Two broad classes of plasma chemistry were examined for dry etching of GaN, ALN, and InN. The etch rates for CH4/H-2-based plasmas are low (similar to 400 Angstrom/min) even under high microwave power (1000 W) electron cyclotron resonance conditions. Halogen-based plasmas (Cl-2, I-2, Br-2) produce rates up to similar to 3000 Angstrom/min with smooth stoichiometric surfaces. Preferential sputtering of N occurs for high ion energies, leading to rough GaN surfaces at rf power above similar to 200 W. Etch rates for high ion density discharges are typically an order of magnitude faster than for conventional reactive ion etching.