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April 9, 2018
- Bighorn Sheep Population Declines
- NASP State Tournament Results
- Game and Fish Sponsors Earth Day Project
Bighorn Sheep Population Declines
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2017 bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs in March, revealed a minimum of 265 bighorn sheep in western North Dakota, down 11 percent from 2016 and 9 percent below the five-year average.
Altogether, biologists counted 91 rams, 149 ewes and 25 lambs. Not included are approximately 20 bighorns in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Big game biologist Brett Wiedmann said the survey count was the lowest since 2006.
“The decline in the 2017 count reflects the spread of bacterial pneumonia to three previously unaffected herds and consequently the adult and lamb mortalities that followed,” Wiedmann said.
The northern badlands population declined 10 percent from 2016, and the southern badlands population was down 21 percent.
“The total count of adult rams and ewes was much lower than the record high counts in 2016, but the lamb count and recruitment rate improved slightly in 2017, albeit still much below the long-term averages,” Wiedmann said.
Game and Fish Department biologists count and classify all bighorn sheep in late summer, and then recount lambs the following March, as they approach one year of age, to determine recruitment.
“Fortunately, adult mortality was low in previously affected herds, and lamb survival improved as well, which could indicate those herds initially exposed to the deadly pathogens in 2014 are beginning to recover,” Wiedmann said. “The next few years will be important in determining if the state’s population shows signs of recovering from the disease outbreak, or if the pathogens are likely to persist and cause a long-term population decline.”
Dr. Dan Grove, Department veterinarian, said that 20 adult bighorn were tested for deadly pathogens last winter, but results are still pending. He said animals continue to succumb to pneumonia, albeit at a much slower rate.
A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled to open in 2018, unless there is a recurrence of significant adult mortality from bacterial pneumonia. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after the summer population survey is completed.
Game and Fish issued five licenses in 2017 and all hunters were successful harvesting a ram.
 NASP State Tournament Results
While a spring snowstorm
kept some of the record 750 registrants from attending, 600 archers did compete
in the North Dakota National Archery in the Schools Program state bull’s-eye
tournament in Minot March 23-24.
Oakes students claimed top honors in the elementary (grades 4-6)
and middle school (grades 7-8) divisions, while Hankinson received the top
prize in the high school (grades 9-12) division.
The overall male winner was Hankinson archer Cheyne Meyer, while
Medina student Gracie Gunderson claimed the top spot in the female division.
Winning teams and the top 10 individuals qualify for the national
tournament, scheduled for May in Louisville, Ky. The Game and Fish Department
and North Dakota Youth Archery Advisory Council contribute a total of $3,000 in
travel assistance to the first place team in each division, and $1,000 to the
overall male and female individual winners. In addition, a total of $20,000 in
college scholarships was awarded by the NDYAAC to the top five overall scorers
in both boys and girls divisions.
Qualifying for nationals in each division are:
High school boys – 1) Cheyne Meyer, Hankinson; 2) Ty Wixo,
Wahpeton; 3) Conor Shall, Oakes; 4) Evan Mickelson, Mt. Pleasant; 5) Chase
Bladow, Hankinson; 6) Michael McKenna, North Sargent; 7) Clayton Stone,
Hankinson; 8) Koven Walford, New Rockford-Sheyenne; 9) Michael Heim, Oakes; 10)
Ben Frankki, Lidgerwood.
High school girls – 1) Gracie Gunderson, Medina; 2) Alicia Biewer,
Hankinson; 3) Kate Loewen, Hankinson; 4) Jaden Gilje, North Sargent; 5) Jaidyn
Sander, Hankinson; 6) Josephine Nelson, North Sargent; 7) Sydni Berg, Edgeley;
8) Avery Trittin, Lidgerwood; 9) Ainsley Helgerson, Oakes; 10) Mary Goroski,
Wahpeton.
Middle school boys – 1) Brady Sand,
Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg; 2) Casey Everson, Barnes County North; 3)
Joshua Wiebusch, Wahpeton; 4) Jack Thompson, Hope-Page; 5) Clancy Zimbelman,
Oakes; 6) Dillon Deering, Oakes; 7) Justin Schlenker, Barnes County North; 8)
Grady Henderson, Edgeley; 9) Avery McFarland, North Sargent; 10) Marcus Garza,
Oakes.
