One of the core functions of VPA-HIP is its ability to support private landowners in implementing habitat restoration projects

The thrill of a crisp morning hunt or casting a line in a quiet stream often depends on something many don’t think about: access. For hunters and anglers across the country, that access increasingly comes from private lands— 70 percent of this nation’s lands, exclusive of Alaska, are in private ownership. As a result, a majority of this country’s hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities are on private land. It also means that a majority of this nation’s wildlife habitat improvement and enhancement projects sit in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners. That’s where the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) comes in. 

What Is VPA-HIP? 

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, once commonly known as “open fields,” is the only federal program dedicated to creating public access on private lands.  

Championed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s founder, Jim Range, VPA-HIP helps states and Tribes create innovative ways of incentivizing private landowners to open their lands to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. It is the only federal tool aimed at increasing recreational access on private lands, yet it is not nearly the most well-known of Farm Bill conservation programs.  

But it doesn’t stop at access, VPA-HIP also incentivizes landowners to restore and enhance habitat, making it a win-win for wildlife and the people who enjoy it.   

With proposed funding increases to $150 million under the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025, this program stands to do even more for conservation and recreation alike. 

Why It Matters for Habitat 

While access is the headline, one of the core functions of VPA-HIP is its ability to support private landowners in implementing habitat restoration projects. 

VPA-HIP encourages habitat restoration and stewardship on enrolled lands, helping private landowners improve conditions for wildlife while offering recreational opportunities to the public. 

Let’s look at some examples of how VPA-HIP creates or enhances wildlife habitat: 

• Landowners enrolled in the Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP) report that assistance with habitat improvement is their number one reason for signing up. IRAP creates hunting opportunities for deer, turkey, upland bird, and waterfowl hunters on private lands in Illinois. In exchange, enrolled landowners receive a free habitat management plan, custom built for their property by Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists. Landowners who implement these plans receive bonus payments for habitat improvements, incentivizing better habitat for both game and non-game species. 

• After flood damage along the Rio Grande River, the Santa Clara Pueblo used VPA-HIP funding to construct off channel ponds and make habitat improvements for fishing opportunities, restoring and improving public fishing access in Santa Clara Canyon. 

• On top of incentivizing access, the Wisconsin VPA-HIP provides financial assistance to landowners who create or enhance habitat through practices like prescribed burning, planting native grasses and forbs, or removing invasive species like honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multiflora rose. 

• Arkansas is a top destination for waterfowl hunters, and rice fields are a crucial food source for wintering waterfowl. Through the Arkansas Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement (WRICE), farmers receive payments to leave rice stubble intact, rather than tilling fields in the fall, and flood these same fields during the migration. This creates incredible waterfowl habitat and hunting opportunities. 

• Through the Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP), Iowa DNR biologists work with landowners to create a habitat management plan for their property and provide incentive payments when those habitat improvements are completed. In exchange, landowners allow public hunting access.  

Hunters and Anglers Reap the Rewards 

Whether you’re glassing for elk or calling in spring gobblers, healthy habitat is essential. Through VPA-HIP: 

• More land becomes accessible for hunting and fishing. 

• Game populations improve as habitat quality increases. 

• Outdoor traditions are preserved for future generations. 

The Bottom Line 

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program is more than an access program—it’s a key piece of modern conservation. By bringing together landowners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, VPA-HIP helps restore critical habitats and expand outdoor opportunities across the country. 

With renewed investment and continued bipartisan support, this program is poised to make an even bigger impact on the landscapes, wildlife, and sporting traditions we all care about. 

Want to support programs like VPA-HIP? Urge your lawmakers to support this critical program in the next Farm Bill so that more landowners can create access, open landlocked public lands, and enhance wildlife habitat.  Click HERE to take action today.