Public Opportunities for Wildlife-Related Recreation (POWRR) is a new public access program in Virginia. The program’s intent is to provide public access for a variety of wildlife-related recreation through lease agreements on private property. This program is possible because of funding through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). This USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program provides funding for state and tribal governments to open access on private property to public use for hunting, fishing, and wildlife-related recreation. The funding provided by VPA-HIP compensates landowners for providing public access and can also be used to implement habitat management practices on enrolled acres.

The POWRR funding will be focused in the Coalfields region of Southwest Virginia. Specific goals include enrolling properties for: hunting access, wildlife viewing access, fishing access and boating access.