Middle school girls – 1) Rylee Suhr, Griggs County; 2) Lily Wiek,
Oakes; 3) Ariana Onchuck, Hankinson; 4) Mackenzie Motter, Hope-Page; 5) Jaycee
Brown, Hankinson; 6) Tallin Schafer, Lidgerwood; 7) Paetyn Hamann, North
Sargent; 8) Sadie Keller, Hankinson; 9) Trinity Brandenburg, Edgeley; 10)
Madison Sitzmann, Edgeley.
Elementary boys – 1) Brady Haugen, Griggs County; 2) Braysen
Sagert, Oakes; 3) Damian Carlson, Edgeley; 4) Colin Olson, North Sargent; 5)
Tucker Schacher, Wilton; 6) Wayland Sabinash, Kensal; 7) Connor Boe, Oakes; 8)
Bryson McKown, Wyndmere; 9) Zachary Quinn, Wilton; 10) Andrew Jean, Hankinson.
Elementary girls – 1) Madison Samuelson, Mt. Pleasant; 2) Shayle
Zimbelman, Oakes; 3) Carrie Osier, North Sargent; 4) Taya Schelske, Medina; 5)
Avery St. Germaine, Mt. Pleasant; 6) Merissa Sitzmann, Edgeley; 7) Danica
Onchuck, Hankinson; 8) Kaiya O’Connor, New Rockford-Sheyenne; 9) Serenity
Reynolds, Pingree-Buchanan; 10) Kiara Frederick, Wilton.
In addition, archers had the option of competing in a NASP 3-D
Challenge, run simultaneously with the bull’s-eye tournament.
Overall male and female winners were Brady Sand,
Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg, and Gracie Gunderson, Medina.
Andrew Hill of Oakes was the winner of a pronghorn hunt in
Wyoming, with the winning score decided by a one arrow shoot-off from the top
five overall archers.
Top performers in the 3-D high school boys were 1) Andrew Hill,
Oakes; 2) Chase Bladow, Hankinson; 3) Conor Shall, Oakes; 4) Tavon Stadler,
Griggs County; 5) Evan Mickelson, Mt. Pleasant.
3-D high school girls – 1) Gracie Gunderson, Medina; 2) Jaidyn
Sander, Hankinson; 3) Josephine Nelson, North Sargent; 4) Kate Loewen,
Hankinson; 5) Avery Trittin, Lidgerwood.
3-D middle school boys – 1) Brady Sand,
Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg; 2) Joshua Wiebusch, Wahpeton; 3) Clancy
Zimbelman, Oakes; 4) Jack Thompson, Hope-Page; 5) Maxin Walock, Oakes.
3-D middle school girls – 1) Piper Suhr, Griggs County; 2) Rylee
Suhr, Griggs County; 3) Kyria Dockter, New Rockford-Sheyenne; 4) Paetyn Hamann,
North Sargent; 5) Aysia Frederick, Wilton.
3-D elementary boys – 1) Damian Carlson, Edgeley; 2) Braysen
Sagert, Oakes; 3) Colin Olson, North Sargent; 4) Alex Weisenburger, New
Rockford-Sheyenne; 5) Brady Haugen, Griggs County.
3-D elementary girls – 1) Madison Samuelson, Mt. Pleasant; 2)
Shayle Zimbelman, Oakes; 3) Merissa Sitzmann, Edgeley; 4) Carrie Osier, North
Sargent; 5) Skyler Foertsch, Hankinson.
Game and Fish Sponsors Earth Day Project
The North Dakota Game and
Fish Department is once again celebrating Earth Day by sponsoring clean-up days
on publicly owned or managed lands.
With Earth Day recognized April 22, each member of a school, Girl
Scout, Boy Scout, 4-H club or youth organization who participates in cleaning
up public lands through May will receive a specifically designed conservation
patch.
Last winter the Game and Fish Department sponsored a contest for
students ages 6-18 to design a North Dakota Earth Day Patch. Winners in the
three age categories were Brooke Livingston of Kenmare (6-9), Abbey Peterson of
Velva (10-13), and Deanna Rose of Grand Forks (14-18). Rose’s design was chosen
as the contest winner, and will be used on this year’s Earth Day patch.
Groups participating in the Earth Day project are encouraged to
take the following precautions to ensure safety: keep young people away from
highways, lakes and rivers; and only allow older participants to pick up broken
glass.
Interested participants are asked to contact Pat Lothspeich at
328-6332 to receive a reporting form for their project.
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