North Dakota PLOTS acres open to public, but not for all use: Here’s what to know

The goal of North Dakota’s Private Land Open To Sportsmen program is to provide walk-in public access for hunting on private land. Just because hunters are allowed access doesn’t mean it’s open for any type of use.

Even if you are hunting, PLOTS agreements do not allow activities such as horseback riding, camping, placing bait for any purpose, driving ATVs or snowmobiles, dog training and many others, without written permission from the landowner.

All PLOTS property is open only for public walk-in access for the purpose of hunting within legal hunting seasons, or as signed. All other activities require written permission from the property owner.

Walk-in access is defined as an individual traveling by foot with any legal firearm or bow, plus other equipment, accessories and provisions for the purposes of hunting.

Also remember hunters may not leave equipment, accessories, or provisions unattended on a PLOTS tract without written permission of the property owner.

PLOTS Questions and Answers

Q: Is hunting allowed on PLOTS where cattle are present?

A: Yes. However, in such cases hunters should use good judgment and limit disturbance to the animals, and not shoot in their direction. In some cases, it may be best to come back another time as the landowner may have moved the cattle to another area or removed them completely from the tract.

Q: Is hunting allowed on PLOTS if there is an occupied dwelling within 440 yards?

A: North Dakota statute prohibits hunting within 440 yards of an occupied dwelling, with exceptions. The first is the “landowner exception,” which allows a person to hunt on his or her own land even if doing so is within 440 yards of another’s occupied dwelling.

The second exception is the “consent exception,” which allows hunting if the “occupier” consents to allow hunting within 440 yards of his or her building.

When a landowner enrolls land into a PLOTS agreement, permission to hunt on the land is granted. There is also a “public lands” exception to this law. Private lands enrolled in a public access program, such as PLOTS, fall into this category since the landowner has signed an agreement granting public access.

A hunter on public land, or PLOTS land, is not required to obtain the consent of the person occupying a building located within 440 yards of the hunter.

For safety purposes, fluorescent orange “No Shooting Toward Building” signs are placed on these PLOTS tracts to notify hunters there is a building or dwelling nearby.

Q: Is driving on PLOTS to retrieve game or set out waterfowl decoys allowed?

A: PLOTS land is walk-in access only and you cannot drive on it unless you get specific permission from the landowner.

Exception: Some PLOTS tracts are enrolled specifically for waterfowl hunting. These tracts are identified with a special green “Attention Waterfowl Hunters” sign. The PLOTS agreement for these areas allows driving access, on harvested cropland only, to allow hunters to set out decoys.

Q: Is hunting in standing or unharvested crops on a PLOTS tract allowed?

A: Yes, unless the PLOTS tract has a special sign stating, “No Hunting in Unharvested Crop.”

North Dakota statute prohibits hunting in unharvested cereal and oilseed crops, including sprouted winter wheat, alfalfa, clover and other grasses grown for seed, without the owner’s consent. However, when a landowner enrolls land into a PLOTS agreement, permission is granted to the public to hunt on the land; therefore, it is legal to hunt in standing crops on PLOTS unless there is a special sign. In those cases, after the crops are harvested the fields may be legally hunted.

Q: Is nontoxic shot required on PLOTS?

A: Nontoxic shot regulations on PLOTS are the same as for other private land. Nontoxic shot is required while hunting ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, tundra swans, mergansers, snipe and coot statewide. Nontoxic shot is not required to hunt upland game, turkeys or big game on PLOTS.