Rail road tracks

L

LABS HUNT

Member
Can somebody please help me out about the laws of hunting rail road tracks in ND? I have tried to review ND fish and game website, but can not find anything on the subject????? If there is a law covering this subject where can I find it????
 
The weird thing is that Ive been hunting the tracks for years.....I have never been approached by rail road workers when Ive been hunting. They just wave at me while I'm hunting. Also I have never encountered a land owner who's land abuts up to the tracks that I was trespassing. Then I would hear from locals in ND that would tell me " You can't hunt tracks" Anyhow when I tried to research the subject I can't find anything???
 
Growing up in ND I can tell you there almost no published information on this. Many active rail lines are now posted and closed to hunting via signs. After 911 there was much "talk" about trespassing on rail road right of ways being a national security risk.

Separately - remember that in ND the section lines are open for travel, but closed to hunting.
 
I dove into this years ago in SD as I was wondering the same thing. After numerous calls and e-mails I was finally able to get a answer from the railroad I spoke with and they stated that no you can't hunt the tracks as the tracks themselves are owned by the railroad (private property). Like others have said after 9/11 most all railroads are now posted with small signs stating it's private property, these signs are usually at road crossings. I was curious about this also as I used to hunt them with my dad in MN as a kid and never had any issues, and some of the tracks in SD look amazing and would most certainly hold birds and never get hunted.
 
Maybe I am missing something but why would anyone want to hunt railroad tracks? Upland game birds hang out in grassland, brush, crops, timber, and other natural cover. Not wood, metal, and gravel. Even if there was one there, you'd never sneak up close enough to get a shot at one unless it was blind.
 
Rail cars spill lots of grain…also, birds need gravel…I once saw over 100 sharptail on some tracks…walking on tracks in pheasant country is downright lethal if a dog or two are in the cover below…like road hunting with an aerial view!
 
Once the bird ducks into cover, wherever it may be, including a road ditch, they often will freeze in place…along comes hunter and dog, and dinner is served a few hours later!!!🥳
 
benelli-banger said:
walking on tracks in pheasant country is downright lethal if a dog or two are in the cover below
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So you're not technically hunting the tracks then. You're hunting the cover adjacent to it. Which is most likely private land.

Sounds like we need to call it what it is, "hunting the cover near railroad tracks," not actually hunting the railroad tracks.
 
Well, you might be walking on the tracks, or, the ditch adjacent, which is still off limits, it seems, as it’s private property. Not acting as the arbiter here, but the source I trust, who knows ND laws inside and out, says this isn’t legal…he pays close attention, he’s done time in a federal prison…he don’t want to go back!!!!🤪
 
gimruis said:
So you're not technically hunting the tracks then. You're hunting the cover adjacent to it. Which is most likely private land.

Sounds like we need to call it what it is, "hunting the cover near railroad tracks," not actually hunting the railroad tracks.
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You describe it being one way or another, I don’t think every hunter would only do it one way, or the other…I think I would be shifting back and forth between both sides of the tracks, checking things out…and walking the tracks, too…hard to know without being there! But I won’t be there, given what I’ve learned here…I can think of some spots I hunt that abut tracks…we get close, then turn around…can’t recall signage or not
 
Railroads have established easements (Federal governement created these some 100+ years ago mostly).

The easement is about 200 feet across ... to you have the rails, the ties and the rock in the elevated middle. The rail roads own the land in the ditches on both sides ... there is often good grassland, wood cover, willows, trees....

Some 40 years ago we had a couple of spots where we pheasant hunted (it was good) along tracks. We also had two fantastic goose pass shooting spots along railway tracks
 
As railway tracks are abandoned, there is much discussion on who should assume ownership.

Many abandon tracks get placed into public state ownership and are converted into bicycle, ATV/snowmobile, or even horse paths. MN has many, many of these long routes that are now public recreations sites. Trains are really constrained on grade (elevation change needs to be subtle if at all possible). Makes for great bicycle pathways.

There are a few spots in IA and at least one in MN where an old track bed became a hunting area. States like ND, SD, NE, and KS should consider converting abandoned track beds into public hunting areas where conflict would be low.
 
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Here is one example of a multi-use trail in IA (horses, bicycles, snowmobiles in winter) that is open to hunting also.

Maybe MN should give this some thought.

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BRITTMAN said:
The easement is about 200 feet across ... to you have the rails, the ties and the rock in the elevated middle. The rail roads own the land in the ditches on both sides ... there is often good grassland, wood cover, willows, trees....
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That is what I was getting at. You are hunting the easement on either side of the tracks, not the actual tracks. Its like saying we're hunting a pond on the prairie whereas you're actually hunting the cover like cattails around the pond and not the actual pond. I may be taking things too literal here but people often refer to hunting rail road tracks when that is really not accurate because they are hunting the easement of the tracks.
 
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