A conference committee has reached a compromise on a bill that would allow nonresident waterfowl hunters to hunt statewide, providing they bought a higher-priced license.

The so-called "zone buster" licenses would allow nonresidents to hunt waterfowl for 14 days or two seven-day periods in the same zone. Current law limits out-of-state duck hunters to 14 days of hunting, but nonresidents may hunt only seven days in one of two small zones that are considered prime duck country. Those zones - numbered 1 and 2 - are located in the south-central and southeastern parts of the state. For the other seven days, visiting duck hunters could hunt only in zone 3, which comprises the rest of the state.

The compromise calls for charging nonresident waterfowl hunters $125 for the statewide waterfowl hunting license, $40 more than they are paying now.

As introduced and passed in the Senate, SB2256 proposed a $100 statewide nonresident waterfowl license, with $15 going to the state's Private Land Open to Sportsmen hunting access program.

The House Natural Resources Committee amended the fee to $170, with $85 going to the PLOTS program. The House committee also added a cap on the number of statewide licenses that would be available to nonresidents. Under the compromise, the cap was removed.

When the Senate declined to agree to the changes, the conference committee was formed. On the committee were Sen. Stan Lyson, R-Williston, Sen. Layton Freborg, R-Underwood, Sen. Mike Every, D-Minnewaukan, Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Wolford, Rep. Duane DeKrey, R-Pettibone, and Rep. Lyle Hanson, D-Jamestown.

Hanson cast the only dissenting vote.

The compromise measure now heads to votes in the Senate and the House.