North Dakota's bighorn application deadline this year is going to be Wednesday, March 21st.

When available, the on-line application may be found at:
https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/gnf/onlineservices/lic/.../lotterypurchase.htm

When available, you should find the regulations here: http://gf.nd.gov/licenses/regs.html


Note that I've place this information under "General Talk" as I'm uncertain where to put it otherwise. This is because North Dakota was, until 2006, a California Bighorn state. As a result of transplanting Rocky Mountain Bighorns from Montana, the sheep are destined to become a mix. As we know, groups that keep separate records (unlike Boone & Crockett) on Rocky Mountain and California bighorns will now have to consider these mixed sheep as the Rocky variety. At what point the game department will lose the ability to know which rams are what subspecies is the point at which (I'm supposing here) North Dakota rams will have to be considered Rocky Mountain Bighorns.

From: http://gf.nd.gov/news/current.html#bigthree

Bighorn Sheep, Elk and Moose Seasons Set 030507

Additional elk and moose hunting opportunities highlight the 2007 special big game seasons, according to Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Applications will be available the middle of this week. The deadline for submitting applications is March 21.

Six bighorn sheep licenses are available in four units, the same as last year. One license is available in units B1, B2 and B3; two in Unit B4; and one license auctioned through the Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.

In an effort to increase the harvest of older rams, opening day has been moved back on the calendar two weeks in order to coincide with the rut, Kreil said. Bighorn sheep regular season dates run from Oct. 12-28, with bow season from Oct. 5-28.

Bighorn sheep, moose, and elk lottery licenses are issued on an once-in-a-lifetime basis in North Dakota. Persons who have received a license through the lottery in the past are not eligible to apply for that species again.


Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter to Auction North Dakota Bighorn Sheep License 030507

The Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep will sell a North Dakota bighorn sheep license at its annual fundraiser and banquet March 17 at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest in Minnetonka, Minn.

North Dakota has auctioned a bighorn sheep license each year since 1986 to fund sheep projects in the state, raising $656,500. Last year's license, which sold for a record $49,500, was the seventh time it was auctioned at the Minnesota-Wisconsin chapter meeting. Prior to that, the license was sold at the national FNAWS convention.

In 1999 the North Dakota Game and Fish Department entered into a five-year agreement with the Minnesota-Wisconsin conservation group. In 2003, due to the success of the partnership, the agreement was extended an additional five years. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of the license, along with an additional annual grant of $25,000, are used to enhance management of North Dakota's bighorn sheep.

Written bids should be sent to: MN-WI Chapter FNAWS, Hunt Auction Permit, PO Box 892, Hudson, WI 54016. For more information contact John Coulter, auction chairman, 507-629-4755.

NOTE: This is the last auction tag for North Dakota for the foreseeable future. It will be turned into a raffle tag next year, with the raffle being run through MN-WI Chapter FNAWS.

The 2007 applications are now available.

If you wish to apply on-line, go to: https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/gnf/onlineservices/lic/.../lotterypurchase.htm


If you wish to print out and mail an application, those forms are also now available for viewing/downloading and/or printing.

The North Dakota resident application is at: http://gf.nd.gov/licenses/docs/sfn-6134.pdf

The non-resident application is at: http://gf.nd.gov/licenses/docs/sfn-6131.pdf

Good Luck!

Too bad they require a $100 o nonrefundable fee to apply. Kinda makes it a rich man's game. (nice pun)

Just a couple of FYI's...

The auction tag brought a record $50,000 on Saturday night, breaking the old record set just last year of $49,500.

The one "non-drawing" tag will remain an auction tag through at least 2008. The plans to turn it into a raffle tag starting next year have run into some bureaucratic traffic as I understand it. The tag may, or may not, turn into a fundraising "lottery" or "raffle" tag at some point in the future - but I understand it appears it won't happen until 2009 (or sometime thereafter).


From: NDGF newsletter - March 19, 2007

Department Receives $95,000 for Bighorn Sheep Management

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department received three checks totaling $95,000 at the March 17 Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep annual meeting in Minneapolis.

North Dakota’s 2007 bighorn sheep auction license, which allows the winning bidder the rare privilege of pursuing a North Dakota bighorn on a self-guided hunt, sold for a record $50,000. Along with an annual grant of $25,000, the Minnesota-Wisconsin conservation group also presented $20,000 to Game and Fish for last January’s transplant of 20 bighorns from Montana’s Missouri River Breaks.

The funds will be used to enhance management of North Dakota’s bighorn sheep, said Brett Wiedmann, big game biologist, Dickinson. “Minnesota-Wisconsin FNAWS continues to be a strong supporter of bighorn sheep management efforts in North Dakota,” Wiedmann said. “They see all the gains we have made, and their enthusiasm is reflected on a national level by the interest shown in our auction tag.”

The grant and license auction are part of a 10-year agreement, signed in 1999, between the Department and the Minnesota-Wisconsin conservation group.

Six licenses were issued in 2007, with one being auctioned by Minnesota-Wisconsin FNAWS and five allocated by lottery.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RamDreamer,

The North Dakota bighorn drawing has been held. You can search for your results at: https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/gnf/onlineservices/lic/...ot/lotterySearch.htm

You'll need to provide your social security number and birthdate.

My wife and I both received the "too bad, so sad, you didn't draw" e-mails about midday today.