North Dakota has long been a state that allows hunting access on private land without asking permission unless the land is physically posted. Every recent legislative session, including the 2019 session, has had a bill introduced to change the law to all land is considered closed to hunting access without being posted. The total closure bill failed, but a related bill established an Interim Committee to study access on private and public land. The Interim Committee drafted the electronic posting bill that passed the 2021 Legislature and extended the Interim Legislative Committee for two additional years.
The electronic posting bill that replaces physical posting has been a success for both landowners and hunters and anglers, but there has been no action from the Interim Committee to address the other issues to improve access to public and private lands.
The Committee has met only once on December 15, 2021, with no future meetings planned. If access is to be improved then the Committee must address specific issues such as land-locked or hard to access public lands, allowing NDGF to purchase land using their approved budget, the onerous provisions that NGO’S must use to purchase land, etc.
Therefore, the ND Chapter, The Wildlife Society, and the ND Wildlife Federation request the Interim Committee take steps to address specific issues to improve access.
