08/01/2026
Great news!
U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Awards for Voluntary Public Access Funding
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced funding for 19 different projects through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP). These projects will increase public access to private lands for outdoor recreation while benefitting wildlife habitat, farmers, ranchers and private landowners. This announcement comes after NRCS announced the availability of $52 million for VPA-HIP in April — the largest amount of funding in the program’s history.
“VPA-HIP is a win for hunters, private landowners, and wildlife,” said Ariel Wiegard, Vice President of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “By expanding access to private lands and supporting habitat improvements, this investment will create more opportunities for upland hunters while delivering meaningful conservation benefits for pheasants, quail, and other wildlife. We appreciate the continued commitment by NRCS Chief Colton Buckley and the USDA to this highly successful program.”
The funding will improve many voluntary public access programs across 19 states. This will include expanding the Open Fields for Game Bird Hunters in Montana to at least 28,600 acres, increasing landowner and hunter opportunities through the Illinois Recreational Access Program, enrolling an additional 15,000 acres to the Iowa Habitat and Access Program and restoring Minnesota’s Walk-In Access Program to over 30,000 acres. These awards will also benefit wildlife habitat, such as in Georgia, where the project will incentivize landowners to improve wildlife habitat on VPA-HIP enrolled land.