The conservation reserve enhancement program (crep) has been in existence in south dakota since 2010

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $3,612,741 Formula Grant under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks Wildlife Division. The grant supports the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in South Dakota, which aims to provide unlimited public hunting access to private lands enrolled in the USDA's CREP program within the James River watershed. This program has increased hunting opportunities and quality by improving public access to suitable hunting grounds, which is a key factor in hunter satisfaction and state, local, and national revenues related to outdoor recreation. The grant will fund this public access initiative from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

The main objective of the program is to provide unlimited free public hunting access to private land within the jamesriver watershed that is enrolled in united states department of agricultures (USDA) crep. This program hasincreased hunting opportunity and improved hunting quality.access is a very important part of attaining hunter satisfaction. Access is already being provided on department owned and leased private lands through the walk-in area program and other publicly owned lands. Public access toprivate land has been identified as a key component of providing a satisfactory hunting experience. Easy accessto suitable hunting grounds for a significant number of hunters is an important limiting factor in the decisionof whether to hunt. This limitation impacts local, state, national, and department revenues, which subsequentlyimpacts habitat management. The crep project targets the best habitat in a key portion of the pheasants rangeand plays a critical part in providing for the public hunting access needs in south dakota.