Hunters in Alabama will have the unusual opportunity to bid on hunting leases on state-owned lands at a live auction this weekend in Shelby County. Saturday’s auction will feature 140 tracts of varying sizes in different locations across the state, and they’ll be leased out to hunters on a five-year cycle. The lease program and the auction itself are being overseen by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resource’s State Lands Division. While federal agencies like the BLM lease public land, it’s less usual for a state to do so, and particularly for hunting rights.
“The process involves a lot of work but is certainly worth it as the resulting leases are truly a win-win for the state and hunters,” State Lands Director Patti Powell McCurdy said last week in an announcement. “They generate revenue for state agencies and at the same time allow State Lands to offer a unique hunting opportunity to anybody willing to participate in the bid process.”
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The public auction is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on May 31. The agency will accept written bids from absentees ahead of time, as well as in-person bids at the Grande Hall in Columbiana. Detailed bidding instructions are available on the state agency’s website, which includes a full list of the 140 available tracts, along with basic property information and the minimum bid amounts being accepted.
McCurdy explained that her staff first analyzes the properties to verify the hunting opportunities there. They then work with property appraisers to set the minimum bids, which range from only a couple hundred dollars per year up to $8,000 or more.
The 140 tracts being auctioned are located across 32 counties, and they include a wide range of habitats, from rich bottomlands in agricultural areas to timbered tracts near the foothills of the Appalachians. They range in size from 34 to 1,400 acres, and some of the smaller parcels are available for bowhunting only. But they all provide some sort of opportunity, especially for hunters who might want to avoid crowded public lands but who can’t afford a farm of their own or a membership to a private club.
“Not everybody has access to family land or a hunting club. This gives the public an opportunity to lease a tract and enjoy it with family and friends,” ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship said of the program. “Our bidders range from hunting clubs to grandparents looking for a place to take their grandkids hunting. I suspect we might also have a few bidders who just want a place to get away and enjoy by themselves.”
Blankenship clarified that the parcels being auctioned are separate from the state’s Wildlife Management Areas and other public lands managed specifically for hunting and fishing. Some of the tracts are owned by other state agencies, but by being enrolled in the hunting lease program, these tracts can drive revenue to the state while allowing hunters to play a bigger role in habitat management.
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Lessees are required under the lease agreement to follow certain management practices, such as preventing fires, maintaining fire breaks and access roads, and keeping food plots planted. (By the same token, they aren’t allowed to cut down trees or plant new food plots without the agency’s approval.) They also have to obtain general liability insurance, maintain a list of authorized hunters, and follow other specific rules set by the ADCNR.
Although McCurdy mentioned the last auction taking place in 2020, it’s unclear how long Alabama has been leasing out its state lands to hunters. The ADCNR State Lands division did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. But the program is clearly being done with an eye toward the long-term health of these lands, with hunters stewarding the properties by investing their own time and money.
“To some, [making these tracts generate revenue] might sound like an unexpected role for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, but really, it’s not,” McCurdy said. “Employing proven conservation principles and implementing best management practices has always been directly linked to the resulting productivity of land. While you might see a one-time generation of revenue, you will never achieve the goal of perpetually generating revenue unless you take proper care of the land over the long term.”
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