My 1st blog
What I am going to write about is HB 1211 which is a bill that would require the address or telephone number in addition to the name on all posted signs. I have two problems with this bill that I feel all sportsmen should be aware of.

First of all property does not need to be posted to no hunting, fishing, or trespassing in North Dakota. If a landowner or authorized agent tells an individual to leave the property and that individual does not leave the property then the landowner or authorized agent can call the local law enforcement and press charges against the individual that is trespassing. In North Dakota criminal trespass is a class B misdemeanor, and is a class A misdemeanor if an individual is convicted of criminal trespass within two years of the first offense. These laws are clearly defined in the 2007 amendments to the North Dakota Century Code.

The second issue I have is the issue of property owner rights. I feel that North Dakota sportsmen are lucky to have things the way they are here, two of our neighboring states have laws that make all property closed unless otherwise posted open to public access. If people keep trying to get bills like this passed property owners could get upset and push for legislation to make laws similar to the laws in South Dakota and Montana. I have heard that there are a lot of problems with trespass in these states because people get confused and end up on the wrong property, and personally I would prefer these types of laws to not be enacted in North Dakota. Also there are a lot of landowners that do not put their telephone and addresses on posted signs because they don’t like to be bothered by people that are not willing to put in the time and effort to find them and get permission to be on their property. Their reasoning for this is that they feel that someone that will put in the time and effort to look up their telephone number or address are going to take good care of their property.

I feel that people need to be aware of the laws and also respect the rights of landowners. This bill failed the house on January 29th by a six to five vote in the house natural resource committee. In closing I just want to say that a little respect can go a long way in landowner and sportsmen relations.