There is a newer version of the North Dakota Century Code
2009 North Dakota Code
55 State Historical Society and State Parks
55-11 Nature Preserves
Download pdfnatural areas be set aside and preserved for the benefit of present and future generations before
such areas are destroyed. Such areas are irreplaceable as laboratories for scientific research; as
reservoirs of natural materials not all of the uses of which are now known; as habitats for plant
and animal species and biotic communities, the diversity of which enriches the meaning and
enjoyment of human life; as living museums where people may observe natural biotic and
environmental systems of the earth and the interdependence of all forms of life; as examples of
our natural heritage; and as reminders of the vital dependence of the health of the human
community upon the health of the natural communities of which human health is an inseparable
part. It is essential to the people of the state of North Dakota that they retain the opportunities to
maintain close contact with such living communities and environmental systems of the earth and
to benefit from the scientific, aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual values they possess. It is therefore
the public policy of the state of North Dakota that such areas be acquired and preserved by the
state and that other agencies, organizations, and individuals, both public and private, be
encouraged to set aside such areas for the common benefit of the people of present and future
generations. 55-11-02. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Articles of dedication" means the writing by which any estate, interest, or right in a
natural area is formally dedicated as permitted by section 55-11-05. 2. "Dedicate" and "dedication" mean the transfer to the department, for and on behalf
of the state of North Dakota, of an estate, interest, or right in a natural area in any
manner permitted by section 55-11-05. 3. "Department" means the parks and recreation department. 4. "Natural area" means an area of land or water, or both land and water, whether in
public or private ownership, which either retains or has reestablished its natural
character, whether or not it has been disturbed, or has unusual flora or fauna or has
biotic, geological, aesthetic, scenic, or paleontological features of scientific or
educational value, or which is selected or accepted by the department for the
purpose of the reestablishment of such features of scientific or educational value. 5. "Nature preserve" means any natural area or any estate, interest, or right which has
been formally dedicated under the provisions of this chapter. 55-11-03. System of nature preserves - Uses and purposes. In order to secure for the people of the state of North Dakota, of present and future generations, the benefits of an
enduring resource of natural areas, the state of North Dakota, acting through the department,
shall acquire and hold in trust for the benefit of the people of the state of North Dakota an
adequate system of nature preserves for the following uses and purposes: 1. For scientific research in such fields as agriculture, ecology, forestry, genetics,
geology, paleontology, pharmacology, soil science, taxonomy, and similar fields. 2. For the teaching of biology, natural history, ecology, conservation, and other
subjects. 3. As habitats for plant and animal species and communities and other natural objects. 4. As reservoirs of natural materials. Page No. 1 5. As places of natural interest and beauty. 6. As living illustrations of our natural heritage wherein one may observe and
experience natural biotic and environmental systems of the earth and their
processes. 7. To promote understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual
values of such natural areas by the people of the state of North Dakota. 8. For the preservation and protection of natural areas against modification or
encroachment resulting from occupation, development, or other use which would
destroy the scientific, educational, or aesthetic value of such areas. 55-11-04. State parks and recreation department - Advisers - Meetings. Repealed by S.L. 1991, ch. 640, § 41. 55-11-05. Acquisition of nature preserves and natural areas. The department is authorized and empowered, for and on behalf of the state of North Dakota, to acquire nature
preserves by gift, devise, or exchange, or purchase, with prior approval of the legislative
assembly or governor. The department may acquire the fee simple interest in a natural area or
any one or more lesser estates, interests, and rights therein, including, without limitation upon the
generality of the foregoing by reason of specification, a leasehold estate, an easement either
appurtenant or in gross and either granting the state specified rights of use or denying to the
grantor specified rights of use, or both. 55-11-06. Dedication of natural areas - Recording of articles of dedication. An estate, interest, or right in a natural area may be dedicated by any state agency having
jurisdiction thereof, by any other unit of government within the state having jurisdiction thereof,
and by any private owner thereof. A dedication must be deemed effective, and a natural area
becomes a nature preserve, only upon the acceptance of the articles of dedication by the
department. Articles of dedication must be placed on record in the office of the recorder in the
county in which the natural area is located. 55-11-07. Articles of dedication - Contents. Articles of dedication may contain restrictions and other provisions relating to management, use, development, transfer, and public
access and may contain such other restrictions and provisions as may be necessary or advisable
to further the purposes of this chapter. They may, consistently with the purposes of this chapter,
define the respective rights and duties of the owner or operating agency and the department.
