The "Final" SB 2315 - Worst of Both Worlds

[Migrator Man]

I am both a hunter and a family member with land in ND (that most is NOT posted) and other states. While I do not see the value in this legislation for either the landowner or hunter - will not stop poaching, gates left open, trespassing, etc - I also do not see how this should ruin our hunting heritage in the state. I have had the good fortune to live and hunt in several states - MN, NE, WY, and others. All had laws where land was assumed posted with no access unless specifically provided. Yes, I MUCH prefer ND current law, but hunting was very much a strong heritage in those other states. Will it change how we hunt? Yes, for some or maybe most. Does it need to stop us from hunting and enjoying our time outside? I don't think it does. I hope that we can all adjust to whatever comes out of this mess and still enjoy our time in the field with family, friends, dogs, and kids.

Not many people hunt private land in WY because most of it is outfitted. A huge majority of the people in WY rely on the public land to hunt or otherwise would have nowhere else to go.

 

[midwesthunter]

I don't see what the big deal is about this bill passing. Do none of you ask landowner permission to hunt? If they didn't post it in years past they obviously don't care if people hunt or access their land just call them up and ask you will still probably be able to access their land. When I started hunting hardly anything was posted now nearly everything is posted where I hunt. Does that mean i have no where to hunt? Absolutely not I do what I've been doing for years asking the landowner if I can hunt when I see them. If I am not hunting locally say out of state like MT where all private land is also posted. I pull in to the ranch and speak with the landowner face to face sometime I get permission sometimes I don't but never once have I felt like my rights as a sportsman are being infringed upon because a landowner didn't give me permission. He owns the land I think he should have the final say who can and can't step foot on his land. Be respectful to the landowner and their property and you shouldn't have a problem gaining access. If you're the idiots driving down muddy section lines tearing the land up, leaving gates open that were closed, and leaving trash and unsightly animal remains all over then yes you probably will have a problem gaining access. This law isn't taking away your right to hunt or access public land. It's making you interact with landowners and actually ask for permission. I always ask for landowner permission even if it isn't posted and never once have I been turned down. In fact they are usually very appreciative that I asked saying not many people do that anymore but it is nice to know who is out there. Again you have to remember this is PRIVATE land. Im guessing none of you would let someone just set up camp in your front yard in Fargo or want people walking through your backyard without knowing who they are and what they are doing. This is no different it is their private land whether it is .25 acres or 10,000 acres it's still private. Show a little respect and just ask you might be surprised at how far that gets you.

To me not wanting this law passed boils down to one of two things laziness by not wanting to walk the extra miles to get to your hunting spot which you could previously drive to by crossing private land or a lack of respect/confidence/social skills whatever you want to call it by just call or better yet ask in person to access their land.

There are so many tools out there to find out who owns the land and contact information or finding other ways to access an area there really isn't any reason you can't still enjoy hunting out west. Before you start freaking out about not being able to access millions of acres of public land because you have to cross private which will now be posted put in a little extra work and contact the landowners.

No one said finding that trophy buck would be easy. You may have to put in a little extra work leg work to get to him and spend some extra time figuring out how to legally get in there but it is possible. If you aren't will to put in the extra work you probably don't really care that much about hunting anyways.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

I don't see what the big deal is about this bill passing. Do none of you ask landowner permission to hunt? If they didn't post it in years past they obviously don't care if people hunt or access their land just call them up and ask you will still probably be able to access their land. When I started hunting hardly anything was posted now nearly everything is posted where I hunt. Does that mean i have no where to hunt? Absolutely not I do what I've been doing for years asking the landowner if I can hunt when I see them. If I am not hunting locally say out of state like MT where all private land is also posted. I pull in to the ranch and speak with the landowner face to face sometime I get permission sometimes I don't but never once have I felt like my rights as a sportsman are being infringed upon because a landowner didn't give me permission. He owns the land I think he should have the final say who can and can't step foot on his land. Be respectful to the landowner and their property and you shouldn't have a problem gaining access. If you're the idiots driving down muddy section lines tearing the land up, leaving gates open that were closed, and leaving trash and unsightly animal remains all over then yes you probably will have a problem gaining access. This law isn't taking away your right to hunt or access public land. It's making you interact with landowners and actually ask for permission. I always ask for landowner permission even if it isn't posted and never once have I been turned down. In fact they are usually very appreciative that I asked saying not many people do that anymore but it is nice to know who is out there. Again you have to remember this is PRIVATE land. Im guessing none of you would let someone just set up camp in your front yard in Fargo or want people walking through your backyard without knowing who they are and what they are doing. This is no different it is their private land whether it is .25 acres or 10,000 acres it's still private. Show a little respect and just ask you might be surprised at how far that gets you.

