I'm in the same boat zr600, except last year, before my wife bought me my ATN X-sight 2 for Christmas I contacted the game and fish department to clarify that the IR light necessary to make it worth the investment was legal to use... They responded to my email stating that yes, in fact it was legal to use the IR illuminator, but only on coyotes. Fast forward to this year and now I find out that it is in fact illegal to use the IR illuminator that was included with my ATN scope. I'm Pissed. If they had told me in the first place that I couldn't use an IR Light with the scope the purchase would never have been made. I would have saved up for thermal, plain and simple.
I would recommend you go to the Game and Fish advisory meetings that are going on currently. They are scheduled all over the state. If enough people bring this issue up, maybe it will get pushed through on the Game and Fishes recommendation. I have also gone ahead and sent an email to one of the district 2 reps that lives right here in Stanley to see if there is anything he could do to get an exception put in place to the ND Century Code that restricts the use of artificial Illumination. I would recommend that if the Game and Fish does not give you a favorable response, contact your local reps.