North Dakota Game and Fish sets 2022 deer season; application deadline is June 8
May 6—BISMARCK — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has set the 2022 deer gun season and is offering 64,200 licenses, down 8,000 from last year, the department said Friday.
Any-antlered licenses decreased by 150 from last year, any-antlerless by 350, antlered whitetail by 4,150 and antlerless whitetail by 3,700. Antlered mule deer licenses remained the same, and antlerless mule deer licenses increased by 350.
In addition, muzzleloader licenses decreased by 168 and restricted youth antlered mule deer licenses remained the same.
"Epizootic hemorrhagic disease dramatically reduced white-tailed deer numbers along the Missouri River and parts of some western hunting units," Casey Anderson, wildlife chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said in a statement. "As a result, license allocations in some units were dramatically reduced."
Applicants for regular deer gun, gratis, youth and muzzleloader
can apply online
through the Game and Fish Department's website at gf.nd.gov.
The deadline for applying is June 8.
As stated in the 2022-23 chronic wasting disease proclamation, hunters shooting a deer in units 3A1, 3A2, 3B1, 3C, 3D1, 3E2, 3F2, 4B and 4C cannot transport the whole carcass outside the unit, with the exception that hunters can transport the whole deer carcass between adjoining CWD carcass-restricted units.
Also in the CWD proclamation, it is unlawful for hunters to hunt big game over bait, or place bait to attract big game for the purpose of hunting, in deer hunting units 1, 2B, 3A1, 3A2, 3A3, 3A4, 3B1, 3C, 3D1, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F.
"Last fall, 26 deer were harvested during the hunting season that tested positive for CWD, including three in new units," Anderson said, noting the new units were 3C, 3D1 and 3E2. "This has consequently altered deer management strategies in those and surrounding units."
North Dakota's 2022 deer gun season opens at noon Friday, Nov. 4, and continues through Nov. 20.
A general game and habitat license is required when applying for a deer license. If the applicant has not already purchased one for the 2022-23 season, the license will be added to their cart upon checkout. The applicant has the option of having the general game and habitat license refunded if their deer license is not drawn in the lottery.
Gratis applicants who have previously applied online will automatically have their land description carried forward to this year's application. However, any changes with land descriptions from last year's application must be made before submitting the 2022 application.
Gratis applications received on or before the regular deer gun lottery application deadline will qualify for an any-legal-deer license. As per state law, gratis applications received after the deadline will be processed based on licenses remaining after the lottery. Generally, only antlerless licenses remain.
Total deer licenses are determined by harvest rates, aerial surveys, depredation reports, hunter observations, input at advisory board meetings and comments from the public, landowners and department field staff.
