Game, Fish and Parks achieves 1.6 million acres of public access, sets 2 million acre goal

Walk-In Area land along South of Harrisburg. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight).

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department has surpassed its goal of creating public access to 1.6 million acres of private land one year ahead of schedule.

The news came in a Thursday report to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission by Wildlife Director Tom Kirschenmann. He called it a record-breaking expansion of publicly accessible land and said it reflects the department's commitment to enhancing outdoor opportunities for residents and visitors.

"Our staff worked their tails off to get where we are today," Kirschenmann said.

The department's primary public access program , the Walk-In Area program, accounted for more than 1.3 million acres. The public access initiative compensates landowners who allow foot-traffic-only public hunting. Funding for the expansion came from an additional annual fee on hunters and anglers, called the Habitat Stamp , implementing in 2020.

When the Walk In Area program is stacked on top of a habitat improvement program like the federal Conservation Reserve Program – which pays landowners to rent some of their private land for conservation – the acres become "Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program" acres. Those acres make up most of the remaining publicly accessible private land.

The department had hoped to hit the 1.6 million-acre mark by 2025. It has now set a new goal of reaching 2 million acres of public hunting access across South Dakota. The expanded access is particularly timely, Kirschenmann said, given the favorable conditions seen early in this year's pheasant hunting season.

"Bird numbers are really strong," he said.

The 2024 season has also brought a surge in hunting licenses, Kirschenmann said. Resident small game licenses jumped from 73,500 in 2020 to over 81,500 this year. He advised hunters to contact local landowners for tips on bird numbers and conditions.