archery only), and what days the CHAP is open. Landowners who enroll in CHAP have more control over hunter activities on their land including controlling the number of hunters per day, the type of game that can be hunted, the type of seasons, the method of take (ex. To view current CHAP areas,see the map below.ĬHAP is a cooperative effort between private landowners and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks to provide limited public hunting opportunities on private land.
Lease payments are paid with money from hunting license sales.
It is important that hunters using a CHAP area complete the required check in registration slip and drop it in the self-service box so hunter use can be properly counted. Landowners are paid based on the number of hunters that use these lands. Privately owned lands, operated as working farms and ranches, leased for public hunting access by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks primarily for big game hunting. Every acre enrolled in CREP is open to public hunting and fishing. In South Dakota, the focus is on improving water quality, reducing soil erosion and providing flood control while creating additional pheasant nesting habitat in the James River Watershed.ĬREP participants receive higher rental rates than if they were to just enroll their land in CRP. CREP lands are owned by private individuals who have enrolled them in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and signed a lease agreement with South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to provide public hunting and fishing access.Īdministered by the USDA's Farm Service Agency, this program is a "state-sponsored" Conservation Reserve Program providing additional undisturbed habitat for wildlife and public hunting access. Open year round to public hunting and fishing access. Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) NO DRIVING is allowed on Walk-In Areas except on designated trails and parking areas. No further permission from landowners is needed to hunt these areas. Walk-In Areas are leased for public hunting access by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks using money from the sale of hunting licenses and Federal Aid money from a tax on hunting equipment sales. Privately owned lands, operating as working farms and ranches.
Private Landowners, for more information on how to enroll your property, click here. Please remember these are privately owned lands and your actions while hunting on them can determine if they are open to public hunting in the future. Let’s help out our future generations on gaining access to private lands by demonstrating respect to the wildlife, the land and water we recreate on, and to the landowner. Hunting and fishing, and gaining permission to access private land are privileges. Wildlife is owned by no one and is held in trust for the benefit of present and future generations. Just a word on a paper, but a very powerful element of landowner relations that opens doors and creates rapport, and will ultimately benefit all hunters for years to come. This is best accomplished by demonstrating respect to the wildlife, the land and water that we recreate on, and of course, to the landowner. Finding a place to hunt can be a challenging task at times, but is very achievable. South Dakota is approximately 80 percent privately owned, and as a result, the vast majority of hunting that occurs across the state occurs on private land. Check out the most recent updates available within the hunting atlas. The atlas is printed annually and available in early August.
The atlas contains maps and information on South Dakota's Walk-In Areas, Game Production Areas (GPAs), Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs), School and Public Lands, National Forests and Grasslands, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands and other lands open to public hunting.
Access includes federal and state-owned lands as well as private land leased for public hunting access. The South Dakota Public Hunting Atlas is a hunter's guide to all lands open to public access. South Dakota has over 5 million acres of hunting opportunity on public land as well as on private land leased for public hunting.