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State of Oklahoma

Posted: Jul 21, 2017 3:51 PMUpdated: Jul 24, 2017 10:56 AM

Oklahoma Land Access Program To Pay For Land Access

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Ben Nicholas and Garrett Giles

The Oklahoma Land Access Program from the Department of Wildlife Conservation has been created for land owners looking to earn some money. The new program will use more than $2 million in federal grant money to increase public hunting and fishing opportunities in exchange for incentive payments to private landowners.

According to Don Brown from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, this program increases opportunities for those looking to enjoy them.

People can access properties with the exception of extraordinary ranching or farming activities. Hunters could interfere with getting cattle onto trailers or brushhogging the property for crops according to Oklahoma Wildlife Department biologist Jeff Tibbits. He says that notifying hunters the day before they go out is the best way of keeping everyone safe.

Increased law enforcement patrols by state game wardens will also be in affect for OLAP for increased safety and regulations. OLAP will also provide property signs, maps, and physical markings of the area boundaries Tibbit says. The program hopes to have a more static outline online by the first week of August.

Tibbits adds that taking kids out into nature can be difficult these day as technology is on the rise. He says that OLAP aims to make it easier for families to take their kids out and enjoy nature. Part of the program is making fishing, hunting, and bird watching more accessible, but it is also looks to lease rivers in Oklahoma for a form of recreational boating called "paddle trails" in other states.

Enrollees choose among several public access options in the categories of walk-in hunting, walk-in fishing, stream access and wildlife viewing. Compensation is variable per acre based on the options selected and the property location.

OLAP is scheduled to launch with the opening of dove hunting season Sept. 1, 2017.

Tibbits says he can't predict the future, but his best bet is that OLAP will be actively enrolling properties into the program until July of 2018 when funds should be obligated to multi-year contracts within an year.

For more details and to sign up, contact Tibbits, (405) 535-7382, jeff.tibbits@odwc.ok.gov; or OLAP technician Kasie Joyner, (405) 535-5681, kasie.joyner@odwc.ok.gov.

Photo courtesy of Loren Giles


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