South Dakota Game Fish and Parks
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The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) held their May Commission meeting at the Custer State Park Events Barn. The Commission had several proposals and finalizations for upcoming seasons and regulations. WILDLIFE PROPOSALS Closed Area on Lake Francis Case The Commission continued discussions on a proposal to eliminate the closed area, referenced as the “Dredge Hole” below the I-90 bridge on Lake Francis Case by Chamberlain. This area is closed December 1-April 30 and includes the area between the I-90 Bridge and Railroad Bridge. This would open this area to fishing for the entire season. Beaver Trapping and Hunting Season The Commission proposed to close the beaver trapping and hunting season for 2025 and 2026 in the Black Hills Fire Protection District. The closure would then be reassessed for future seasons in 2027. The beaver trapping and hunting season in South Dakota, excluding the Black Hills Fire Protection District, would remain open, year round for residents and between March 16 and November 30 for nonresidents. River Otter Trapping and Hunting Season The Commission proposed to increase the harvest limit from 20 to 30 otters. Positive growth within the population and harvest limits being reached quickly in prior seasons provided strong evidence the harvest limit can be increased for the 2025 season. PARKS PROPOSALS Purple Heart Recipient The Commission accepted a petition to include Purple Heart recipients as eligible for the resident disabled veteran lifetime park entrance license and half off camping discount. This petition will now become a proposal, which will go through the public comment process. WILDLIFE FINALIZATIONS Mentored/Youth/Apprentice Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 mentored/youth/apprentice deer hunting seasons. The season dates will be:
Archery Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 archery deer hunting seasons. The season dates will be:
Nonresidents may not hunt private lands leased by GFP for public hunting access or public lands until Oct. 1. The archery deer season will also include the expansion of the municipal deer hunting areas around Sioux Falls and establishment of a municipal deer hunting area in Hot Springs. Muzzleloader Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 muzzleloader deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
There will be 1,000 resident “Any Deer” licenses available for this season. Black Hills Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 Black Hills deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
All firearm deer season licenses will be restricted to buck only in the Black Hills, resulting in no antlerless deer legal for harvest during the Black Hills firearm deer season. There will be 200 “Any Buck Deer” and 2,750 ” Any Whitetail Buck” resident licenses available, and 16 ” Any Buck Deer” and 220 “Any Whitetail Buck” nonresident licenses available. Custer State Park Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 Custer State Park deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
The “antlerless deer” season will remain closed in Custer State Park. There will be 25 “Any Whitetail Deer” resident licenses available. West River Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 West River deer hunting seasons with the following dates: 2025
2026
Many “Any Deer” license types were changed to “Any Buck Deer” license types to reduce antlerless deer harvest. As a result, there will be 730 “Any Buck Deer” licenses available during the West River Deer season. In addition, there will be 4,120 fewer antlerless deer licenses available in 2025 and 2026, representing a 40% reduction in antlerless licenses. There will be 15,648 resident deer licenses and 1,256 nonresident deer licenses available. Refuge Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 National Refuge deer hunting seasons with the following dates: 2025 Season Dates:
2026 Season Dates:
There will be 120 resident “Any Deer” licenses and 12 nonresident “Any Deer” licenses available in total. East River Deer The Commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 East River deer hunting seasons with the following dates: 2025
2026
Many “Any Deer” license types were changed to “Any Buck Deer” license types to reduce antlerless deer harvest. As a result, there will be 950 “any buck deer” licenses available during the East River Deer season. In addition, there will be 3,550 fewer antlerless deer licenses available in 2025 and 2026, representing a 50% reduction in antlerless licenses. There will be 18,840 resident deer licenses available for this season. Black Hills Elk The Commission finalized the Black Hills and Custer State Park elk hunting seasons with the following dates:
Black Hills Firearm
897 any elk licenses and 1,335 antlerless elk licenses are available for the 2025 Black Hills and Custer State Park elk hunting seasons. This would result in 115 additional any elk licenses and 515 additional antlerless elk licenses compared to 2024. The following recommendations represent a 15% increase in any elk licenses and a 63% increase in antlerless elk licenses from 2024 to 2025. Mentored Hunting The Commission finalized their proposal for mentored hunting. The following changes will be implemented:
Electronic Tagging The Commission finalized the description of electronic license registration and tagging requirements to accommodate the comprehensive testing the department is conducting regarding electronic tagging. This will not replace the current locking seal tagging rule, but would allow the option to switch to an electronic tagging option in the future. |
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Public Comment Opportunity and Upcoming Meeting To hear the discussion on any of the topics on the agenda, 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 documents in their entirety, visit gfp.sd.gov/commission/information. To be included in the public record and to be considered by the Commission, public comments must include a full name and city of residence and be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CDT June 2. The next Regular Commission Meeting will be held June 5-6 at the Dakota Events Center in Aberdeen |
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