Hunt_News
10-11-05, 06:55
School and Public Lands Office begins marking boundaries
The state Office of School and Public Lands has started putting up signs to mark the 800,000 acres of state trust land that are open to hunting.
The project -- possibly taking five years and costing $250,000 -- should make it easier for hunters to stay off private property, said Bryce Healy, commissioner of School and Public Lands.
Knowing what's private and what's public land can be difficult in western South Dakota's open range where there may be no established section lines or roads. In some cases, a trust plot of 5,000 to 10,000 acres may be bordered on three sides by private land with no recognizable boundary.
[oas:siouxcityjournal.com/news/south_dakota:Middle1]
"It's not marked now, and that's been problematic," Healy said. "If you've been out there, you understand the vastness and the co-mingling with private property."
Healy's office manages the trust lands, which usually are leased for grazing. Income from grazing or mineral leases on the land goes to schools and state universities.
About 75 percent of the trust land is located west of the Missouri River. Harding County -- located in the northwest tip of the state -- has 275,000 acres of school land.
Healy's office used a $35,000 grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to purchase 2,200 signs for the first part of the project.
"We have enough signs to cover 550 miles of land. But out of 800,000 acres, that won't go far," he said.
Healy said neither his office nor the state Game, Fish & Parks Department has extra money to buy signs, so he will explore other grants and sources of money, and will be selective in putting up signs.
"We're not going to do every piece of school land. We'll do parcels that have decent access and that are larger tracts."
The trust land hasn't always been open to hunting. Healy said his predecessor, Curt Johnson, began the process in the early 1990s when the first of the 10-year leases came up for renewal.
Leaseholders -- about 1,500 statewide -- cannot bar public access, and hunters are encouraged to tell the leaseholder that they'll be on the land, Healy said.
"Generally you have a happier leaseholder, a happier hunter, and sometimes the leaseholder says, 'Here's another 600 acres you can go ahead and hunt on."'
Healy expects to look for volunteers to put up signs as the project moves into eastern South Dakota, where the school lands are easier to locate and mark.
"In the west, you need GPS (Global Positioning System) and you need to know what you're doing," Healy said. "Out there it's where the hunter lockouts are located, anxiety is high and tempers flare. We don't want volunteers putting themselves in that position."
Some landowners in western South Dakota have closed their land to hunting in protest over GF&P policies, hunter trespassing and hunters shooting too close to homes and livestock.
"Ninety-nine percent of the leaseholders are wonderful leaseholders and 99 percent of sportsmen are great. But it's those 2 percent that usually meet," Healy said.
"Most leaseholders think this will alleviate problems. They've come to understand and know this property is open to public access. Generally speaking, it's good all in all for everybody involved."
The state Office of School and Public Lands has started putting up signs to mark the 800,000 acres of state trust land that are open to hunting.
The project -- possibly taking five years and costing $250,000 -- should make it easier for hunters to stay off private property, said Bryce Healy, commissioner of School and Public Lands.
Knowing what's private and what's public land can be difficult in western South Dakota's open range where there may be no established section lines or roads. In some cases, a trust plot of 5,000 to 10,000 acres may be bordered on three sides by private land with no recognizable boundary.
[oas:siouxcityjournal.com/news/south_dakota:Middle1]
"It's not marked now, and that's been problematic," Healy said. "If you've been out there, you understand the vastness and the co-mingling with private property."
Healy's office manages the trust lands, which usually are leased for grazing. Income from grazing or mineral leases on the land goes to schools and state universities.
About 75 percent of the trust land is located west of the Missouri River. Harding County -- located in the northwest tip of the state -- has 275,000 acres of school land.
Healy's office used a $35,000 grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to purchase 2,200 signs for the first part of the project.
"We have enough signs to cover 550 miles of land. But out of 800,000 acres, that won't go far," he said.
Healy said neither his office nor the state Game, Fish & Parks Department has extra money to buy signs, so he will explore other grants and sources of money, and will be selective in putting up signs.
"We're not going to do every piece of school land. We'll do parcels that have decent access and that are larger tracts."
The trust land hasn't always been open to hunting. Healy said his predecessor, Curt Johnson, began the process in the early 1990s when the first of the 10-year leases came up for renewal.
Leaseholders -- about 1,500 statewide -- cannot bar public access, and hunters are encouraged to tell the leaseholder that they'll be on the land, Healy said.
"Generally you have a happier leaseholder, a happier hunter, and sometimes the leaseholder says, 'Here's another 600 acres you can go ahead and hunt on."'
Healy expects to look for volunteers to put up signs as the project moves into eastern South Dakota, where the school lands are easier to locate and mark.
"In the west, you need GPS (Global Positioning System) and you need to know what you're doing," Healy said. "Out there it's where the hunter lockouts are located, anxiety is high and tempers flare. We don't want volunteers putting themselves in that position."
Some landowners in western South Dakota have closed their land to hunting in protest over GF&P policies, hunter trespassing and hunters shooting too close to homes and livestock.
"Ninety-nine percent of the leaseholders are wonderful leaseholders and 99 percent of sportsmen are great. But it's those 2 percent that usually meet," Healy said.
"Most leaseholders think this will alleviate problems. They've come to understand and know this property is open to public access. Generally speaking, it's good all in all for everybody involved."