6
| WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023
2023 HUNTING GUIDE
New Pheasants Forever hunting access program sees early interest By Landon Dierks M i t ch el l R ep u b l i c SIOUX FALLS — Pheasants Forever’s new Public Access to Habitat program, announced in late August, is already seeing success in the early weeks and months of its existence. On Aug. 23, Pheasants Forever unveiled its Public Access to Habitat program, or PATH, with the goal of enrolling 10,000 acres per year in South Dakota. Since the program’s official inception on Sept. 1, the organization has already registered nearly 1,000 total acres spread between 13 landowners in the opening five weeks (as of Oct. 6), according to
Matt Gottlob, Pheasants Forever’s South Dakota state coordinator. “We’ve had a good start to the program,” said Gottlob, who works out of Sturgis. “There has been a lot of good interest. We have more applications coming in on a weekly basis, so we’ve been staying very busy, and I think it’s going to continue to snowball.” The PATH program aims to “accelerate the statewide enrollment of lands in long-term conservation programs while bolstering participation in South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks’ Walk-In Area program. In return for 10 years
of undisturbed habitat and access to private lands, PATH provides an additional sign-up incentive of up to $25 per acre on top of what’s offered by the GFP Walk-In Area program. Per the GFP’s website, the Walk-In Area program currently has over 1.25 million acres and 1,400 landowners enrolled, accumulated over more than 30 years. The first year of the PATH program is already fully funded at $250,000 through sponsorships from the South Dakota Department of Tourism and onX Hunt, a GPS hunting maps service. Though the PATH program’s focus is on the “pheasant core” of
P hea sa n ts F orev er photo
A l l l an d s en rol l ed an d i mp act ed b y t h e Ph easa n t s Foreve r Pu b l i c A c ess t o H ab i t at p rogram w i l l b e reco gn i ze d w i t h a PA T H si gn i n ad d i t i on t o t h e S ou t h D ako t a G FP W al k- i n A rea si gn on t h e p rop ert y . South Dakota, Gottlob stressed that the program was designed to stretch to all corners of the state and include many different types of wildlife and habitats.
“The No. 1 limiting factor to sportsmen and women across the country is access,” Gottlob said. “Pheasants Forever recently added ‘public access’ to our
There’s No Place Like Room/Lodge Rental Packages Tailored to Meet Your Needs
mission statement, so this program goes right along with the core values of what we work and stand for.”
PATH: P a g e 7
Book Your Next Hunt At Our Premier Lodge!
Book Our Lodge for Any of Your Special Events!
Family Reunions • Corporate Events • Weddings• Rehearsal Dinners • Birthday Parties • Showers • Christmas Parties
Pheasant Hunting - Package includes lodging for 3 nights! Granite Springs Lodge, LLC | 25840 422nd Ave. • Alexandria, SD 57311 | 605-239-4404 • granitespringslodge@gmail.com
