South Dakota Deer News

Listening session jabs state on elk, mountain lion management May 16, 2013 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... Lions got their fair share of attention, with some hunters saying GF&P allowed the lion population to grow to problem levels that damage deer and elk herds. Harry Burk of Hermosa said, however, that management of the lion seemed designed to "wipe out a whole species."  Critics also challenged the agency over elk management, which they said allowed elk to virtually disappear in some parts of the Black Hills while continuing to cause trouble for landowners in other areas...

Public may feel left out of SD big game management May 15, 2013 South Dakota, San Francisco Chronicle
... The half dozen people who attended a meeting on big-game management suggested Wednesday that many South Dakota hunters and landowners feel their views are not taken into consideration in the management of deer, elk, ... George Vandel, a former manager in the department's Wildlife Division, said South Dakota's big-game management has always been driven by how many deer and elk farmers and ranchers would tolerate on their land...

Deer Tag Numbers To Drop? May 14, 2013 South Dakota, Yankton Daily Press
... South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P) has proposed further restrictions on deer tags this year in response to massive deer die-offs last year.
The Yankton region saw about 1,100 deer die last summer and fall from epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) ...

SD big game policy group to hold 3 public meetings May 13, 2013 South Dakota, Westport-News
... Gov. Dennis Daugaard called for an independent review of the state's policies amid growing complaints from hunters about declines in the Black Hills elk and deer populations. Some think the state's growing mountain lion population is responsible, while others think the Game, Fish and Parks Department has issued too many licenses for elk and deer...

Officials Set To Outline Proposals On Deer Disease May 10, 2013 South Dakota, Yankton Daily Press
Next week, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P) officials will outline proposals for dealing with a disease claiming more than 1,100 deer in the southeast part of the state. The open houses in Yankton, Tyndall and Freeman ... May 14, 15, 16 ...

GF&P seeks smaller deer harvests May 3, 2013 South Dakota, Daily Republic
... Thousands of fewer deer licenses and tags could be offered to hunters ... There would be only a minor reduction for the Black Hills ... areas were hit to varying degrees by fatal disease last year. Approximately 3,700 deer were reported to be found dead.  Throughout much of the state, drought may be cutting into reproduction...

Black Hills Elk Herd Survey April 20, 2013 South Dakota, SDGFP
... The South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks recently completed an aerial survey of the entire Black Hills. The purpose of the survey was to conduct a complete population estimate of the Black Hills elk herd.  Wildlife staff presented their findings to the GFP Commission at its' April meeting. Click here to see that presentation.

Deer on Bellepine Circle, Sioux Falls, April 2013



Urban Wildlife Committee April 3, 2013 South Dakota, KOTA
... The City of Rapid City is announcing four openings for volunteer positions on the Urban Wildlife Committee.... an online Citizen Interest Form on the City Web Site at http://www.rcgov.org/Mayors-Office/form-citizen-interest-application.html...The application period will close April 12, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Questions can be directed to James Good at 343-0476 or the Mayor's Office at 394-4110.

Deer find wintertime homes on Aberdeen golf courses March 17, 2013 South Dakota, AberdeenNews.com
.... A desire for shelter and food have drawn the animals to local fairways ... the number of deer was lower last winter, when there was less snow... 40 to 50 deer are spending much of the winter at Moccasin Creek ... Moccasin Creek employees try to deter deer from some areas...  The damage to golf courses this winter has been minimal...

Wildlife damage bill defeated February 18, 2013 South Dakota, AG Week
... House Bill 1160 in South Dakota was written to fix the landowner clause of 41-1-5.1. Under that law, a landowner was protected from being charged with civil damages if he or she had notified the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department by certified mail and waited the 48-hour waiting period if the landowner was protecting personal property from being destroyed by wildlife... The passage of HB1160 should have reduced the amount of wildlife shot by landowners because it would pressure GFP to answer wildlife damage complaints in a timely fashion ..

... In 2012 there were 3,580 licenses issued for the Black Hills Deer season - which lasts the entire month of November - and 2,391 deer were harvested.  The breakdown of the harvest showed 2,008 white-tailed bucks were taken, 289 white-tailed doe, 88 mule deer bucks, and 6 mule deer doe.  Survey respondents reported hunting an average of 4.23 days per hunter for a total of 15,144 recreation days for the season. Hunters reported seeing an average of 53 deer, including 10 bucks, during their hunt.

Bill Looks At Deer vs. Car Crashes February 5, 2013 South Dakota, KELOLAND TV
A bill in Pierre hopes to keep a wounded deer from suffering... If you hit a deer now and it’s in the ditch, injured but not dead, by law you have to call a game warden or animal control officer to come euthanize it... 

Sioux Falls, No plans for deer hunting in Sioux Falls, mayor says January 14, 2013 South Dakota, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
... Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether ...said he does not foresee the city allowing hunters to kill within city limit

Airport considers Deer Shield device January 8, 2013 South Dakota, Daily Republic
No deer has ever been struck by an airplane at the Mitchell Municipal Airport  ... Despite the high fence, which has been up for eight years, and efforts to keep gates closed, deer often appear inside the airport grounds.... According to the Deer Shield website, “Digital recordings of alarmed, hostile and territorial deer are broadcast (audible to humans) through high fidelity weather-resistant speakers ...

Hunters take aim at 100-lion quota as season begins in beneficial fresh snow December 26, 2012 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... The state Game, Fish & Parks Commission, an eight-member appointed board that sets hunting seasons, has been upping the kill quotas most seasons due to public concern about the number of mountain lions and their impact on elk, deer and other big game... Custer State Park, where the limited use of lion hounds will be allowed this year. This is the first time ...

