I'm on the fence about what the effects will be for residents and landowners of ND. I have a relative in SE ND and he farms a pretty good chunk of land. He doesn't post be cause he frankly does not want to be continually bothered by guys while he is doing his fall harvest and cattle work. It's not worth the hassle, he doesn't hunt and just wants to get his work done. A no trespass law changes that. However, as a small landowner, I also look at it with the fact that it is my dirt. Yeah, the wildlife isn't mine, but I own the dirt and shouldn't have to post a sign every 880 feet just to keep someone off of it. It goes both ways and depends on your perspective.
As a SD resident I don't hold our public lands in quite the regard KurtR does. Is there some really good public stuff? For sure. There is a lot of junk too. In my experience, there has been a significant shift of hunters on to public land in the last 15 years. There are no more secret areas or public land that goes untouched. Lots of folks know about the pocket areas that have deer and birds. And, with big game tags, hunters apply based on how much public land is available without even knowing the area. It leads to a lot of people on even the good ground at the peak times. Resident pheasant is a good example, most all the good areas will have 3 trucks parked there early. I can still find an area way back and kill birds, but it takes a lot of effort. Antelope and deer season are hilarious in the NW part of the state, the openers have every approach filled with trucks. And not a single truck hardly seen on private ground.
So even though we have some great WIA land with lot of acres, CHAP land, etc. it isn't all sunshine and roses. And it's getting worse because access is that much more difficult. Part of that difficulty is we as hunters get discouraged and/or have unrealistic expectations. Get turned down for opening day? Who cares, I bet they let you hunt birds late in the season after their family, etc. is gone. Instead of expecting the key to the castle, accept the opportunities given.
Now would a no-trespass law require a total paradigm shift of ND hunters? Yes, and in probably a negative way at first. Some folks will just quit. But, it could clean some things up too possibly, less slobs out there after awhile. It will certainly require an increase enforcement efforts. I don't know that I see it commercializing things any more. Remember, SD commercialized pheasant hunting because we had a ton of birds and could make good money. Now, we don't have near the birds. The guys who thought they could cash in are either not having hunters or are buying birds. Things have shifted.
I would say leave it as is. We'll see......
