# ILLegal Guide



## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Tennessee Man Cited for Guiding Without License

A Tennessee man has lost his hunting privileges for 18 months and was fined more than $4,000 for acting as a hunting outfitter in North Dakota without a license.

Robert "Adam" Whitten, 40, of Counce, Tenn., was charged Oct. 24, 2015, by district game warden Erik Schmidt, Linton, after Schmidt followed up on a complaint of unlawfully placed "No Hunting" signs on private property.

Through his investigation, Schmidt determined Whitten, who had acted as an outfitter in the past in Tennessee, was staying on a rented farmstead in southwestern Emmons County for most of the month of October. Prior to his arrival in North Dakota, Whitten took money from nonresident hunters for what he was advertising as a place to stay and access to 5,000 acres of hunting land for waterfowl and upland game.

In North Dakota it is illegal to act as a guide or outfitter without first securing a license through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Licensed outfitters in North Dakota are required to pass a written test, be certified in first aid, and carry liability insurance, among other requirements. The definition of outfitting in North Dakota includes providing facilities or services and receiving compensation from a third party for the use of land for the conduct of outdoor recreational activities including hunting.

Schmidt charged Whitten with two counts of outfitting without a license, both Class A misdemeanors. The maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanors in North Dakota is a $3,000 fine and one year imprisonment.

Under a plea agreement approved by South Central District judge Thomas Schneider, Whitten was required to pay $3,325 in fines and court costs, with $1,000 suspended for a period of two years for the first count and $3,025 in fines and court costs with $1,000 suspended for a period of two years for the second count.

In addition to fines and fees, Whitten had his hunting privileges suspended for 18 months and was placed on unsupervised probation for one year. Because North Dakota is a member of the North American Wildlife Violator Compact, Whitten could potentially lose hunting privileges in other compact states.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Hunting is facing it's greatest enemy those who would change everything into pay to play. On the surface it sounds only fair. It will reduce the number of hunters greatly, and with reduced hunter numbers our old enemy the gun control advocates will see us like a wolf sees a sick fawn. Time to take us out. I can see the end of hunting as we know it. Many will make light of these thoughts, but you can bet they have a dollar to gain.


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## riverrat47 (Sep 25, 2010)

Bruce, I've been saying the same thing for several decades, since almost every decent 40 acre patch of deer habitat in Illinois became the target of deer leasers.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Plainsman are there any stats on the decline of hunters? It personally seems that there are more hunters now, then say 5-10 years ago. Its either that or hunters are getting condensed.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

We always think of Texas when we think of pay hunting, but back in 1997 I worked for a while on wetlands in Iowa. One landowner who's 40 acre wetland I looked at said he leased it for $5000 a year. When I worked for a while in Nebraska I talked to a fellow who paid $2000 for a deer lease. He should have read the small print. All excited opening day of archery he got into his stand only to be swarmed by upland hunters. He also only had the archery lease, a rifle hunter had purchased the $3000 rifle deer lease. 
In Iowa I worked on a one section (640 acres) WPA. The manager of that area said over 100 hunters would hit that WPA each day on the opening of deer season. With people complaining about the cost of a $30 license can you imagine how many would hunt if it cost them $2000 to hunt? I hunt on a relatives land and next to him an unlicensed man who guides asked $2700 to hunt deer and he said "oh no I couldn't make that exclusive". In other words for that much money I didn't get it to myself. That's right here in North Dakota. It takes very little grey matter to understand how that will reduce hunter numbers. 
Right here in western Stutsman county go watch a WPA and count how many hunters hit it opening day of deer season.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

BL....

What I think is happening is that the hunters are getting condensed.

I believe it is a 4 pronged monster of sorts....(no particular order)

1. With ND laws where you don't need permission to hunt land if it isn't posted will make hunters go to where there is less posted land. Or the "non" posted land gets hit harder than the posted stuff. Because it is easier to just go hunt without running down land owners.

2. Then you also have the people who are now posting land and not letting anyone hunt or you have that land owner only allowing a select few hunt. Which again pushes other hunters to other area's.

3. Then you have the guides, leases, etc. taking up the other.

4. Then you mix in the fact that CRP and habitat decline is happening. (fence row to fence row farming, drain tile, wind rows getting cut down, etc.)

Again land owners have the right to do what they want with their land. But some of these practices are hurting hunting as we know it now.

This is just what I am observing across the nation. Yes happening in all states.


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