Update on moose, elk and bighorn sheep populations and once-in-a-lifetime hunting licenses

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota’s moose, elk and bighorn sheep license applications are due March 27.

A moose, elk or bighorn sheep hunting license is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in North Dakota if you get drawn.

There will be more opportunities for hunters looking to harvest an elk in 2024.

“We increased them by 230 licenses. And so, most of that was up in the northeast. So, the total number of licenses for elk this year will be 833,” said Casey Anderson, wildlife division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

There will be a few less moose licenses available for hunters in 2024.

“So, moose in the state have done really well, especially out in the prairies. The northeast corner of the state, we still have the units that are closed to moose hunting. But for the rest of the state, they’re doing fairly well. And we’ve actually tried to increase the tags to the point where moose numbers come down. And so, this year we reduced the moose licenses by 15 because we are starting to put that downward trend on the population. And so, we’re to a total of 242 this year,” said Anderson.

Bighorn sheep populations in North Dakota in the last few years are doing pretty well.

“So, when you apply for bighorn sheep, we don’t give the results out until later in the summer. And that’s because we go out and we’re counting bighorn sheep, we’re classifying rams, trying to determine how many are available for hunters. And it’s usually a pretty small number, we’re only talking five, six licenses. So, we’re out there watching those, making sure that there isn’t a pneumonia outbreak that sometimes can occur,” said Anderson.

There are ways of improving your odds of getting drawn for a moose or elk license in North Dakota.

“If you wanted to just, say, hunt an elk or hunt a moose in North Dakota, our antlerless licenses are a pretty high draw rate compared to the antlered ones, obviously, those are the coveted ones that a lot of people are after. But sometimes you can be up in the 50-plus percent chance of drawing. Those aren’t the easiest hunts either. The antlerless hunts are sometimes harder than the bull hunts and any of those hunts can be very physically demanding,” said Anderson.

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