Then tell him ONE Simple thing 95% (or more) of all ND Hunters (both Residents & Non-Residents) are Freelance hunters. & over 1/2 are Non-Residents.
We are the ones spending money in the towns- & buying licenses - When he has to decide what is best - Think of this - Not what is Best for the commercial side - They mostly do not hunt.
Pass Laws to make Hunting Better for the Freelance Hunters & pass laws to spread them out - create opportunities for more Bed & breakfast type hunting opportunities - without being locked into guides & pay to hunt. Find ways to educate the landowners that are truely worried about their towns. To open up hunting in their areas. Not shut it down - or sell it to less than 5% of the hunters coming to the state. Support ways to increase public (Freelance) Hunting & at the same time give extra income to landowners.
But at the same time there has to be ways to better manage the 30,000 NR's coming here to hunt. It can't just be a Free for all. This should be left to the G&FD - Not the Legislature(who also don't hunt or really understand all this). But then the G&FD needs to be left to do their job - without any Govenor, or Politicians threatening them & micro managing them. & beware !!! there will be efforts to weaken the G&FD even more - at a time we should trust & insulate them from politics. If anything make the Directors job a Elected Job - But not placed under a commision of appointed political clones of any Govenor (so the deck does not get stacked with Commercial people - or those that really don't hunt - or Land Rights extremists.) This job is way to important, to tie the hands of this person. Ask him to solve this problem & alot of the issues would go away & the right things would be done.
Explain how ND is unique to the nation in it's laws & resources (that is why so many want to come & hunt here) & we should do all we can to protect them & keep quality of life & hunting as high as possible. - Explain to him that Siding with the guides & commercial people (that have been sold on thinking the Pay to hunt people are their salvation) is the wrong direction, that ND is heading. - Have him trust our paid professional people at the G&FD (Not just listen to the Gov. & Director) but the staff at the G&FD. If he wants a good source of honest information & opinions on what to do.
Don't let the commercial side turn this into a us against them battle. The tone of your reply, says to me, you are believing the negative stereo types, they are trying to label us with.
Cramming legislation down the throats of small towns
also
Some limits are probably good, but some of the hunter-backed legislation has given us the opposite results of what we are looking for
and
I am just not sure it is good to take sides against the people we need to allow us access to our hobby.
all sound like things the guide Assn Loves to hear ??? ??? ???