State land vs federal/wia/crep

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
How come all the reports and videos from south Dakota it's really rare anyone ever hunts state land? These are called game production areas(I much prefer the acronym wma, wildlife management area, but that's a different discussion). I've hunted over there before, and it seemed like the gpa's were really good cover and good hunting. Is it just because there's not a lot of them? I guess when you look at the online atlas it seems dominated by green or orange, not as much red. I know in Minnesota I hunt a lot more state land vs. Federal land. Then if you throw iowa in the mix, I hunt about 50/50 state vs. Federal, although many spots are owned/ maintained by the county they're located in. That's always intrigued me because I've never seen the county involved in the other states I've hunted.
 
Northern MN is full of tax forfeited land that no one wants to buy. If landlocked, neighbors can hunt without owning it. County keeps it because they have to and can log it on a regular basis. Studies have shown that county land is often logged when ready, state land can lag, and federal land often never gets logged ... and becomes old forest.

I know there are quite a few Federal WPAs that were formed decades and decades ago because the landowner tax forfeited the property. The Ag land is sold off, while the sloughs were made federal property.

There is a very large WPA in central ND that formed when the landowner was arrested and convicted for being part of a major drug import (via Canada) ring. The seized property was turned over to the USF&W. The house nearby had a three story watch tower. All this long before cell service.
 
WPAs in MN and ND are often now grazed or even farmed. I found one large WPA in SE ND that most of the grassland was farmed for three years. It now back to grass. Federal USF&WS are trying things to keep the grasslands healthy ... used to be Bison and fire would do that.
 
I really like hunting GPA's in SD. They're usually a good mix of grass cover, wetlands/cattails, shelterbelts, and the vast majority that I've hunted have food plots. I've probably hunted between 15 or so GPA's, generally in the SE part of the state.
In the area I hunt, there are way more CREP spots, and in years where there is no emergency haying going on, the CREP spots are usually great. So I spend more time on those than GPA's, generally speaking. But I do like hunting GPA's too.
 
IdahoCountryBoy said:
One thing I will say. When it comes to WPA and GPA they will probably be around if my kids decide to hunt. CREPs and WIA aren’t always guaranteed. So I’m a big fan of GPA and WPA but I’m grateful for all public land opportunities.
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In south Dakota, these guys all want big money on private land.You would be lucky to find free hunting on private land.
 
3car said:
A lot of those WPA's in SD are now planted back and are great for pheasants.
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I agree - federal WPAs are usually one of the better spots for decent pheasant habitat. Not perfect - still exposed to haying and grazing, but I find them much better than state GPAs, generally speaking.

The state owned GPAs seem to be a set and forget operation. Seems like they were planted many years ago but are never managed beyond that. The once productive shelter belts become overgrown and the grass goes to brome. Disappointing to see as it is the opposite in MN - the state lands are the most actively managed and best habitat.
 
Woollybob said:
I agree - federal WPAs are usually one of the better spots for decent pheasant habitat. Not perfect - still exposed to haying and grazing, but I find them much better than state GPAs, generally speaking.

The state owned GPAs seem to be a set and forget operation. Seems like they were planted many years ago but are never managed beyond that. The once productive shelter belts become overgrown and the grass goes to brome. Disappointing to see as it is the opposite in MN - the state lands are the most actively managed and best habitat.
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The other thing with the state is they don't have the funding or support for a fire program. The feds have a way better supported, funded, organized and trained fire program to help with management. The state on MN has the Lasard (sp) fund. They have a ton of money to hire the people they need and manage the property. That same attempt has been made in the Dakotas but were voted down in the Legislatures.
 
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In the part of the state I hunt, what's mentioned above is certainly the case.
WPAs are pretty great.
GPAs are mediocre on average.
WIAs are steadily disappearing.
CREP isn't real prevalent, as my hunting range is right on the very edge of the CREP range. If I lived a little further west, I'm sure I'd hunt more of it.
2 things severely lacking on the land I hunt are shelterbelts & food plots. I think public land nesting cover has improved a little in the last 10 years. I credit grazing & burning for that.
 
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