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North Dakota bill targets Game and Fish Department’s CWD management efforts

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North Dakota bill targets Game and Fish Department’s CWD management efforts


BISMARCK – A bill introduced Monday, Jan. 13, in the North Dakota Legislature would prevent the Game and Fish Department from using hunting and fishing license dollars or application fees for research or management related to chronic wasting disease.

Introduced by

Reps. Bill Tveit, R-Hazen,

and

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Dori Hauck, R-Hebron,

HB 1236

would require that the department use license and application fees only for programs and administration not related to CWD.

“Hunting and fishing license fees and application fees … may be used only for department programs and administration unrelated to chronic wasting disease,” the bill states.

Sens.

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Mark Enget, R-Powers Lake,

and

Paul Thomas, R-Velva,

are carrying the legislation in the Senate.

The bill marks the

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second proposed legislation so far this session

to limit the Game and Fish Department in its efforts to manage CWD, a neurological disease that is always fatal to deer, elk and moose. On Jan. 7,

Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan,

introduced

SB 2137,

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a bill that would prevent the Game and Fish Department from prohibiting or restricting the use of supplemental feed on private land – a practice more commonly known as baiting – for big game hunting. A similar bill was introduced during the 2023 legislative session and overwhelmingly passed the House before being narrowly defeated in the Senate during the closing days of the session.

SB 2137 has its first committee hearing at 10:20 a.m. Friday, Jan. 17, before the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee. Anyone interested in

submitting testimony on the bill

can do so on the North Dakota legislative branch website at ndlegis.gov and doing a search for SB 2137 in the “Find a bill” window. A hearing for HB 1236 hadn’t been scheduled as of Tuesday morning.

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Brad Dokken joined the Herald company in November 1985 as a copy editor for Agweek magazine and has been the Grand Forks Herald’s outdoors editor since 1998.

Besides his role as an outdoors writer, Dokken has an extensive background in northwest Minnesota and Canadian border issues and provides occasional coverage on those topics.

Reach him at bdokken@gfherald.com, by phone at (701) 780-1148 or on X (formerly Twitter) at @gfhoutdoor.





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The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General

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The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor

March 4, 2026

Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210

BISMARCK, ND – It is the opinion that federal law does not prevent the state from auditing P&A and even though P&A possesses confidential records, N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1 and 42 C.F.R. § 51.45(c) authorize the state auditor and the employees of the auditor’s office, to review the records without detriment to P &A.

Also, whether Rule 1.6 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys prohibits P&A from disclosing to the State Auditor the contents of a client file for the purpose of conducting a non-financial performance audit under N.D.C.C. ch. 54-10 when the requested file includes information about individuals and businesses in the private sector who chose to contact P &A.

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This issue was already addressed in a 1995 opinion of this office regarding P&A. The 1995 opinion highlighted that P&A has authority to contract with private attorneys to represent private individuals. 17 During that performance audit, auditors asked to see billings from the contracted attorneys. 18 P&A redacted the names of the individuals represented by the contract attorneys under the rules for attorney-client privilege or attorney-client confidentiality. 19 The names of individuals seeking services of P&A are protected under N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3. The opinion stated:

Thus, P&A’s records which indicate to whom its services were provided are available to the State Auditor for performance audit purposes. The State Auditor has
been given access by P&A to its records other than the attorney’s billings. Therefore, the State Auditor already has access to the names of the persons to whom P&A
provides services. State law requires that the State Auditor and his employees must keep such information confidential.

Here, P&A has not identified a specific record. Given that, I rely on the past opinions declaring that records made confidential by N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3-10 are available under N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22 to the State Auditor and the Auditor’s employees for audit purposes.

Link to opinion 2026-L-01

###

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Angler may have broken North Dakota’s perch record on Devils Lake

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Angler may have broken North Dakota’s perch record on Devils Lake


FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Wisconsin angler may have reeled in a new North Dakota state record yellow perch on Devils Lake.

Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wis., caught the fish while fishing with Perch Patrol Guide Service’s Tyler Elshaug. North Dakota Game Warden Jon Peterson weighed the perch at 2.99 pounds and measured it at 16.5 inches at Woodland Resort.

The current state record perch of 2 pounds, 15 ounces was caught by Kyle Smith of Carrington, N.D., also on Devils Lake, on March 28, 1982.

The catch is still considered unofficial. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department requires a four-week waiting period to verify all details before officially recognizing a new state record.

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Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wis., caught the fish that has unofficially weighed at 2.99 pounds and measured it at 16.5 inches(Perch Patrol Guide Service)

Steve Dahl with Perch Patrol Guide Service confirmed the details to Valley News Live. Dahl said overall perch numbers on Devils Lake are down this year, but anglers are seeing more fish weighing over 2 pounds.

Devils Lake is one of North Dakota’s most popular ice fishing destinations, known for producing trophy-sized perch.



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The Democratic Spirit: Reflections on North Dakota History and the Declaration of Independence at 250 – America250

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The Democratic Spirit: Reflections on North Dakota History and the Declaration of Independence at 250 – America250


A state and national public forum comprising a lecture, and then a question-answer session. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s lecture commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and explore its enduring significance in American life. Appiah’s scholarship on ethics, identity, and cosmopolitanism offers a unique lens for examining democratic ideals in a diverse society. By connecting these themes to North Dakota’s historical narrative, the forum fosters civic engagement, intellectual discourse, and cultural understanding within our community.



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