By Doug Leier
The 2021 state legislature passed a bill to allow electronic posting of private land, giving landowners another option for posting private property.
Around 7,000 landowners posted about 4 million acres around North Dakota. With little fanfare this process, the first of its kind in the nation, was done with relatively few hiccups and you’d think Elon Musk or Bill Gates would be smiling in acknowledgement of the excellent rollout.
In North Dakota our humble nature is to accept the victory and meet the second-year head on.
With that said, the second season of electronic posting is now open and landowners interested in posting private land electronically for the 2022-23 hunting season can log into My Account on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.
The deadline for landowners to digitally post land is July 1, which is necessary to produce print material and digital content prior to hunting seasons that begin in August.
Landowners who enrolled land electronically last year can renew, add or modify posting designations during the enrollment period. Others posting for the first time might need to create a profile. To post land, proceed to the “Land Parcels/Electronic Posting” section at the bottom of the page and click “Search/Renew Land parcels.” The electronic posting system is linked to land descriptions based on county tax parcel information.
The Game and Fish website has complete instructions for landowners, along with frequently asked questions for both landowners and hunters. Here’s a few:
- Are landowners required to use the electronic posting application to post their lands?
No. Electronic posting is an additional option for landowners to post land to prohibit hunting access. Landowners can still use traditional posting with physical signage.
- I prefer to use my existing signs or physical signs. Can I still try the electronic posting system? Yes. Land can be posted with physical signs and electronically.
- I only post some of my land. Can I leave some lands unposted and use electronic posting on others? Yes. Landowners can use any of the options to post land or leave land unposted.
- Do I need to post my land every year? Yes. To ensure land or portions of land have not been sold or leased to another individual, it is necessary to post annually. The electronic posting system will allow a renewal option to import the previous year’s posting records.
- Is there a deadline to post lands electronically? Yes. The deadline to post land is July 1. Print material and published digital content will be distributed and made available to hunters prior to the hunting seasons that begin in August.
- What is the signup period to post land electronically? The signup period for electronic posting began February 1 and will expire July 1.
- If I purchase land after the signup deadline can I use the electronic posting system?
No. Landowners who wish to post land after the deadline would need to use physical posting methods.
- Can nonresidents post lands electronically? Currently, nonresidents are unable to post land electronically. However, landowners may authorize a resident (family member, lessee, operator, renter, etc.) to post land. There is an option for the resident to publish nonresident landowner information with the posting record. As soon as the validation services are available, nonresident landowners will be able to post electronically.
- Can I post land electronically that I rent? Yes. An individual authorized by the landowner may post lands electronically.
- Is there a penalty for an unauthorized posting of land electronically. Yes. An individual posting electronically without permission may be found guilty of identity theft, deceptive writings and/or posting without permission offenses.
- Can I change my posting designation after submitting electronically posted land records? Yes. Posting designations may be changed up to the deadline of July 1. After the deadline, posting designations may be removed only.
- I purchased land recently and I can’t retrieve my records. The electronic posting system relies on county tax parcel information. It may be possible the current records are not available from the county, or do not reflect current tax parcel information. If available, the land parcel records can be posted even though they may not reflect current information.
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