North Dakota Code 20.1-02-17.1 – Procedures and conditions for land acquisitions for wildlife and fish restoration
1. The director shall submit proposed wildlife and fish restoration programs or projects and updated segments thereof involving proposed acquisitions by purchase, lease, easement, or servitude of wetlands, water, or land areas by certified mail with return receipt to the board of county commissioners of the county or counties in which the affected areas are located for the board’s approval prior to agreement with and approval by the secretary of the interior.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 20.1-02-17.1
- Consideration: means something of value given or done in exchange for something of value given or done by another. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Department: means the game and fish department. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Director: means the director of the department. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- week: means seven consecutive days and the word "month" a calendar month. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33
- Wildlife: means any member of the animal kingdom including any mammal, fish, bird (including any migratory, nonmigratory, or endangered bird for which protection is also afforded by treaty or other international agreement), amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, or other invertebrate, and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
2. The board of county commissioners of the county affected, or a designee or designees of the board, shall, within twenty-one days of receipt of an acquisition proposal, physically inspect the proposed acquisition areas. The board shall give public notice of the date, hour, and place where the public may comment on the proposed acquisitions. The notice must be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official newspaper of the county or counties in which the land and water areas are located. The notice must set forth the substance of the proposed action and must include a legal description of the proposed acquisitions. The board of county commissioners shall give its approval or disapproval by certified mail with return receipt within sixty days after receipt of an acquisition proposal.
3. A detailed impact analysis from the state game and fish department shall be included with the acquisition proposal for board of county commissioner consideration in making recommendations. The analysis by the game and fish department shall include, but shall not be limited to, the recreational and wildlife impacts. In addition, the county agent of the affected county or counties shall prepare an impact analysis for board of county commissioner consideration which shall include the fiscal, social, and agricultural impacts of the proposed acquisition. The state game and fish department shall reimburse the county or counties for any expenses incurred by the county agent in preparing the analysis. The analyses shall also be forwarded to the department of commerce division of community services which shall furnish copies to all interested state agencies and political subdivisions, which agencies and political subdivisions shall have thirty days to review the analyses and return their comments to the division of community services. Upon expiration of the thirty-day period, all comments received by the division of community services shall be forwarded to the state game and fish department. The state game and fish department may, after consideration of such comments, file a final impact analysis with the division of community services and the board of county commissioners.
4. Any landowner may negotiate the time period of a lease, easement, or servitude sought under the federal Acts cited in section 20.1-02-17. Except with respect to flowage and access easements, a lease, easement, or servitude shall terminate upon the death of a landowner or upon change in ownership of the affected land.
5. A landowner may restrict a lease, easement, or servitude by legal description to the wetlands, water, or land areas sought under the Acts and may drain any expanded wetland or water area in excess of the legal description.