As a former resident who know lives in California, I wanted to weigh in this issue. A cap of non-resident hunters is essential for No.Dak. for several reasons. First, with the tenuous weather in No. Dak. the actual hunting season usually does last longer than 35 days. With approximately 60,000 hunters (both res and NR), this puts an extremely high strain on the waterfowl resources which are generally limited to the mid central portion of the state. Second, the "right to hunt" provision (e.g., if it is not posted, you can hunt) does not exist in many other states. I believe that this is the biggest issue that most residents don't seem to comprehend.
The reason for the explosion of NRs is simply the access that the State allows under this provision. In California, you have two choices, attempt to hunt the federal refuges, or lease land that starts about $2,000 for the crappy stuff. It is basically the same in MN, WS, IL and any other states where a high amount of wetlands have been lost. The issue isn't money, it is access. The waterfowl resource is only available to those who have the money to lease the land, and a result, waterfowling in most other states is almost exclusively a rich man's sport.
ND has always been different in that regard. Very nice people, usually second or third generation landowners, who don't mind allowing access to hunt. But now the winds have changed, and you a have large number of people who are willing to open their wallets, because even if you have to pay for the opportunity, it is much better than where you currently reside. That is why a cap is essential.
Look no further than the neighbor to the south. SD has a cap of 4,000 for NR waterfowlers. This was passed in the 60's, and has withstood numerous lawsuits, even the State supreme court. Even with the cap of 4,000, the State has a large commercial outfitter enterprise.
While a cap is essential in ND, I don't think it will solve all of the problems. Once these commercial interests are established they will not go away. Once again, the bottom line for NRs is access to the resource.
A grass roots movement has to be started at the local level to outlaw or abolish these commercial interests. I had actually sent Chris H. an e-mail detailing an idea that I had about the legality of commercial hunting. In a nutshell the idea stems from ND's no commercial farming law. If you can't have commercial farming, why can you have commercial hunting? If there are any lawyers out there, please weigh in with any knowledge you may have about this thought.
One last point, I really place a lot of the blame on commercial organizations and companies that produce hunting shows (I am not going to mention any names but anybody reading this knows who they are). These shows are constantly shooting video in ND showcasing the wonderful hunting opportunities. The biggest problem is that they are the ones who are promoting the guides and commercial outfitters. They are not filming these shows on WPAs or public land, but are using the guides and outfitters for access, so they can get really good footage of great shoots. They do these shows on private land tied up by commercial outfitters, and then literally spit in the face of all the resident hunters, by plugging these entities numerous times during the video. Just watch one of the biggest waterfowl conservation groups that has a hunting show airing Saturday mornings if you don't believe me. I sent a letter to the president of the organization stating my concern about this practice. I have not heard any response, but I will most likely not be a supporting member in the future.
The bottom line, abolish the commercial hunting outfitters.