Federal wildlife area acquisitions - Submission to county commissioners, opportunity for public comment, and impact analysis required
N.D. Cent. Code § 20.1-02-18.1
in effect20.1-02-18.1. Federal wildlife area acquisitions - Submission to county
commissioners, opportunity for public comment, and impact analysis required.
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.
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.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t20-1c02.pdf#nameddest=20p1-02-18p1Fetched: 10/16/2026