GFP Commission Holds October Meeting

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission held their October Meeting at Cadillac Jack’s Resort in Deadwood October 5-6.

FINALIZATIONS

Hunt for Habitat

The Commission modified the licenses offered through the Hunt for Habitat raffle package. Licenses available through the raffle include:

• (1) Custer State Park Trophy Bison
• (2) Any Deer
• (3) Any Deer and Any Elk Package

The any antelope licenses were removed from the previous three license packages, and two any deer licenses were added to provide an opportunity for two additional license options, with a total of nine licenses issued.

Free Park Entrance and Fishing

The Commission removed Mother’s Day and Father’s Day from the park entrance license and fishing license exemption. Usage on both of these days, by those seeking free entrance, was minimal. Mother’s Day weather can be challenging, and many individuals have purchased their park entrance licenses and/or fishing licenses by Father’s Day.

The traditional Open House Weekend, the weekend prior to Memorial Day, will remain open for both free park entrance and free fishing.

ADDITIONAL ACTION

Nonresident One-Day Fishing License

The Commission continued their conversation to remove the one-day nonresident fishing license option. Since 2020, there has been a spike in one-day nonresident fishing licenses. Assessments of these license sales indicate some individuals are taking advantage of the license structure to obtain multiple licenses while exempting themselves from purchasing the the Habitat Stamp. The three-day and annual fishing licenses would both remain available for nonresidents.

The Commission tabled action on this topic until the November meeting to allow for additional public comment opportunity.

Public Comments Being Accepted

To hear the discussion on these proposals, audio from the meeting is available through South Dakota Public Broadcasting and will soon be available on the GFP website as part of the meeting archive.

To see these proposals in their entirety, visit gfp.sd.gov/commission/information.

To be included in the public record and to be considered by the Commission, comments must include a full name and city of residence and be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CDT on October 29.

The next GFP Commission meeting will be held in Madison November 2-3.