The vast majority of states throughout the nation offer an online component of the hunter’s safety course, which provides potential hunters a way to receive their hunter safety certification at their own pace. By offering new hunters an easy and efficient way to gain hunter safety certification, more people will have the opportunity to begin…
Contact: Bob Matthews, Senior Coordinator, Upper Midwestern States Why It Matters: Modern night-vision scopes and binoculars produce clear images that allow hunters to reliably identify targets. Although South Dakotans were already permitted to hunt predators on public lands at night, they were not permitted to use night-vision devices, which hindered their ability to hunt predators…
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager, and Kent Keene, Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Highlights: Why it matters: Efforts designed to achieve conservation successes naturally vary from place to place. Even within the same region, these objectives can vary between properties, specifically between privately owned properties whose owners hold different values…
Contacts: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager; Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator Since many Midwestern states have either wrapped up their 2020 legislative sessions or remain suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s States Program Team will be providing brief regional legislative updates over the next few weeks. Below…
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager April 30 marked the end of the 2019-2020 mountain lion season in the Black Hills of South Dakota. With a firm harvest limit of 60 total lions or 40 females in the Black Hills Fire Protection Area, the season ended with 51 total lions harvested, including 27 females…
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Though the vast majority of conservation efforts are funded by hunters, anglers, recreational shooters and trappers through the “user pays – public benefits” American System of Conservation Funding, many fish and wildlife agencies are looking for ways to generate additional revenues for conservation efforts to improve fish and…
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager On January 23rd, the South Dakota Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus co-hosted a legislative reception with the South Dakota Chapter of Ducks Unlimited. The event focused on Ducks Unlimited’s work in the state and the mission and goals of the Caucus. The event had about 80 people in attendance including…
By Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Recently, newly elected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem joined the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC), a bipartisan group of governors from across the country who are dedicated to their sportsmen and women constituents. “South Dakota is deeply rooted in outdoor traditions. Hunting, trapping, and fishing have played a significant…
By Zachary Sheldon, Upper Midwestern States Coordinator On March 23, Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) Member Governor Dennis Daugaard signed Senate Bill 137 Introduced by South Dakota Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Senator Jason Frerichs and sponsored in the House by Caucus Co-Chair Representative Herman Otten, the bill expands South Dakota’s mentored hunting program by removing the…
On January 24, the co-chairs of the South Dakota Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus introduced two pieces of pro-sportsmen and women legislation. Senate Bill 137, introduced by Caucus Co-Chairs Senator Jason Frerichs, Senator Gary Cammack, and Representative Herman Otten, would expand South Dakota’s mentored hunting program by removing the minimum age requirement to participate. Currently, youth ages…
On January 10, the South Dakota Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted a reception to kick off the start of the 2018 legislative session with members of the South Dakota legislature, representatives from sportsmen’s groups, and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks. The reception provided an opportunity for South Dakota legislators to exchange ideas…
On June 2, an interim legislative study committee will meet in Pierre to discuss proposed legislation on the regulation of access and use of non-meandered waters. In South Dakota, bodies of waters are classified as either “meandered” or “non-meandered”. Meandered waters are bodies of water that U.S. surveyors, during the original survey of the state,…