BERTHOLD - The grasslands, tree groves and wetlands, with signs warning hunters to keep out, mark a stretch of rolling prairie near here as a haven for wildlife.

Court documents mark it as something else: the focus of a battle over a North Dakota law that conservationists say is unmatched in the nation.

The law, added to the state's ban on corporate farming in 1985, caps the number of nonprofit groups allowed to purchase land.

Those who are allowed to buy land must submit their plans to a public review board, and the governor is given final authority to approve or reject any purchases.

Farm groups and county officials who support the law say it helps ensure that farmland will not be lost. Critics say it hampers important conservation work. But no one has tried to challenge it until now.

James Cook's foundation, Crosslands Inc., has owned the private wildlife refuge near Berthold for about 20 years. He got in trouble this year for refusing to abandon the purchase of more than 1,000 acres in two other counties.

Cook owns Investment Rarities Inc. of Minneapolis, which deals in gold and silver coins, bullion and sterling silver flatware.

He is both president of Crosslands and treasurer of the Cook Waterfowl Foundation, a separate nonprofit that owns property in Minnesota. Both foundations list Investment Rarities' address as their business address.

Cook, 66, lived in the Fargo area as a child, and says he discovered a love for birds by watching bobolinks near his home there. He later developed a passion for duck hunting, which drives his conservation work.

"It's a wonderful sport. I'd like to see future generations experience it," he said.

North Dakota is regarded as one of the country's best areas for waterfowl habitat, and Cook says his goals are simple: to plug drainage ditches, replant grasses and keep hunters out so birds will have a chance to thrive.

He cannot believe the state is not on his side.

"It's a shame," he said. "I wish the people in North Dakota could walk on these properties some spring day and see the grass and the flowers and the beauty of the wetlands that we've restored."

State officials say Cook should have expected a lawsuit when he publicly announced plans to violate Gov. John Hoeven's order banning his new refuges.

"We need to move rapidly to let him and everyone know that we expect our laws to be complied with," Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said.

Conservation groups say the state restrictions can make it difficult to set aside crucial habitat.

"You have to have a staff of attorneys to make sure you don't get in trouble," said Jeff Nelson, a regional director for Ducks Unlimited. "We've decided to work mostly in South Dakota until we see some changes."

North Dakota's law is the only one in which the governor "has the ultimate yea or nay on whether or not you can buy - totally unique from the rest of the 49 states," said Gerald Reichert, a spokesman for the Nature Conservancy, one of five nonprofits still allowed to buy land.

The law is needed to keep a check on those who want to buy up large tracts of productive farmland, said Robert Carlson, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union.

"When a block of land is taken out of production and put into a conservation use, you're losing that economic activity," Carlson said. "When you see rural communities already struggling to maintain businesses, it sort of heightens the opposition."

Reichert said the Nature Conservancy owns the most land among the nonprofits, about 15,000 acres. "And there's 45 million acres within the state. So it's a fraction, just a small fraction," he said.

Despite the limits, nonprofit groups say North Dakota has rarely rejected their purchase plans.

That changed last year, when Hoeven denied two requests from Cook's foundation, Crosslands Inc.

Hoeven said one proposal could not be approved because Cook had purchased the land without first getting permission. Cook said he was unaware of the law.

"The process is laid out and they didn't follow the process," said Lance Gaebe, a Hoeven policy adviser.

Hoeven cited a lack of public benefit, including plans to ban hunters, in denying a later request to buy land in Cavalier County.

Cook said he would ignore the governor and go ahead with his plans.

He was sued a week later by Stenehjem, who is asking a judge to fine Crosslands up to $150,000 if it does not unload its properties within a year.

Stenehjem contends that Crosslands skirted the state law when it acquired each of the three parcels: 320 acres in Ward County, about 950 acres in Griggs County and 480 acres in Cavalier County.

Cook calls the requested penalties "the harshest imaginable," but Stenehjem says the state has been working with Crosslands to find a solution for unloading its illegally owned property.

"It's not like we jumped at the first opportunity. We've been trying to get them to tell us what their plans are for a couple of months now," Stenehjem said.

Cook concedes he has a slim chance of prevailing in court and says the battle could drain Crosslands' wildlife budget. But he predicts the dispute will help turn public sentiment against the state's restrictions and rally outdoors enthusiasts to his side.

"You can't measure the value of the prairie in grain alone," Cook said. "One way or another, there's going to be room for wetlands and wildlife."