North Dakota Code 20.1-02-18.1 – Federal wildlife area acquisitions – Submission to county commissioners, opportunity for publ
The governor, the director, or their designees, responsible under federal law for final approval of land, wetland, and water acquisitions by the United States department of the interior, its bureaus or agencies, for waterfowl production areas, wildlife refuges, or other wildlife or waterfowl purposes, shall submit the proposed acquisitions by certified mail with return receipt to the board of county commissioners of the county or counties in which the land, wetland, and water areas are located for the board’s recommendations.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 20.1-02-18.1
- 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
- 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
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Waterfowl: includes all varieties of geese, brant, swans, ducks, rails, and coots. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- 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
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 successive 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 make its recommendations by certified mail with return receipt within sixty days after receipt of an acquisition proposal.
A detailed impact analysis from the federal agency involved must be included with the acquisition proposal for board of county commissioner consideration in making recommendations. The analysis must include 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 must include the fiscal, social, and agricultural impacts of the proposed acquisitions. The department of the interior shall reimburse the county or counties for any expenses incurred by the county agent in preparing the analysis. The analyses must 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 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 must be forwarded to the federal agency involved and to the state official or agency responsible for final acquisition approval. The federal agency may, after consideration of the comments, file a final impact analysis with the governor, the board of county commissioners, and any other state official or agency responsible for final acquisition approval.