South Dakota livestock producers play an important role in maintaining grassland health by improving water quality and increasing biodiversity. Maintaining grassland health in return, will help improve the quality of forage for livestock and ultimately increase profitability. South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks (SDGFP) recently hired eight new Private Lands Habitat Biologists (PLHB) for a current total of twelve across the state of South Dakota to help landowners increase profitability on their lands, while also enhancing wildlife habitat at the same time.

SDGFP offers a variety of cost share options to landowners to improve their grazing operation. These cost share options include native grass seeding, fencing, and water developments such as rural water hook-up, pipeline, tanks, and wells. The department is also willing to restore wetlands at a cost share rate of 100%.

Alongside the significance of wetlands and properly managed grazing systems is pollinator habitat. Pollinators have been on a decline for 30 plus years partly due to habitat

loss/fragmentation. State, federal, and non-profit organizations understand the value of pollinators and offer a variety of programs and cost share to get more land converted back to being representative of native prairie. SDGFP has now increased efforts in this regard and offering a new pollinator program for 2022. The program is targeting smaller areas (2-9 acres) that may not be eligible for other federal and non-profit programs offered throughout the state. Those smaller plots of land could include but are not limited to irrigation corners, marginal farm acres, or areas that large equipment cannot reach. SDGFP will provide the landowner with 100% cost share up to $150/acre for grass and wildflower seed only.

If anyone has questions about the SDGFP programs or other private land habitat programs offered throughout the state, they should contact Todd Crownover of Tyndall. Todd covers Bon Homme, Yankton, Clay, Union, Lincoln, Turner and Hutchinson Counties. He graduated from Peru State College in Nebraska with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology. He worked as a South Dakota Wildlife Conservation Officer for almost 29 years before taking the role as a Habitat Biologist. He works closely with FSA and ASCS offices, and your local Pheasants Forever farm bill biologist with CRP, CREP on the James and Big Sioux River and other programs. For all your grass, exclusion fencing, food plots, trees or Walk-In-Area needs give him a call. He can be reached by phone 605-464-0647 or by email todd. crownover@state.sd.us.