Photo by Michael H. Francis

Years ago, on a bitterly cold, windblown January day, I watched a pronghorn buck dash across the two-lane highway I was driving on. With the winter sun low on the Great Plains horizon, brutal blasts from the north created a snowstorm in the same way that hot, dry winds kick up sandstorms -- blowing dry, powdery snow into a blinding sheet of frozen particles. Not a cloud was to be found in the bluebird sky that day, but along that unprotected stretch of pavement, visibility was often next to zero because of that windblown snow.

I remember thinking how fortunate I was that the pronghorn had decided to cross while the wind had died just a little. He was far enough away that I wouldn’t have hit him, but in that blowing snow, I also wouldn’t have seen him.

And that would’ve been a shame!

What a privilege it is to see one of these animals at full run. What a privilege it is to be able to write about them -- and to hunt them.

Did you know that Antilocapra americana, the pronghorn, is the only species within the family Antilocapridae? It’s hard to dispute that this amazingly special animal is unique among all of the Great Plains big-game species.

Do a quick online search for information on the pronghorn, as I did after that brief encounter with my roadside antelope way back when. You’ll learn some other amazing things about these creatures -- for example, that fossils indicate that pronghorns have been around in their present form for more than a million years. Records suggest that, at one time, pronghorns on the American plains may have numbered close to 40 million. Can you imagine what that looked like?

Pronghorns can run at speeds approaching 60 miles per hour. And they have amazing vision: In a description of pronghorns found on the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Web site, author Antonia Gorog likens a pronghorn’s visual acuity to that of a human looking through 8X binoculars.

The bottom line is that pronghorns make the Great Plains even more special. These animals make their homes in portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas, and in numbers large enough to permit hunting. Recent mild winters also have helped their numbers grow throughout their range.

What follows is a look at prospects for the 2007 pronghorn hunting seasons in each of the Great Plains states. In general, you can expect pretty good hunting throughout the region.

The following information is based on data provided to Great Plains Game & Fish prior to the final determination of specific season dates and license quotas in some states. In every case, however, state officials suggested very little change, if any, from 2006 regulations. As a result, the following should accurately represent what has been adopted by all four states for the 2007 season.

NORTH DAKOTA
The most significant piece of information that North Dakota pronghorn hunters should keep in mind is this: “Pronghorn numbers are at or above objective in all management regions,” offered state biologist Bruce Stillings. “The statewide population estimate is 12,565.”

So, despite steps taken to manage for a stable population through expanding hunter opportunities, North Dakota’s pronghorn resource is strong.

Stillings also noted the effects of another mild winter. “There were no winter-related mortalities to collared pronghorns,” he said. The core message here is that North Dakota again should offer some of the best pronghorn hunting opportunities in the Great Plains.

This is especially important to non-residents who might be considering a pronghorn hunt, since unlimited archery tags are likely to be available.

Final permit and season frameworks hadn’t been set when I talked to Stillings, who expected things to be similar to last season’s framework. Here’s what that season looked like.