North Dakota access is in jeapardy please help

bobman

Member
this is happening now so please help North Dakota has great access and the special interests are trying to shut it down go to the bottom and copy the email addresses of all the state senators and tell them to vote no


ND's current hunting law for trespass is that you can hunt private land that is not specifically posted No Hunting. Our current law has stood for ninety years. That may change with SB-2315, just introduced in the ND State Legislature.



If you hunt ND then the ND sportsmen need your help and you will help yourself too. Last summer I attended a series of meetings held with the ND Stockmen's Asc. , ND Game & Fish, and various state hunting organizations.



The Stockmen are bring a NO HUNTING/NO TRESPASS bill into the legislature that would automatically post all private land. It failed last session by a 2/3 majority. This bill is regularly defeated in previous sessions but this time it is being heard in the Ag Committee, instead of Natural Resources. Pretty tricky. No doubt it will pass in committee and go to a floor vote. It is the same blueprint used last year in Idaho by ag groups there to shut down access.



THE BILL IS BEING FAST TRACKED THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE TO BYPASS SPORTSMEN OPPOSITION.



If passed, public hunting access will crumble as 93% of ND is private land. The Stockmen's Asc. are working on the theory that you don't have to ban guns, just make ammo inaccessible and get the same result. Then public hunting in ND will be pay-to-play. Money is the motivator.



The ND Wildlife Federation, ND Bowhunter's Asc., United Sportsmen of ND, ND Sportsmen's Etree and many county and local wildlife clubs oppose this bill. But we need help.



The dollars visiting sportsmen spend at local businesses while here make an impact with legislators as all legislative districts receive tourism revenue during hunting season. Food, beverage, lodging, & fuel are big expenses.



The bill # is SB-2315. Underlined portions are the new bill language if you wish to read it:

https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/66-2019/documents/19-0896-01000.pdf



Let our State Senators know your thoughts on SB-2315, No Hunting/No Trespass, polite and concise. This is the email block for all ND State Senators:




hcanderson@nd.gov , jbakke@nd.gov , bbekkedahl@nd.gov , raburckhard@nd.gov , dclemens@nd.gov , dcook@nd.gov , kdavison@nd.gov , ddever@nd.gov , jdotzenrod@nd.gov , madwyer@nd.gov , jayelkin@nd.gov , rerbele@nd.gov , rfors@nd.gov , jgrabinger@nd.gov , jheckaman@nd.gov , khogan@nd.gov , dhogue@nd.gov , rholmberg@nd.gov , jkannianen@nd.gov , jklein@nd.gov , kkrebsbach@nd.gov , ckreun@nd.gov , olarsen@nd.gov , dklarson@nd.gov , galee@nd.gov , jlee@nd.gov , lluick@nd.gov , rmarcellais@nd.gov , tmathern@nd.gov , scottmeyer@nd.gov , jmyrdal@nd.gov , eoban@nd.gov , doehlke@nd.gov , aosland@nd.gov , dpatten@nd.gov , mpiepkorn@nd.gov , npoolman@nd.gov , lrobinson@nd.gov , jroers@nd.gov , kroers@nd.gov , drust@nd.gov , dgschaible@nd.gov , rsorvaag@nd.gov , jkunruh@nd.gov , svedaa@nd.gov , tmwanzek@nd.gov , rwardner@nd.gov





Your help is appreciated by most everyone who hunts in ND. If you frequent other hunting boards pass this on.
 
Never knew this aspect prior to joining here. Is North Dakota unique in the way it currently is regarding private land posting?

Interesting.
 
Yes the current law is if it’s not posted and there are no standing crops you may hunt it without having to find the owner.

The commercial hunting lobby is trying to turn it into another South Dakota / Texas

As most people are aware finding land owners can be very difficult so the current North Dakota system is really hunter friendly

FWIW if the landowner is available I always ask as a curtesy.
 
At the risk of being cannibalized on here I don't think anyone should have an automatic right to trespass on someone else property without expressed permission. Yes I am an out of state hunter
 
As it is, most large tracts of land are posted with the landowners name and phone number. Calling usually results in the comment that they are saving it for deer season and that you are welcome to hunt it after the deer season. This will mostly affect those small bunch of cattails that extend from Plots or public land into the adjacent wheat stubble. If it is not posted it is fair to walk through. In the few cases where I have seen a farmer and asked, they could care less or mention that there is another patch on the other side of the road that usually holds birds. The way the system is set up has worked well for years, unfortunately as bobman says this is probably based in making North Dakota like South Dakota with more pay to play areas. Finding a landowner to get permission is tough, often times the land is rented to someone else and than you have to find them. OnX is a great program to tell you who is paying taxes, but doesn't give you the cell number of the person farming it. As a nonresident I don't feel I have or should have much say in how residents run their state. All I know is that changing the law will make access harder and especially turn off younger hunters who don't have the time or money to track down landowners who in most cases could care less. Passing this law change will be a big step in the wrong direction for the small time family hunter with limited time and financial resources.
 
FWIW this plea for help preserving the current law came from ND resident hunter organizations
This rule benefits all hunters

They are asking for our help all you need to do is take 5 minutes to compose a email
 
FWIW this plea for help preserving the current law came from ND resident hunter organizations
This rule benefits all hunters

They are asking for our help all you need to do is take 5 minutes to compose a email

unless a name and phone number is posted, it is almost impossible to find a landowner.
in the end, the state will see hunter revenue plummet.
 
I just sent an email to all the senators. I haven't hunted ND yet, but I do plan to in the future. I have spent time in ND on work assignments, and from talking to locals it seems that the trespass laws have worked just fine for quite a long time.
 