To me not wanting this law passed boils down to one of two things laziness by not wanting to walk the extra miles to get to your hunting spot which you could previously drive to by crossing private land or a lack of respect/confidence/social skills whatever you want to call it by just call or better yet ask in person to access their land.

There are so many tools out there to find out who owns the land and contact information or finding other ways to access an area there really isn't any reason you can't still enjoy hunting out west. Before you start freaking out about not being able to access millions of acres of public land because you have to cross private which will now be posted put in a little extra work and contact the landowners.

No one said finding that trophy buck would be easy. You may have to put in a little extra work leg work to get to him and spend some extra time figuring out how to legally get in there but it is possible. If you aren't will to put in the extra work you probably don't really care that much about hunting anyways.

Read my post up above rookie.

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NDA has been searching for the perfect outdoorsman. I’m glad the search is over.

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Question for you: what’s easier, the way things are now or the way things will be if this bill passes?

 

[midwesthunter]

Read my post up above rookie.

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NDA has been searching for the perfect outdoorsman. I’m glad the search is over.

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Question for you: what’s easier, the way things are now or the way things will be if this bill passes?

Are you having problems accessing hunting now? If not then I don't see the problem. The landowners that let you access their land now aren't going to change their views just because a law was passed stating all private land is posted. The land that is not accessible other than by helicopter because its surround by inaccessible private land now isn't going to change either some landowners just won't let you on that is their right. This bill will have ZERO effect on the way I hunt none. I haven't had a problem yet finding enough land to hunt. Just because its posted doesn't mean you can't hunt you just need to ask.

 

[Kurtr]

The key difference is that MN and WY have 9x and 30x the amount of public land that ND has, and we can never create more here, due to the same bad lawmakers who have given these same special interests behind SB 2315 the power to veto public land creation in ND in previous sessions.

Lose unposted land -> lose 1M+ acres of access -> lose hunters -> lose funding -> lose habitat -> lose game populations. Repeat steps 3-6 ad nauseum = Nebraska.

WY Public Land = 60 Million Acres (>50% of the state)
MN Public Land = 17.6 Million Acres (24% of the state)
ND Public Land = 2.1 Million Acres (Just 5% of the state - not counting unposted lands: >1M Acres)

Nebraska is always at the bottom of the barrel for public access (only 800k Acres). That's ND's future if SB 2315 passes.

how much does SD have to lazy to look up but with the hills I bet a fair amount. Plus our walk in program is awesome in my eyes

 

[zoops]

Are you having problems accessing hunting now? If not then I don't see the problem. The landowners that let you access their land now aren't going to change their views just because a law was passed stating all private land is posted. The land that is not accessible other than by helicopter because its surround by inaccessible private land now isn't going to change either some landowners just won't let you on that is their right. This bill will have ZERO effect on the way I hunt none. I haven't had a problem yet finding enough land to hunt. Just because its posted doesn't mean you can't hunt you just need to ask.

I don't totally disagree with you but how about the landowner who farms 10k acres and could care less if you go hunt a pothole you saw some ducks using the night before? Tracking down farmers in October is not easy. You might say well get your permission before the season begins but that's tough to do with the nature of waterfowl...

 

[Kentucky Windage]

Are you having problems accessing hunting now? If not then I don't see the problem. The landowners that let you access their land now aren't going to change their views just because a law was passed stating all private land is posted. The land that is not accessible other than by helicopter because its surround by inaccessible private land now isn't going to change either some landowners just won't let you on that is their right. This bill will have ZERO effect on the way I hunt none. I haven't had a problem yet finding enough land to hunt. Just because its posted doesn't mean you can't hunt you just need to ask.

Did I say I was having problems? The system we have in place currently works just fine.

 

[Marbleyes]

how much does SD have to lazy to look up but with the hills I bet a fair amount. Plus our walk in program is awesome in my eyes

I did a quick google search and what I found says SD has over 5 million acres of public land.

 

[pointer]

Are you having problems accessing hunting now? If not then I don't see the problem. The landowners that let you access their land now aren't going to change their views just because a law was passed stating all private land is posted. The land that is not accessible other than by helicopter because its surround by inaccessible private land now isn't going to change either some landowners just won't let you on that is their right. This bill will have ZERO effect on the way I hunt none. I haven't had a problem yet finding enough land to hunt. Just because its posted doesn't mean you can't hunt you just need to ask.

