tag an elk. That’s by far the lowest hunter success rate for any North Dakota big game species.

Elk hunting in the badlands is not easy, whether it’s the early season in August when temperatures can rise above 90 degrees, or a later season when more winter-like conditions prevail.

Some elk hunters, including those who are physically prepared, did a lot of scouting and lined up several places to hunt, may go several days without even seeing an elk.

Drawing an elk tag means pre-season scouting trips to look for elk and line up land on which to hunt. Connecting with landowners is as important as choosing a gun and ammunition. The next step is getting in shape so you can walk several miles a day in badlands terrain.

I don’t mean to discourage potential applicants, but it’s important to go into the drawing knowing what lies ahead if you’re one of the lucky numbers the computer selects.

Moose

If you draw a moose tag, odds are that you’ll fill it. Last year, hunter success was 86 percent statewide.

Getting a license, however, was the hard part. Game and Fish offered 135 licenses, and 13,244 people applied, for odds of about one in 98.

Moose are the largest big game animal in North Dakota. That size adds another element for which to prepare, in addition to scouting and landowner contacts.

Don’t believe me? Years ago on a poached moose case I was stuck by myself field dressing an average sized moose. The body cavity literally engulfed me. Even with the proper equipment on flat terrain, and a heavy duty electric winch and ramp, I nearly broke my full sized Dodge in two trying to load the enormous creature into the box of my pickup.

If you care to practice, offer to field dress and butcher a cow — by yourself. My point is, if you’re going to apply for a moose or elk license, know what might lie ahead and be willing to prepare for it.

Bighorn Sheep

Compared to bighorn sheep, elk and moose licenses are easy to get. Last year, Game and Fish offered three bighorn licenses for the lottery, which attracted 8,338 suitors, or one license for every 2,779 applicants.

While bighorn hunter success is typically 100 percent, it’s a physically demanding badlands hunt that can require many days afield … not a bad thing, unless you’re not prepared for it.

One other thing: most North Dakota bighorn hunters consider any sheep they tag as a true trophy and take the head to a taxidermist, so if you’re applying for a bighorn license, factor that into your expense account.

The bottom line is, moose, elk and bighorn sheep are the crème de la crème of big game hunting in North Dakota. As you deliberate over filling out and submitting an application by the March 23 deadline, ask yourself if you are ready to devote the necessary time and effort to make it truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you’re lucky enough to draw a license.

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North Dakota doesn’t have many bighorn sheep, but vast appreciation and genuine curiosity from hunters and non-hunters alike more than compensate for lack of population.

While this could be said for many North Dakota fish and wildlife inhabitants, the bighorn sheep fills a niche as the only kind of wild sheep in the state.

As with any subject matter, knowledge creates a greater appreciation.

For years, scientists debated the basic classification of North America’s bighorn sheep. North Dakota had a native bighorn that was called the Audubon. This animal became extinct in the early 1900s.

North Dakota did not have any wild sheep from that time until the mid-1950s, when bighorns from British Columbia were transplanted here. Sheep from that area were considered a subspecies called California bighorns, while sheep from much of the West were called Rocky Mountain bighorns.

North Dakota remained home to California bighorns until recently when scientific genetic investigations determined that California, Rocky Mountain and Audubon sheep were in fact all the same species.

While on the surface this may not seem like an earth-shattering discovery, it will likely make a significant difference in North Dakota.

From 1956 on, North Dakota sheep management was focused on California bighorns. Transplants had to come from areas where the California subspecies lived, such as British Columbia, Idaho and Oregon, all of which are long distances away and contain habitat that is not all that similar to North Dakota badlands.

Since Rocky Mountain bighorns were considered a different subspecies, they couldn’t be brought into North Dakota, even though they lived a lot closer, because they would mix with the Californias.

The logical train of thought was that introducing the same strain of sheep would make for better odds of long-term success.

The recent re-examination of bighorn sheep changed that philosophy and herein lies the result. This past January, 19 bighorn sheep were transplanted to North Dakota from Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses both sides of the Fort Peck Reservoir on the Missouri River in eastern Montana. The sheep that live in the Missouri Breaks on the western end of CMR are considered as Rocky Mountain bighorns and previously were not an option for transplanting, though they live only a couple hundred miles from North Dakota.

Now that the former California bighorns are also considered as Rocky Mountain sheep, a new era of bighorn management is underway.

When opportunities for getting new sheep are available, as they were this year, the closer proximity means less travel stress for the animals, so it makes sense that transplanting sheep from Montana would have the potential to yield better short- and long-term results than moving animals from Oregon or Idaho.

Beyond location, habitat similarity is another benefit. The Missouri River Breaks has similar grass, soil, elevation, and other crucial elements to a successful transplant. In this best-case scenario, as the sheep are released biologists hope after a few moments in the North Dakota badlands the new inhabitants will think, “This is just like home.”

The most recent transplant pushed the state’s bighorn population to 250. With a future goal of carrying 300 bighorn sheep, more work remains.

Safe lambing grounds are a key factor. Bighorn sheep need considerable acres of rough terrain and limited disturbance where ewes can easily watch out for danger.

While visibility and terrain are more features of geography, disturbance is a human factor.

Deep in the heart of the badlands, the possibility of human disturbance would seem limited. But any amount of disturbance to lambing sheep will result in abandonment, no matter how clear the sight path or steep and rugged the terrain.

Disease issues also weigh heavy on bighorn sheep populations. Less than a decade ago North Dakota sheep experienced a massive die-off south of Interstate 94. Dozens of sheep deaths were linked to bacteria called Pasteurella haemolytica — a strain that kills bighorns and is carried in domestic sheep and goats.

Even if sheep survive exposure to the disease, research has shown residual effects can result in lamb mortality from pneumonia for up to five years. This domino affect of disease, mortality and low reproductive success is an equation that can take decades to overcome.
Current policy with the U.S. Forest Service limits domestic sheep and goats from grazing on Forest Service land within 10 miles of known bighorn sheep habitat. This buffer zone minimizes interaction, but there is nothing keeping this from happening on private land within bighorn country.

Current Game and Fish Department policy calls for immediate dispatching of any bighorn interacting with domestic sheep. The historical die-off and documented potential to wipe out entire herds is too great of a threat.

While the bighorn sheep population will likely never rival that of other states, these animals are an invaluable piece of the beautiful puzzle that is North Dakota.

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