New regulations to N.D. PLOT program go into effect Oct. 1

New regulations regarding North Dakota’s Private Land Open to Sportsmen acres will go into effect Oct. 1, following a hearing before the state legislature’s administrative rules committee Sept. 14.

The new rules clarify proper use of PLOTS acres, which are private lands open to public access for hunting via agreements between the landowner and North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

The new rules apply to leaving equipment and other materials on a PLOTS area overnight, and also define walk-in access as “an individual travelling by foot,” and specify that walk-in access is allowed only during legal hunting seasons or as otherwise signed. Activities besides hunting, and public access when a hunting season is not open, have not been provided for in the Game and Fish Department’s agreement; thus, they require written permission from the landowner.

This provision means that activities like riding horses for hunting purposes or for pleasure on PLOTS require written permission from the landowner. Permission from the landowner has always been required for motorized vehicle access such as for setting decoys in a field, unless specially designated on the PLOTS sign.

The new rules also address leaving equipment or other provisions in a PLOTS area. Kevin Kading, private lands section leader for the Game and Fish Department, said this means that tree stands or blinds, for example, cannot be left overnight without written permission from the landowner.

Other examples of items that must be removed daily include decoys, firearms and archery equipment, trail cameras, or any type of bait used to attract big game animals.

“Basically, whatever you bring in, you bring out, unless other arrangements have been made with the landowner,” Kading emphasized.

Tags: from g and f, agriculture, outdoors, plot