I am worried about the future if this passes. It is going to be a different world down the road. Farms are getting larger and people that live out of state are inheriting land that is being rented to these large farms. It will be very hard to get a hold of someone who is farming over 10,000 acres and working hard in Oct. to wrap up their harvest. They even farm land 20-30 miles away from where they live. People don't answer phones any more without knowing the number calling. Unlike SD ditches are not automatically open to hunting.

The people who I have permission to hunt from are not young. In fact one recently passed away. Without access to unposted land the future looks pretty murky as far as hunting opportunities go. I know my ONX
app shows landowners that have passed away years ago. That can't always be counted on.
 
Last edited:
please take the few minutes to send the email to the politicians and let them know


I am worried about the future if this passes. It is going to be a different world down the road. Farms are getting larger and people that live out of state are inheriting land that is being rented to these large farms. It will be very hard to get a hold of someone who is farming over 10,000 acres and working hard in Oct. to wrap up their harvest. They even farm land 20-30 miles away from where they live. People don't answer phones any more without knowing the number calling. Unlike SD ditches are not automatically open to hunting.

The people who I have permission to hunt from are not young. In fact one recently passed away. Without access to unposted land the future looks pretty murky as far as hunting opportunities go.
 
It is a much bigger deal for ND waterfowl hunters. I would say 97% or more of decent private land pheasant cover is posted. Might be in-part because ND whitetail and ND pheasant cover are largely the same.

Still a bad trend for ND ... especially it's residents.
 
Really not trying to stoke any fires here. Just thinking about the situation after following it here & in the ND section. I've never hunted in ND. For hunters, the benefit of the current law is painfully obvious. I can see that for landowners who truly don't care whether people hunt their land, not having to answer the door/phone during Sunday lunch might be handy. But how many of those people are there...really? Don't most people probably want to at least know that there are people on their land with guns? I suppose if the answer is yes, they post their land. Doesn't seem like a big deal. But why should they have to go through the trouble? I'm sure glad I don't have to post my house as being off limits to others without permission. I mean....it's MY house. Laws are laws & we know how the legislative process works. And usually, that's a good thing. I have no idea if this is a case of somebody with an axe to grind trying to fix something that's not broken. But it seems to me that the people who should have the most say in this are the landowners. Hunters, specials interests, commercial outfits, etc. obviously deserve to be heard. But at the end of the day, it belongs to the landowner. If you want the law to remain as-is, I'd persuade landowners who feel the same way to make themselves heard. Either way, though, it's obviously one of those slippery slope situations.
 
Really not trying to stoke any fires here. Just thinking about the situation after following it here & in the ND section. I've never hunted in ND. For hunters, the benefit of the current law is painfully obvious. I can see that for landowners who truly don't care whether people hunt their land, not having to answer the door/phone during Sunday lunch might be handy. But how many of those people are there...really? Don't most people probably want to at least know that there are people on their land with guns? I suppose if the answer is yes, they post their land. Doesn't seem like a big deal. But why should they have to go through the trouble? I'm sure glad I don't have to post my house as being off limits to others without permission. I mean....it's MY house. Laws are laws & we know how the legislative process works. And usually, that's a good thing. I have no idea if this is a case of somebody with an axe to grind trying to fix something that's not broken. But it seems to me that the people who should have the most say in this are the landowners. Hunters, specials interests, commercial outfits, etc. obviously deserve to be heard. But at the end of the day, it belongs to the landowner. If you want the law to remain as-is, I'd persuade landowners who feel the same way to make themselves heard. Either way, though, it's obviously one of those slippery slope situations.

I agree 100% with everything you stated. From your 3rd sentence to never having hunted ND, clear through the last sentence. As great as it is for sportsman, the landowners are the landowners.
 
It is about tradition and this tradition runs deep in ND. Those that have not hunted in ND would not understand. In fact unless you are a resident and grew up in ND, you may not truly understand. It is not difficult to post in legal post land to no hunting in ND. On enclosed fenced property one must only post on the gated access points. General ag land requires a sign every 880 acres (half mile). A square mile of land would only require eight signs. Many landowners that really want to keep people out or have leased their land use permanent metal signs.

Further it is illegal to hunt unharvested crops and it is illegal to hunt within 1/4 mile (440 yards) of occupied buildings (premises) with out permission of the landowner.



Regarding traditions this is no different with ditch hunting in SD. ND does not allow ditch hunting adjacent to posted land since the landowner actually owns the land to the middle of the road. The easement allows travel and utilities, but little else. Minnesota has an open trespass rule (posting mandatory to prevent access). The difference is ... in MN the rule only pertains to woodlands. Ag land is exempt and does not require posting to prevent access.

This is no different than the public waters definition in Minnesota (very pro fisherman / hunter):
Public waters are not determined exclusively by the proprietorship of the underlying, overlying, or surrounding land or by whether it is a body or stream or water that was navigable in fact or susceptible of being used as a highway for commerce at the time this state was admitted to the union.

Minnesota Statute 103G.005, Subdivision 15a
Public Waters Wetlands means:
All types 3, 4, and 5 wetlands as defined in United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Circular No. 39 (1971 edition), not included within the definition of public waters, that are ten (10) or more acres in size in unincorporated areas or 2.5 acres or more in incorporated areas.



The fight on what is public water and what is private water has been ongoing in many states also. Montana being the state getting most of the press.
 
Last edited:
How is the state legislature going to turn Federal land over to the state? They don't have that authority.

Fairly sure this is being set up to be ready for the Federal Government land sale / transfer ... if / when it occurs. This is an issue across the west.
 
Back
Top