North Dakota
“The Mule Deer Foundation values America’s public lands, essential for our hunters’ access to pursue mule deer and black-tailed deer in the West. We are concerned about the Senate’s reconciliation bill provision mandating that potentially millions of acres would be sold or transferred, as it lacks transparency and public input. We urge a thoughtful, transparent process that safeguards our hunting heritage while addressing land management challenges.”
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has finalized details for the 2025 deer season, announcing that 42,300 licenses will be available to hunters—7,800 fewer than last year. The drop reflects ongoing efforts to help the state’s deer population recover following recent environmental challenges.
We work across 18 states with multiple federal and state agencies looking at forests of all shapes and sizes trying to work out and implement a sustainable forestry plan.
A deep dive into the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, a groundbreaking piece of legislation aimed at preserving and restoring one of the continent’s most vital ecosystems.
December has come again. The season started with such promise, full of aspirations for massive antlers fitting perfectly in the empty space on the wall. A winter of deer steaks and chili enjoyed while retelling the story of conquest, of trials and tribulations that lead to the meal before you. A summer spent practicing with your rifle and optics, buying the newest “must have” gear, and watching every Mule Deer hunting video on the internet lead to a September full of deliberate scouting and combing the fields and sage flats for your target buck in anticipation of opening day.
The Bass Pro shops, and Cabela’s outdoor fund grant was generous enough to award the Mule Deer Foundation $250,000 that we can leverage with an additional $1.4 million in funds from other partners and internal sources. By combining these funds, we are implementing more than 27 projects on working lands and ranches across the Great Plains states resulting in improvements to over 55,000 acres of wildlife habitat.
The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) is excited to announce the approval of a $750,000 grant from the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Outdoor Heritage Fund. This generous grant will support our efforts to enhance big game connectivity and reduce habitat fragmentation in western North Dakota. The commission approved this funding as part of the Outdoor Heritage Fund matching grants program, which is entirely funded by oil and gas production tax revenue.
The Mule Deer Foundation applauds the signing of this Secretarial Memo to ensure that the full suite of USDA programs and resources are coordinated to sustain mule deer and other big game populations that migrate
The plains appear tame as a saddled horse and wild as a mustang in the same instant. Looking out over rolling hills and grazing deer everything seems possible and notching your tag appears a certainty. Hours later on your tenth blown stalk of the day, out of water, and running from a rattling sound under a rock, you are suddenly surrounded by the wild land Hugh Glass crawled across after being mauled by a grizzly 200 years ago.
The top 7 mistakes to avoid on your first western Mule Deer Hunt. I made all these mistakes in my western hunting career and dealt with the consequences of those mistakes so you can avoid them yourself this fall.
Armadillo eggs are a time-honored traditional appetizer of the Southwest. At the Mule Deer Foundation, we like to think of this appetizer as a great use of the excess mule deer grind left over at the end of the butchering day. For this Mule Deer Armadillo Eggs recipe we like to mix in 30% pork fat with our grind but whatever you have left over after your brats, or your summer sausage mix can work just as well. In fact, the more unique your blend of fat content and spices the better this appetizer becomes truly yours.
North America’s Great Plains, including parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and beyond; the expansive grasslands and mixed shrub habitats create the ideal habitat for Mule Deer.