Pronghorn surveys completed, outlook good for upcoming hunting season

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota Game and Fish (NDGF) Department big game biologists recently completed the annual aerial survey for pronghorns.

The 2024 pronghorn hunting season will have more opportunities for hunters in North Dakota.

“We’re going to have 1,265 licenses available for this hunting season, and that’s 845 licenses more than in 2023,” said Bruce Stillings, NDGF big game supervisor.

The July aerial survey indicated the overall pronghorn population is up about 30 percent from last year.

“We had higher adult survival and then better fawn recruitment from the fawns that were born in 2023. This year’s fawn-to-doe ratio was 50 fawns per 100 does, which is slightly better than 2023. The buck-to-doe ratio remains stable right at that, you know, 31 bucks per 100 does,” said Stillings.

Weather can play a key role in pronghorn populations.

“The winter of 2022-2023 was one of the most extreme on record, we saw about a 40% population decline, where this last winter was very mild and we saw a nice bump this summer,” said Stillings.

All seventeen pronghorn hunting units will be open in 2024.

“We’ve been able to open the eight units that we closed in 2023. Those northern badlands animals really made a nice jump. And then areas outside the primary range and the secondary range east of Highway 85 also showed some nice increases,” said Stillings.

The aerial survey is conducted using fixed-winged airplanes from July 1 through July 14.

“We cover over 13,000 square miles within about a ten-day period. This year we classified just over 1,200 groups of pronghorn that resulted in about just over 7,000 animals,” said Stillings.

In order to keep pronghorn populations heading in the right direction, we will need nonextreme winters and good fawning habitat.

The application deadline for the 2024 pronghorn lottery is August 7. Applicants can apply online on the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov

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