North Dakota
620,800
Duck Statewide Harvest
184,400
Goose Statewide Harvest
43,700
No. Waterfowl Licenses Sold Annually
15.0
Ducks Per Hunter
6.9
Geese Per Hunter
$20; general game and habitat license: $20; fishing, hunting, furbearer certificate: $2
Cost of Resident Waterfowl Hunting License
Early Canada goose $10; sandhill crane $10; swan: $10
Cost of Resident State Stamps and Permits
$25
Federal Duck Stamp
$153
Cost of Non-Resident Waterfowl Hunting License
Early Canada goose $50; spring light goose $50; swan: $30; sandhill crane $30; general game and habitat license: $20; fishing, hunting, furbearer certificate: $2
Cost of Non-Resident State Stamps and Permits
$25
Federal Duck Stamp
Photo by Forrest Carpenter
You owe it to yourself to hunt North Dakota at least once in a duck hunting lifetime. Only problem is, you can't do North Dakota just once.
Why is North Dakota so great? It has habitat, ducks and places to hunt. Add over-the-counter licenses for nonresidents, and the state gets an easy A rating.
The habitat part is straightforward: grass, water and grain make North Dakota duck heaven. From eastern potholes, fertile river bottoms and the central Prairie Coteau to the Missouri River and out to wetlands in the western grasslands, the Peace Garden State is a duck factory.
The ducks are there early, and the hunting for resident teal, gadwalls, mallards and wigeon can be spectacular. But the ducks are there late, too. When the residents move out, Canadian ducks move in, and diver hunting can be exceptional during the late October and November migration too.
Finally, the state has plenty of places to hunt. Between North Dakota's extensive PLOTS (Private Lands Open to Sportsmen program), wildlife management areas and more than 230,000 aces of federal waterfowl production areas, not to mention state school lands generally open to public hunting, you don't even have to knock on a door to find good hunting.
That said, knocking on doors can work, too. It's probably not as effective early for resident ducks (landowners tend to be protective of the teal and mallard broods they saw all summer). But when the migrants are swarming through, permission can be gained relatively easily. Bring a child along for an ace in the hole.
Don't overlook North Dakota as a goose hotbed, as hunters there took more than 184,000 geese in 2024-'25. And did we mention you can hunt sandhill cranes there too?
Notes: As of 2025, North Dakota has discontinued its statewide nonresident waterfowl license and created six new nonresident waterfowl zones, with a maximum of 14 consecutive days of hunting allowed across two zones. A new mandatory Waterfowl Habitat Restoration Stamp is also required.
— Compiled and written by Tom Carpenter
