Kim Fundingsland/MDN Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, listens to a response from Shannon Estenoz, Department of Interior assistant secretary of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Cramer hosted Estenoz for a North Dakota visit regarding Waterfowl Production Area easements.

“Their private property rights is what’s at stake,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND. “The exceptionalism of America is built around private property ownership and those rights. I sense there is a growing body of evidence that, ultimately, will be too compelling to ignore. If not by our own political system, then by our judicial system.”

Cramer was responding to the issue of Waterfowl Production Area easement rights and the difficulty landowners across the state have encountered in working with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s “rigidity and heavy-handed” approach in enforcing wetlands determinations.

Wednesday, at Cramer’s invitation, Department of Interior Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Shannon Estenoz, got a first-hand look at areas of concern in North Dakota and participated in a roundtable discussion with area landowners in Burlington.

“It’s been a very productive couple of hours for me,” remarked Estenoz in post-roundtable comments. “There’s really no substitute to listening to folks on the ground and hearing their perspective. This is a really important issue to folks here. It’s not trivial.”

Cramer pointed out the complexity of the mapping process used to identify WPA easements and the problems it creates for landowners.

“We need some consistency in the mapping process and an appeals process that doesn’t require a bank of lawyers for years and years,” said Cramer.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, also participated in the roundtable and echoed Cramer’s concerns.

“We need an appeals process in place that is fair to these farmers,” stated Hoeven. “We’re asking the secretary to make sure that our farmers get fair treatment. That’s what this is all about. All the appeals can’t go against the farmers. That’s not a fair process.”