Making Room for South Dakota’s Hunters
By Rep. Stephanie Herseth
Growing up on my family’s farm near Houghton, hunting and fishing were a
big part of my life. I especially loved the fall when I would walk the
fields with my dad to hunt pheasants. Hunting was a great way to enjoy the
outdoors, and to spend time with my family.
Today, it is growing harder and harder for kids to have the same experience
that I took for granted growing up. Land that is open to the public for
hunting is growing more scarce and more expensive. It is time to take some
firm steps to ensure that all of South Dakota’s sports men and women have
the opportunity to hunt.
First, I believe that Congress should adopt the bipartisan “Open Fields”
legislation that I have cosponsored with other farm belt members of
Congress. This bill would establish a new federal program modeled on the
“Walk In” program already in effect in states like South Dakota. It would
set aside $50 million each year for states to use to pay landowners who
volunteer to open their land to hunters. It will go a long way toward
strengthening the partnership between hunter and landowner and it has
broad-based support from hunting organizations like Pheasants Forever, the
National Rifle Association, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and
Whitetails Unlimited as well as agriculture groups like the National Farmers
Union.
This program is a win-win for South Dakota’s hunters and landowners. South
Dakota’s current “Walk In” program already has about 1 million acres
enrolled. This bill will allow the state to dramatically expand that
acreage to benefit hunters and landowners, providing new opportunities for
farmers and ranchers to keep their operations profitable in today’s
competitive agricultural economy.
Sportsmen’s groups estimate that this legislation could open up more than 10
million new acres of private land nationwide to the public each year. More
hunting will, in turn, pump more money into rural economies that desperately
need it. Hopefully, Congress can see its way to passing this important
legislation this year.
In addition, Congress needs to continue to support common-sense conservation
programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP). These programs have a proven track record of
creating new wildlife habitat that in turn creates opportunities for good
hunting.
Like many of our state’s hunters, I’m disappointed that this year’s funding
bill for the Department of Agriculture provides too little money for
conservation. We need to do a better job of investing in these programs –
it’s good for producers, it’s good for the land, and it’s good for
sportsmen.
It’s been a privilege to serve as South Dakota’s lone member of the House of
Representatives for the past six weeks. As a new member of the House
Agriculture and Resources Committees, I’m going to continue to work so that
programs that benefit sportsmen get the support they deserve in Congress.
Working together, we can ensure that all South Dakotan sportsmen and women –
as well as the next generations of South Dakotans -- will have the
opportunity to enjoy hunting long into the future.