A camouflaged turkey hunter sits along wooded cover as the sun rises over public habitat near Yankton. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
During retirement, one of my freelance assignments was covering the Legislature for the South Dakota Newspaper Association. I enjoyed the work, though the weekly travel from my home in Brookings was daunting.
One day, having just arrived in Pierre and making my way through the Capitol, I saw some officials from the Game, Fish and Parks Department. I recognized some of them from the two years I spent as an information officer for the Wildlife Division.
One of the officials was Tony Leif, who at the time was the director of the Wildlife Division. I thought I had some news for him. On the way to Pierre, in a field between Highmore and Harrold, I’d seen a small herd of antelope. I was surprised, thinking that the antelope range was in West River.
Tony knew all about the herd. He said the herd ranged from where I saw it up to Potter County. Landowners in the area were trying to nurture the herd, he said, so that it might one day be large enough to hunt.
As we prepared to go to our various committee hearings, Tony grinned and said, “It was fun, wasn’t it?”
It had been fun to unexpectedly see that herd and it reminded me of one of the first lessons I learned while working for GF&P: wildlife belongs to everyone. Sure, hunters, anglers and landowners have some strong proprietary feelings about wildlife. But it’s as much mine — a casual observer from the highway and a noted indoorsman — as it is anyone else’s.
Part of what brought on this trip down Memory Lane was a recent South Dakota Searchlight story about a meeting of the Game, Fish and Parks Commission, the citizen panel that oversees the regulation of hunting seasons in the state.
Resident v. nonresident dispute yields plan limiting out-of-state hunting licenses
At issue was a complaint from the South Dakota Wildlife Federation that too many nonresident hunting licenses are issued for the spring turkey hunting season in the Black Hills. There were 3,170 nonresident licenses issued last year. The federation wanted that number cut to 661. The commission’s compromise was 2,225 nonresident licenses. Now comes a comment period prior to finalization of the season at the commission’s September meeting.
The commission hears from sportsmen and landowners all year long as it works its way through a schedule of various hunting seasons. In January and February, however, there’s a new group with its eyes on the outdoors as the Legislature convenes.
Lawmakers are often frustrated by their relationship with the Wildlife Division. That division gets the vast majority of its funding from license fees and federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. Consequently, there are no purse strings for lawmakers to tug on when they want the division to bow to their will.
That frustration is apparent in the number of bills that have been filed over the years seeking legislative oversight of GF&P land acquisitions. Rep. Chris Karr, a Republican from Sioux Falls, offered the latest attempt this year, House Bill 1180 . Karr asked the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to table his bill, but not before he told them that he was going to continue studying the issue because he has concerns about the process.
It’s hard to know what’s so concerning about a process that brings together a willing seller with an interested buyer. That seems like the American way.
Another item on the legislative wish list was figuring out a way to keep conservation officers off private land. That wish came true in 2021 with the passage of a bill offered by the governor’s office that said conservation officers had to ask permission to enter private property unless there was a reasonable suspicion of a violation, to dispatch a distressed animal or to respond to an emergency.
No one was complaining about the presence of conservation officers on private land during the recent flooding in the southeastern part of the state. A South Dakota Searchlight story noted that 17 officers conducted more than 30 rescue calls saving about 60 people from the flooding. The conservation officers were lauded for their bravery by Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden. That’s ironic since in 2021 Rhoden was the first to testify in favor of the bill making conservation officers ask for permission before they can do their jobs.
Despite all the different interests and entities trying to influence Game, Fish and Parks policies and regulations, the Wildlife Division manages to come through, year after year, with a first-rate walleye fishery, world-class pheasant hunting and a plethora of other hunting and fishing opportunities.
The division’s continuing success was brought home recently on a trip from Brookings to White when I saw a flock of wild turkeys in a farmer’s field. Tony Leif was right. It was fun.
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