So let me ask you this if this bill doesn't pass then how will this effect YOUR way of hunting. It apparently will affect many on this site alone not to mention fishing opportunities to many so I would guess this time it's not all about you

 

[Migrator Man]

I don't see what the big deal is about this bill passing. Do none of you ask landowner permission to hunt? If they didn't post it in years past they obviously don't care if people hunt or access their land just call them up and ask you will still probably be able to access their land. When I started hunting hardly anything was posted now nearly everything is posted where I hunt. Does that mean i have no where to hunt? Absolutely not I do what I've been doing for years asking the landowner if I can hunt when I see them. If I am not hunting locally say out of state like MT where all private land is also posted. I pull in to the ranch and speak with the landowner face to face sometime I get permission sometimes I don't but never once have I felt like my rights as a sportsman are being infringed upon because a landowner didn't give me permission. He owns the land I think he should have the final say who can and can't step foot on his land. Be respectful to the landowner and their property and you shouldn't have a problem gaining access. If you're the idiots driving down muddy section lines tearing the land up, leaving gates open that were closed, and leaving trash and unsightly animal remains all over then yes you probably will have a problem gaining access. This law isn't taking away your right to hunt or access public land. It's making you interact with landowners and actually ask for permission. I always ask for landowner permission even if it isn't posted and never once have I been turned down. In fact they are usually very appreciative that I asked saying not many people do that anymore but it is nice to know who is out there. Again you have to remember this is PRIVATE land. Im guessing none of you would let someone just set up camp in your front yard in Fargo or want people walking through your backyard without knowing who they are and what they are doing. This is no different it is their private land whether it is .25 acres or 10,000 acres it's still private. Show a little respect and just ask you might be surprised at how far that gets you.

To me not wanting this law passed boils down to one of two things laziness by not wanting to walk the extra miles to get to your hunting spot which you could previously drive to by crossing private land or a lack of respect/confidence/social skills whatever you want to call it by just call or better yet ask in person to access their land.

There are so many tools out there to find out who owns the land and contact information or finding other ways to access an area there really isn't any reason you can't still enjoy hunting out west. Before you start freaking out about not being able to access millions of acres of public land because you have to cross private which will now be posted put in a little extra work and contact the landowners.

No one said finding that trophy buck would be easy. You may have to put in a little extra work leg work to get to him and spend some extra time figuring out how to legally get in there but it is possible. If you aren't will to put in the extra work you probably don't really care that much about hunting anyways.

You don’t give a shit about other hunters. This law would screw over the common man hunter in a state with limited public lands. If you were a waterfowl hunter you would know how tough it is to track down a field the night before and then have to find a contact for the field and hope that they answer. This is why we usually just pick a field that isn’t posted. This will ruin waterfowl hunting as we know it. If I bow hunted I would be asking landowners for permission but that’s not what I hunt. I think you are being selfish and are only worried about how this bill will affect you.

 

[midwesthunter]

Did I say I was having problems? The system we have in place currently works just fine.

If you aren't having problems with access now what is going to change if the new law passes? The only difference I see is the new law would force hunters to contact the landowner about access. I think we can agree majority of the private land out west is currently posted now and we find access. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think the new law would prevent the landowners who don't want to deal with all the phone calls or people stopping in from putting their land into PLOTS.

I think what they are trying to prevent with the new law is people tearing down no hunting signs, i didn't see that it was posted, or it wasn't posted properly. For most of us things won't change much. They are just trying to eliminate the excuse of careless hunters taking the signs down. With the new law there is no signs to take down. Is there a problem with the current law? No, as long as everyone abides by it. It is tough to prove a sign was or wasn't there once law enforcement gets there so how do you fine someone for trespassing when you can't prove them 100% guilty.

I recent lost a good chunk of ground hunting ground this year because an out of state hunter drove right passed the multiple no hunting signs the landowner had up. There is two ways to access this property by vehicle going through his yard or one other road from the back side. This hunter accessed it from the back side which was posted. When the landowner went in to feed his cows he found the hunter and was told by the hunter he didn't have his land legally posted and that he would sue him if he tried to press charges. I don't think the hunter had a leg to stand on in court but the landowner just decided to go strictly no hunting for anyone unless you want to pay. I am not a fan of paid hunting but that is a different discussion. I believe I would still have access to 1000s of acres of this landowners property if the new proposed law was in place.

I also trap and it is required to have written permission from the landowner or operator regardless of if it is posted or not. Might be another reason the new law doesn't seem like such a bad thing for me one way or the other.

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You don’t give a shit about other hunters. This law would screw over the common man hunter in a state with limited public lands. If you were a waterfowl hunter you would know how tough it is to track down a field the night before and then have to find a contact for the field and hope that they answer. This is why we usually just pick a field that isn’t posted. This will ruin waterfowl hunting as we know it. If I bow hunted I would be asking landowners for permission but that’s not what I hunt. I think you are being selfish and are only worried about how this bill will affect you.