Extended Antlerless Deer Season Begins Saturday December 24, 2012 South Dakota, KDLT News
The South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department is offering nine additional days to harvest antlerless deer. The extensions for the West River and East River seasons begin Saturday and end Jan. 6... The changes help harvest more antlerless deer in areas that need it most while curtailing the doe harvest where deer populations are at or below population objectives.

Mule deer mystery: who arrowed big buck? December 21, 2012 South Dakota, RapidCityJournal.com
State wildlife officers in Rapid City are investigating the shooting of a large mule deer buck that wandered into a yard in the west part of town with an arrow stuck in its head... biologist decided to euthanize it ...*

Drought boosted whitetail deer disease  (EHD) in Northern Hills December 15, 2012 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... EHD - officially "epizootic hemorrhagic disease," is in the deer population most years ... Bill Eastman, the Belle Fourche-based state game warden, said that since his first call ... he saw a minimum of 100 whitetail carcasses in the southern part of Butte County. ... "It's internal hemorrhaging as well as severe fever ... A lot of these dead whitetail deer can be found near or in water … because of high fever and trying to cool off." ...

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a midge-borne virus ... GF&P officials estimate that at least 3,400 deer died of EHD in 2012. That's more than twice the 1,300 reported in 2011, which was the previous high in reported EHD losses in South Dakota.  And both numbers were likely conservative ...

Deer Licenses Reduced, Refunds Offered Due To Die-Offs December, 2012 South Dakota, South Dakota State News
     The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department has been monitoring die-offs of white-tailed deer across portions of the state and must make adjustments to some West River deer hunting units.  Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) has been confirmed in white-tailed deer, and many of the deer deaths being reported by the public are suspected to be the result of that disease.
      In response to the disease, all unsold licenses will be removed from the following deer hunting units for the West River deer season: Bennett County: 11A-09 and 11B-17; Gregory County: 30A-19 and 30B-19; and Jackson County: 39B-09. In addition, 200 licenses will be removed for Meade County: 49B-09.
      “As the department continues to monitor the outbreak of EHD over the next couple of weeks, we will provide additional recommendations to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission at its October meeting to address East River deer units,” said GFP Secretary Jeff Vonk. “Currently, the department plans to recommend that the commission remove all unsold licenses in Bon Homme, Hutchinson, and Yankton counties and make significant reductions to leftover licenses in Brule and Charles Mix counties for the second draw of the East River deer season. Between now and the next commission meeting, we will continue our surveillance efforts with the possibility of additional license reductions.”  Aside from conducting ground surveillance and collecting reports from the public, GFP is also using aerial flights to help determine the severity of deer mortalities....

Thousands of deer licenses returned December 8, 2012 South Dakota, Daily Republic
Deer hunters returned 2,624 licenses they purchased but decided not to use this year for South Dakota's seasons. The state Game, Fish and Parks Department extended the refund offer because of deer die-offs from disease ... South Dakota was among states across the northern plains and upper Midwest that suffered unusual outbreaks this year of Epizootic Hemorrahgic disease....

Rapid City council approves harvesting of 200 deer December 3, 2012 South Dakota, KOTA Territory
... City Council members voted in favor of the harvesting of 200 deer within Rapid City limits. Council members also approved a motion to revise deer management plans...

 A Fort Thompson man accused of illegally shooting wildlife has been sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison. Twenty-five-year-old Richard Coleman also was ordered to pay $11,750 in restitution...

Rapid City Public Works Commitee approves deer management plan November 28, 2012 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... the Public Works Committee unanimously approved a plan Tuesday that would allow 200 deer to be killed next year in city limits... The city council will consider the plan at its meeting on Monday.

Rapid City, Bow hunting dropped from proposed deer management plan November 27, 2012 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
As part of the revised deer-management plan, residents can call a dedicated hotline to report all wildlife complaints — from deer to mountain lions — on its current hotline, which is 605-791-4WILD. "It allows us to focus our efforts in areas of town that truly have problems,"  said Ward 1 Alderman Bill Clayton, the primary author of the plan ... city-approved shooters will kill a set number of deer in certain locations using rifles with optical sights.

Rapid City, Wildlife hotline tracks complaints November 18, 2012 South Dakota, Rapid City Journal
... Residents can now call a city hotline to report wildlife concerns for animals such as deer ... The hotline is part of a revised deer management plan ... used to determine where to harvest deer within city limits, among other things. The lack of complaint tracking was part of what prompted revising the deer-management plan.

With what we've been through, an EHD discussion would be appropriate November 6, 2012 South Dakota, Daily Republic
... EHD strikes almost annually in parts of South Dakota and Nebraska. This is not true of Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, etc ...  One estimate placed our state’s loss at 1,000 deer. A month ago, I suggested that we could multiply that number by five... 

Prescribed Burning Manages Habitat The Way Mother Nature Intended October 25, 2012 South Dakota, Beef Magazine
... "Fire is Mother Nature's way of revitalizing itself. South Dakota's plant and animal species evolved around fire events. They thrive after a burn," said Tim Bradeen (habitat resource biologist for South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks), of why S.D. GF&P utilize prescribed burns to improve habitat for the state's wildlife... 

Search for news and information by keyword above or find links to state news stories organized by topic.
 




Other useful links:

South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources

South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks

Strategic Managment System, Adaptive Resource Management: "The Division of Wildlife will manage South Dakota’s wildlife and fisheries resources and their associated habitats for their sustained and equitable use, and for the benefit, welfare, and enjoyment of the citizens of this state and its visitors."

Click for larger image.  Data Source