PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s Department of Game, Fish and Parks has recently embarked on a cooperative effort with the Office of School and Public Lands to enhance wildlife habitat and provide improved hunting opportunities on state lands across South Dakota.

Game Fish and Parks and the Office of School and Public Lands recently entered into a cooperative agreement to enhance the conservation practices on 5,000 acres recently acquired by School and Public Lands in eastern Pennington County, also known as the McIlravy Ranch.

According to School and Public Lands Commissioner Bryce Healy, the property would be offered for lease at an adjusted stocking rate in order to ensure optimum range conditions for both livestock and resident wildlife. What this adjustment amounts to is offering a good balance of grazing and wildlife habitat on a large tract of public land that also offers ample recreational opportunities for South Dakotans and its visitors.

"I am pleased that my office was able to obtain the McIlravy Ranch, not only for the financial benefits but also for the recreational benefits," Healy said. "By working with Game Fish and Parks, we can improve the quality of the property for sportsmen and women while maintaining the financial benefits for the schools."

Because the primary purpose of School and Public Lands properties is to generate revenue for education, any adjustment to leasing potential could have a negative effect on surface lease income.

"Recognizing this is important," said Dennie Mann, regional land program manager for Game, Fish and Parks in Rapid City, "and because the states wildlife resources will benefit greatly from this cooperative effort, as will the hunting public, GFP Wildlife Division staff is providing both technical and financial assistance for the habitat improvements." Eventually Game, Fish and Parks hopes to work with the Office of School and Public Lands on more large tracts of school lands that would benefit from a similar arrangement.

"The technical and financial assistance provided by the GFP will go along way in helping my office improve the quality of the trust lands," Healy said. "This cooperative effort is allowing us to implement conservation measures to improve wildlife habitat that would otherwise be financially impractical."

Under Commissioner Bryce Healy, School and Public Lands properties have been open to public hunting, but this latest initiative is a new step towards applying land and water stewardship practices that benefit the wildlife resources and the public enjoyment of these properties.

"For Game, Fish and Parks, providing hunting and recreational access to large tracts of public land in western South Dakota is a priority, and in this case, the public will not only have access to the School and Public Lands property, but also to nearly 1500 acres of previously isolated Bureau of Land Management property," Mann said.

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