They may provide procedures to be applied in case of violation of their restrictions and other
provisions. They may recognize and create reversionary rights and transfers upon conditions or
with limitations. They may vary in provisions from one nature preserve to another in accordance
with differences in characteristics and conditions of the several natural areas. 55-11-08. Amendments to articles of dedication - Approval of governor - Restriction. With the approval of the governor and upon such terms and conditions as the
department may determine, the department may, after giving notice and holding a public hearing
as provided in section 55-11-12, enter into amendments of any articles of dedication upon a
finding by the department that such amendments will not permit an impairment, disturbance, use,
or development of the natural area inconsistent with the purposes of this chapter; provided,
however, that if the fee simple interest in the natural area is not held by the state of North Dakota
under this chapter, no amendment may be made without the written consent of the owner or
owners of the fee simple interest therein. 55-11-09. Department - Powers and duties - Penalty. In furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and in implementation of the powers and duties provided in this chapter, the
department has the following additional powers and duties: 1. To formulate policies for the selection, acquisition, use, management, and protection
of nature preserves. Page No. 2 2. To determine, supervise, and control the management of nature preserves and to
make, publish, and amend reasonable rules necessary or advisable for the use and
protection of nature preserves and for the business of the department. 3. To encourage and recommend the dedication of natural areas as nature preserves. 4. To acquire land adjacent to any nature preserve when necessary to serve as a
protective buffer or service area, or both, for the nature preserve. No such buffer or
service area is a nature preserve unless an estate, interest, or right therein is
thereafter dedicated as a nature preserve under this chapter. 5. To cooperate and contract with any agency, organization, or individual. 6. To accept, administer, and use for the purposes of this chapter, gifts, grants,
devises, and bequests of money, securities, and other property, conditional or
unconditional, but the department may refuse any gift, grant, devise, or bequest
which is upon terms or conditions unacceptable to it. 7. To make surveys and maintain registers and records of nature preserves and other
natural areas within the state. 8. To promote, and to conduct or contract for, research and investigation of nature
preserves and other natural areas within the state. 9. To carry on interpretive programs and publish and disseminate information
pertaining to nature preserves and other natural areas within the state. 10. To promote and assist in the establishment, restoration, and protection of, and
advise in the management of, natural areas and to foster and aid in the
establishment, restoration, and preservation of natural conditions within the state
elsewhere than in the system. 11. To design and control the use of official state nature preserve signs and to
recommend to the department of transportation locations for such signs. 12. To submit to the governor an annual report on or before December thirty-first of each
year which shall account for each nature preserve in the system and make such
other reports and recommendations as the department may deem advisable. 13. To adopt and enforce suitable rules relating to the protection, care, and use of any
state nature preserve or state-owned or state-managed natural area. The violation
of any such rule constitutes an infraction. 55-11-10. Advisers to the state parks and recreation department. Repealed by S.L. 1991, ch. 640, § 41. 55-11-11. Nature preserves - Taking for another use - Limitations. Each nature preserve within the system is hereby declared to be held in trust for those uses and purposes
expressed in this chapter, which are not prohibited by the articles of dedication, for the benefit of
the people of the state of North Dakota, of present and future generations, and declared to be put
to its highest, best, and most important use for the public benefit. It must be managed and
protected in the manner approved by, and subject to the rules and regulations established by, the
department. It may not be taken for any other use except another higher public use after a
finding by the department of the existence of an imperative and unavoidable public necessity for
such other higher public use and with the approval of the governor. Except as may otherwise be
provided in the articles of dedication, the department may grant, for a fair consideration and upon
such terms and conditions as it may determine, an estate, interest, or right in, or the department
may dispose of, a nature preserve, but only after a finding by the department of the existence of Page No. 3 an imperative and unavoidable public necessity of a higher nature for such grant or disposition
and such finding must be made subject to the approval of the governor. 55-11-12. Hearings - Notice. Before the department makes any finding of the existence of an imperative and unavoidable public necessity of a higher nature, or grants any estate,
interest, or right in a nature preserve, or disposes of a nature preserve or of any estate, interest,
or right therein as provided in section 55-11-11, or enters into any amendment of any articles of
dedication as provided in section 55-11-06, it shall give notice of such proposed action and an
opportunity for any person to be heard. Such notice must be published once each week for two
successive weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county or counties wherein
the nature preserve is located and must be mailed within five days after such publication to all
persons who have requested notice of all such proposed actions. The notice must set forth the
substance of the proposed action and describe, with or without legal description, the nature
preserve affected, and must specify a place and time not less than thirty days nor more than sixty
days after such publication for a public hearing before the department on such proposed action.
All persons desiring to be heard must have a reasonable opportunity to be heard prior to action
by the department on such proposal. 55-11-13. Limitations. Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed as interfering with the purposes stated in the establishment of or pertaining to any state or local
park, preserve, wildlife refuge, or other area, or the proper management and development
thereof, except that any agency administering a natural area dedicated as a nature preserve
under the provisions of this chapter is responsible for preserving the character of the natural area
in accordance with the articles of dedication and the applicable rules and regulations with respect
thereto established by the department from time to time. Neither the dedication of a natural area
as a nature preserve nor any action taken by the department under any of the provisions of this
chapter voids or replaces any protective status under law which the natural area would have if it
were not a nature preserve, and the protection provisions of this chapter are supplemental
thereto. Under the provisions of this chapter, the department may not have or use the right of
eminent domain. Page No. 4 Document Outline chapter 55-11 nature preserves
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