PIERRE, S.D.(WNAX)- The office of the Commissioner of School & Public Lands in South Dakota oversees leasing of grazing rights on over seven hundred thousand acres of public land. They also manage mineral rights on those acres.

Commissioner Brock Greenfield says they had some new areas opened up to gas and oil exploration.

Greenfield says the state and his office can benefit from any gas and oil produced on those lands.

Greenfield says the exploration area may expand.

Greenfield says Harding County has been the center of gas and oil production for years.