Today, the U.S. House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, a major step toward a bipartisan, five-year Farm Bill and renewed stability for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. At the heart of it: reauthorizing the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through 2031, one of the most important tools we have for supporting working lands while conserving habitat for upland birds and wildlife across the country. Next stop: the Senate. Congress now has an opp

The grasslands were formed by disturbance. Grazing by large herbivores (bison), large scale fires, and extreme weather patterns (drought, low precipitation averages, high wind events) create the perfect environment for our prairie ecosystem. Generations of humans have been drawn to the great plains for hunting opportunities and agricultural uses. Current uses of the grasslands such as livestock production, tourism (which includes hunting, biking, hiking, horseback riding,

By Nick Simonson Following some heavy snows and a windy week in the seven days leading up to opening morning of the 2026 turkey season on Sat. Apr. 11, hunters are apt to find good hunting for North Dakota’s largest upland bird, according to RJ Gross, Upland Game Biologist with the North Dakota Game & Fish Dept. (NDG&F). “They’re strutting pretty good. The next couple of weeks is pretty much peak breeding in North Dakota and they’re going to have one thing on their mind, they

In an effort to connect high school students with an early eye toward a career in fisheries, game management, wildlife enforcement and other related employment, the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) has initiated the agency’s new Explorer Program designed to help those young people get a better understanding of wildlife and fisheries careers, and help the department identify potential employees down the road. The new program kicks off this summer, and will offer an