Where to hunt pheasants in South Dakota: Part 2

South Dakota is a big and diverse state, and pheasant country over here isn’t the same as pheasant country over there.

Everybody knows South Dakota is the Pheasant Capital of the World. But South Dakota is a big state, and the ability to chase wild roosters in a wide variety of landscapes and habitats is also why South Dakota remains the world’s premier pheasant hunting destination. In short, it's like four states in one. 

With that in mind, here’s a rundown from east to west of South Dakota's primary pheasant regions and the opportunities you can find in each.

Part 2: The James “Jim” River Valley

The western edge of the Coteau des Prairies drops into the James River Valley, where the famous pheasant towns of Aberdeen, Redfield, Huron, Mitchell and Parkston all reside. If you were to ask most nonresident hunters to describe what they “think” hunting in South Dakota looks like, this ecoregion is probably it.

The Jim River Valley has more corn strips, food plots and chunks of grass than further east, and the landscape is predominantly flat, with a majority of it having less than 5% slope,. In large part, it’s more of a traditional, linear setting where you can line up across one end of a field and walk in a straight line. While there are still plenty of cattail sloughs and wetlands, larger tracts of CRP and larger cattail sloughs will be the main habitat types in the area and probably what people end up hunting most of the time.

A popular public hunting opportunity in this region is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, or CREP. In South Dakota, CREP lands are only found in the James River and Big Sioux watersheds.

There are currently more than 110,000 acres of CREP in the watershed of the “Jim River.”

In the James River Valley Watershed, there are currently more than 110,000 acres enrolled in the program. CREP ground can be found north of Aberdeen all the way south along the James River to its confluence with the Missouri River near Yankton at the southern edge of the state. 

Plenty of acres enrolled into CREP were old Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practices that were based around wetlands, so there’s basically upland grass plantings around a wetland body with good mixes of nesting, brood-rearing and thermal cover. In addition to CREP, there are also Game Production Areas and Waterfowl Production Areas dotting the landscape, making the James River Valley an appealing area for both resident and nonresident hunters.

Additionally, the Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition has opened up an additional 4,000 acres to public hunting in Brown County. The coalition is spearheaded by the local Pheasants Forever Chapter, which works with a group of local businesses and organizations to raise money for additional sign-up incentives for landowners in Brown County. Incentives paid by the coalition are added to other one-time payments landowners receive when they enroll land into CRP and the state’s walk-in area public hunting access program.

In other words, it’s local groups working together to put more grass on the ground. That means more nesting and brood rearing habitat for birds, and more land open for public hunting come fall. It’s a win-win-win scenario that’s being replicated by other Pheasants Forever chapters, including the chapter based out of Mitchell, South Dakota.

Historically, the counties up and down the James River Valley produce some of the highest pheasant harvest totals year in and year out, which adds to their popularity. Brown County, for example, is traditionally in the top three. Several other counties, including Spink, Davison and Beadle aren’t far behind.

Plus, many of the larger towns in the James River Valley have small airports that offer flights the first part of hunting season. This fact only makes them more appealing to nonresident hunters flying into the state each fall.