Harvest Reports and Surveys

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks has conducted harvest surveys since 1948 to estimate harvest data. There have been changes to the structure and style of these surveys, but for the past twenty years the form and content of the surveys has remained consistent.

Harvest surveys are an important part of wildlife management in South Dakota. The information obtained by completing these harvest surveys is the link between what happened during the hunting season this year and how next year’s hunting season will be determined.

Surveys are emailed at the end of each hunting season to all hunters with a working email address. This email is customized to that licensed hunter and preloads the license information for that individual. There are two successive follow-up email reminders, usually 5 to 7 days after the previous email, to those hunters who have yet to respond. PLEASE NOTE - The fact that someone was unsuccessful in their hunt is as important as their success. Unsuccessful hunters represent a cross-section of all hunters, and we need to know that information. It is as important that hunters provide information on whether they even hunted.

Your participation and completion of these harvest surveys provides critical information when staff make decisions on tag allocations and types annually and makes an impact. Thanks for taking the time to complete them.

Antelope	Reports
Archery	Report
Custer State Park	Report
Firearms/Landowner	Report
Mentored Youth	Report
Special	Report

Deer	Reports
Statewide Summary	Report
Archery	Report
Black Hills	Report
Custer State Park	Report
East River	Report
Landowner Antlerless	Report
Mentored	Report
Youth	Report
Muzzleloader	Report
National Wildlife Refuge	Report
West River	Report
Apprentice Antlerless	Report

Elk	Reports
Statewide Summary	Report

Furbearer	Reports
2024	Report
2023	Report
2022	Report
2021	Report
2020	Report
2019	Report
2018	Report
2017	Report
2016	Report
2015	Report
2014	Report
2013	Report

Turkey	Reports
Fall | Black Hills	Report
Fall | Mentored Youth	Report
Fall | Prairie Firearms	Report
Spring | Archery	Report
Spring | Black Hills	Report
Spring | Custer State Park	Report
Spring | Mentored Youth	Report
Spring | Prairie Firearms	Report
Spring Turkey Opinion Survey - 2018	Report

Upland Birds	Reports
Partridge	Report
Pheasant	Report
Prairie Chicken | Sharp-tailed Grouse	Report
Sage Grouse	Report
Mourning Dove	Report

Waterfowl | Migratory	Reports
Waterfowl Summary	Report
Waterfowl Hunter Survey	Report
Canada Goose | All Seasons	Report
Canada Goose | August Management	Report
Canada Goose | Early Fall	Report
Canada Goose | Special Season	Report
Ducks	Report
Snow Goose | Fall	Report
Snow Goose | Spring	Report
Tundra Swan	Report
White-Fronted Goose	Report

Other	Reports
Cottontail | Squirrel	Report
Mountain Goat | Bighorn Sheep	Report
Mountain Lion	Report
Small Game, Upland Bird, and Migratory Game Bird Statewide Summary	Report