North Dakota
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Public Comment Opportunity: Draft Rights‑of‑Way Compatibility Determination

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public review and comment on the Draft Programmatic Compatibility Determination for Rights‑of‑Way and Rights to Access for Temporary Disturbances and Minor Impacts on Conservation Easements in the Mountain‑Prairie Region. This draft document evaluates the compatibility of proposed activities that may cause temporary, minor disturbances while supporting necessary public infrastructure needs across conservation easements in the Mountain-Prairie Region. The draft Compatibility Determination will be available for a 30‑day public comment period from April 1 to May 1, 2026. Comments, questions, concerns, or a request for a hard copy can be sent to: MountainPrairieNWRS@fws.gov.

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This limited-interest national wildlife refuge is not Federal land. A private landowner or other entity controls public access to it. 

The purpose of limited-interest national wildlife refuges is to provide habitat and breeding grounds for migrating waterfowl, shorebird, grassland-nesting birds, and other wildlife.  

Limited-interest Refuges Conservation Plan 

The management of limited-interest national wildlife refuges is set by the Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment – North Dakota Limited-interest National Wildlife Refuges. This comprehensive conservation plan was developed to guide the future management of these limited-interest national wildlife refuges and to develop a better partnership with current landowners. This limited-interest refuge is managed out of Devils Lake Wetland Management District, for further questions, contact here.

Limited-interest national wildlife refuges are different from other national wildlife refuges. They were created in the 1930s and 1940s in response to declining waterfowl populations and the need to get people back to work during the Great Depression. During these years, hundreds of landowners signed up for easements on their lands in exchange for jobs in their communities and water conservation measures on their lands. Today, these lands, which have easements on them, continue to protect wildlife and habitat, but the land is not federally owned. It remains in private or state ownership. The private landowner or other entity, not the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, controls access to these lands.