If you aren't lucky enough to own your own South Dakota hunting land, you probably have no idea how much goes into maintaining hunting land. The maintenance of public hunting land involves much tedious work like fixing fences, maintaining signs, building maps and keeping the areas clean and full of well-fed wildlife. You can't find the South Dakota hunting land you're looking for without signs and maps, after all. 

Without a map, new hunting land areas are discovered only by random chance. Without well-maintained signs, you could inadvertently wind up on private hunting land. This could be dangerous. During the summer, Fish and Game crews build miles of fence, post thousand of signs by hand-driving them into the ground, and translate all that into maps that will help you navigate public hunting land during open season.

People often don't think about the maintaining fences, signs and parking areas that go into public hunting properties management. Fences define boundaries, and with nearly thousands of acres of hunting land in South Dakota, keeping them in good shape is by no means an easy task. While Fish and Game employees don't have to fence the privately owned hunting land that is open for recreational land uses, maintaining old signs and putting up new ones is an even bigger job than fixing fence.

Parking areas in public hunting are another overlooked feature. Without parking areas, though, hunters have to park on the side of the road. This could be dangerous.

Just getting to all the South Dakota hunting locations in all corners of the state and places in between is a challenge. Driving from one Fish and Game office to another can take hours, but many hunting land users still do the drive. Many employees are forced to drive from recreational properties to many different offices to transport equipment.

The simple task of transporting equipment to a hunting land work site means hauling fencing tools and supplies for miles over treacherous terrain in the hot sun. Pounding posts for hours also means being exposed to mosquitoes, ticks, rattlesnakes and undocumented sink holes.

There are many different hunting land management practices that into maintaining public South Dakota hunting land. Some hunters are lucky enough to have access to private Hunting Properties. For everyone else, however, using public hunting land is a necessity. Hunters should appreciate all that goes into the management of public Hunting Properties. 

Preparation begins the night before for most hunting land trips, or sometimes even on the morning of a hunt. South Dakota public hunting land employees spend the year making these Hunting Properties usable and available to the public. So next time you're hunting on public recreational land, take a minute to appreciate all that goes into maintaining that land. If you notice something out of order, make a note of the problem and location. When you return home, take a minute and let someone at Fish and Game know.