Dry weather in prime duck territory might be more of a factor than high gas prices in determining whether North Dakota sees fewer out-of-state waterfowl hunters this fall, a state wildlife official says.

Most of the Missouri Coteau region has been dry, said Randy Kreil, the state Game and Fish Department's wildlife division chief.

"There is a lack of huntable water in much of the state," he said.

The prairie pothole region, a network of wetlands, stretches from central Iowa to northwest Alberta in Canada. In North Dakota, it stretches diagonally through the central part of the state. The most recent weekly report from the Agriculture Department shows much of that region is short on topsoil moisture, indicating how dry it has been.

The region is known for its ducks and geese, and to a lesser extent for other waterfowl such as tundra swan. The Game and Fish Department recently said that out of the 2,200 North Dakota swan licenses made available this year, more than 800 remain after the license lottery.

Carrie Whitney, the agency's licensing supervisor, said it is not unusual to have so many licenses left over.

"Most of them get picked up as the nonresidents are buying their waterfowl licenses in the next month or two," she said. "We've actually sold out every year."

North Dakota has had a swan season since 1988. This year's season is Oct. 4 through Jan. 2, 2009.

Whitney said she expects the swan license sellout trend to continue, though, "it depends upon gas prices, too. That will affect some of the nonresidents coming into the state this year," she said.

Kreil said lack of adequate rainfall in many areas is likely to be a bigger factor. Nonresident hunters who were frustrated by dry conditions in some areas last year "might rethink (coming) for a second year," he said.

Kreil said there is no way at this time of year to gauge the impact of high gas prices on the number of hunters coming into the state, because they can still buy licenses for such major seasons as deer and waterfowl.

"Some people will wait until the last minute," he said.

Fishing also cannot be used as a barometer. Game and Fish will not have license sales data compiled until next year, and fisheries chief Greg Power said no creel surveys are planned on major North Dakota lakes this year. But there are signs that the number of out-of-state anglers might be down this summer.

Judy Hoffer, tourism director for the Devils Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks the number of nonresident anglers is down slightly at the lake, which is generally considered a world-class walleye fishery.

A summer tournament sponsored by the Chamber did not have a full field of anglers for the first time in its 32-year history, she said. Overall, "I think a lot more of our travelers are closer in-state than so far out of state, like they have been in the past," she said.