No I don't waterfowl hunt much but do on occasion. I ask for permission for everything that I think I might want to hunt/trap on their land when I ask. Maybe I do it differently than most. There is a ton of farm land in the SW corner of the state I contact dozens of landowners every year so generally if I see a deer, antelope, geese, ducks, coyote I already know if I can go after that animal or not. There are landowners who want to be called every time you want to hunt I generally stay away from them just to eliminate any confusion of I thought I had permission this weekend. Maybe where you are from this is how most of them are and yes I can see where it could be a problem getting permission the night before.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

If you aren't having problems with access now what is going to change if the new law passes? The only difference I see is the new law would force hunters to contact the landowner about access. I think we can agree majority of the private land out west is currently posted now and we find access. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think the new law would prevent the landowners who don't want to deal with all the phone calls or people stopping in from putting their land into PLOTS.

I think what they are trying to prevent with the new law is people tearing down no hunting signs, i didn't see that it was posted, or it wasn't posted properly. For most of us things won't change much. They are just trying to eliminate the excuse of careless hunters taking the signs down. With the new law there is no signs to take down. Is there a problem with the current law? No, as long as everyone abides by it. It is tough to prove a sign was or wasn't there once law enforcement gets there so how do you fine someone for trespassing when you can't prove them 100% guilty.

I recent lost a good chunk of ground hunting ground this year because an out of state hunter drove right passed the multiple no hunting signs the landowner had up. There is two ways to access this property by vehicle going through his yard or one other road from the back side. This hunter accessed it from the back side which was posted. When the landowner went in to feed his cows he found the hunter and was told by the hunter he didn't have his land legally posted and that he would sue him if he tried to press charges. I don't think the hunter had a leg to stand on in court but the landowner just decided to go strictly no hunting for anyone unless you want to pay. I am not a fan of paid hunting but that is a different discussion. I believe I would still have access to 1000s of acres of this landowners property if the new proposed law was in place.

I also trap and it is required to have written permission from the landowner or operator regardless of if it is posted or not. Might be another reason the new law doesn't seem like such a bad thing for me one way or the other.

I disagree with your opinion and I’m not reading anymore of your novels.

 

[skywalker]

Here is how this will effect me and my family. We live in central and eastern ND. We deer hunt in 4D. We are only ever out there during deer season. I have deer hunted this land for 30+ years. We hunt state land for mule deer and un-posted private land for white tail. We white tail hunt from Beach to 10 miles south of Golva. I now have to find out who owns the land and contact all the land owners. Is this a big deal, no, just a day or 2 out of my schedule to go out west with my wife(who grew up out there) and contact these farmers. I'am sure many of whom will say "you didn't have to ask, just go hunt" Is this a problem? Like I said no, just a change in my schedule of hunting. I'am sure others will have way more work to do to get hunting permission. Here is hoping I can stay in my comfort zone with the bill NOT passing.

 

[eyexer]

just as land owners not giving a shit about hunters, now we apparently have some fortunate hunters not giving a shit about other hunters. They know if this passes the number of hunters will plummet, leaving them far less competition for the game.

 

[raider]

if this is a good idea, lets expand it to retail too... that's on private land, right???

need permission to go shopping now - sounds like a great idea, right???

 

[1bigfokker]

No gratis ?

 

[cpete00]

Time to get rid of all gratis tags, repeal the corporate farming laws, allow non profits to buy land and throw the farm bill into the trash.

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Maybe even resurrect measure 5 and vote on it again

 

[Livetohuntandfish]

Time to get rid of all gratis tags, repeal the corporate farming laws, allow non profits to buy land and throw the farm bill into the trash.

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Maybe even resurrect measure 5 and vote on it again

I need to just delete my account. Comments like this makes being a farmer and hunter very hard. People like you give a terrible name to this site and to hunters.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

Livetohuntandfish,

Don't get too hasty to delete. Lots of blowers and bellyachers. It's easy to see past it.

Time to get rid of all gratis tags,

The gratis tag is given to landowners as compensation for the forage or part of the crop wildlife eats. Take that away and there goes the incentive for landowner tolerance.

repeal the corporate farming laws,

The much hated Farm Bureau is leading the charge to do just that.

allow non profits to buy land

There is no law restricting an individual from purchasing land.

and throw the farm bill into the trash.

​

The Farm Bill is full of conservation programs and money for those programs.

​

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Maybe even resurrect measure 5 and vote on it again

​

Measure 5 or the oil revenue rip off failed 80% to 20 %

Livetohuntandfish, I like this site. The jokes the ribbing the jibing.

 

[Brian Renville]

Next go around everyone should make sure they support every proposed law that doesn’t necessarily hamper the exact way each of us do things. What’s the worst that could happen?