One of the most debated bills of the 2019 North Dakota legislative session was a bill that sought to reform posting of and hunting access on private land. Current law requires landowners to post their land with signs or have the land be presumed open. The proposed bill would change that so all private land would be presumed as closed and would have established an electronic posting database and hunting access information. That bill ultimately failed in the house, even though heavily revised.

The legislature resumed study of land access issues in August. Information was presented stating that there was an average of only 65 of 132,000 license holders cited for trespass violations. In addition, Game and Fish staff outlined the challenges in building an electronic posting database, such as maintaining accuracy and updating landownership. Debate will likely continue to be lively as private property rights and hunting heritage continue to be very important issues in North Dakota. The legislation could be reintroduced during the 2021 legislative session.