Wildlife artist Chuck Black, a UND alumnus and winner of the 2023 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, will be the keynote speaker for this year’s Glenn Allen Paur Lecture. Black, of Belgrade, Montana, graduated from UND in 2010 with a degree in wildlife biology. His presentation, “Conservation Storytelling: The Power of Art,” is scheduled for noon on Friday, April 26, in the Memorial Union Henry Family Ballroom 220 on the UND campus. A reception will precede Black’s lecture at 11 a.m. The UND Chapter of The Wildlife Society hosts the annual lecture series in honor of Glenn Allen Paur, a UND bio ..read more

DEER RIVER Foresters for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources used dynamite to blow up two enclosed wooden deer stands state officials say were permanently left on state land against state law. Neighbors in the area say the demolition was unsafe and unnecessary. Agency officials on Wednesday said the action didn't follow "DNR policy or reflect good judgment'' and that follow-up measures are likely. The action occurred on state land within the Bowstring State Forest, about three-quarters of a mile southwest of Bowstring Lake in Itasca County, within earshot of residences. The land ..read more

BISMARCK The North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently conducted its lotteries for the 2024 elk and moose seasons. The department offered 833 elk licenses to hunters this fall, an increase of 230 from last year, the Game and Fish Department said in a news release. Licenses in units E1E, E1W and E3 increased due to a stable to increasing elk population. Licenses in elk units E2, E4 and E6 remained the same as in 2023. A total of 242 moose licenses were available, a decrease of 15 from last year. Licenses in units M5, M6, M8 and M10 remained the same, as the moose population appears to b ..read more

WEST FARGO There’s something to be said for consistency. Not just because I’m an old man and don’t like change, either. Changing fishing regulations year to year and lake to lake can maximize management at the expense of confusion, leading to angler frustration. Same with hunting. Case in point: In my years with Game and Fish, I’ve seen deer license allocation range from a high of nearly 150,000 in 2008 to a low of 43,275 in 2015. The lottery system used to distribute the tags for the hunters is basically the same. While some tweaks and adjustments have been made, the foundation of the bo ..read more

Two retired professors with long histories of conservation work Erik Fritzell and Robert Seabloom have launched a campaign to raise at least $25,000 for an endowed ornithology scholarship at UND in honor of Dave Lambeth. Well known in Grand Forks birding circles and beyond, Lambeth has been dubbed the “Dean of Grand Forks Birders” by Mike Jacobs, former Herald editor and publisher. Jacobs writes the weekly “Always in Season” bird column that appears in the Herald’s Saturday Northland Outdoors section. Lambeth has been a leader of bird study and prairie conservation in North Dakota for decad ..read more

DULUTH Minnesota and Wisconsin wild turkey populations appear to be thriving, with both states coming off near-record spring hunting season harvests in 2023 and no sign yet of the mysterious decline in turkeys plaguing several southern states. That's the report from Department of Natural Resources wildlife officials heading into the 2024 spring turkey hunting seasons that start April 17 in both states. Minnesota hunters recorded their second-best season in 2023, trailing only the pandemic-fueled rush of hunters in 2020. Last year 53,574 permits were issued and 13,659 turkeys were registered ..read more

ALEXANDRIA Walleye season is either here or very near all across the Midwest. Now that walleyes are or will be fair game throughout walleye country, here are some things to keep in mind regarding walleyes. Some anglers are reporting the spawn happened a bit earlier than usual this year. The timing of the spawn varies from region to region, but it should be completed soon. After the spawn and throughout the summer, walleyes are often thought of as fish that like to be near deeper structures. While it’s true that these glassy-eyed fish often can be found near rockpile and points and sunken isla ..read more

BISMARCK The North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently paid more than $762,000 in taxes including more than $21,500 in Grand Forks County to counties in which the department owns or leases land. The 2023 in-lieu-of-tax payments are the same as property taxes paid by private landowners, the department said in a news release. The Game and Fish Department manages more than 200,000 acres for wildlife habitat and public hunting in 51 North Dakota counties. The department does not own or manage any land in Traill or Renville counties. Following is a list of counties and tax payments received ..read more

CROOKSTON Prairie grouse will take center stage when the Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society and the Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society host a joint meeting Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20. The indoor portion of the event, titled “Living on the Edge Prairie Grouse in the Aspen Parkland and Beyond,” will be held at the Crookston Inn and Convention Center, 2200 University Ave. This “special combining of our flocks” happens only once every four to six years, organizers say. The event gets under way at 12:30 p.m. Friday with an afternoon field tour of Polk County prairie sites, incl ..read more

PALMVILLE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, Minn. On a beautiful April Saturday when signs of spring were everywhere, a group of ambitious volunteers mainly university wildlife students spent a few hours outdoors helping wildlife. Specifically, habitat for sharp-tailed grouse. The students from The Wildlife Society chapters at the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University and a half-dozen-or-so other volunteers had converged on Palmville WMA with loppers and hand saws to cut brush that was encroaching on the open habitat sharp-tailed grouse need to survive and thrive. Located ..read more