GFP Commission Holds July Meeting
July 21, 2023PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission held their July meeting at Cedar Shore Resort in Oacoma on July 20.
WILDLIFE PROPOSALS
Antelope and Turkey Drawings
The Commission continued their discussion on their proposal to restrict the number of applications a person may submit during the third draw from up to five applications to one application for Prairie Spring Turkey, Fall Turkey, and Prairie Antelope. This creates consistency among turkey and antelope draws, creates more opportunity for more unique hunters, and reduces the amount of returned licenses.
Bait Proposal
The Commission proposed clean-up language to clarify what can be taken for use as bait, using traps, seines, dip nets, lift nets, and cast nets, and associated limits.
Lake Sturgeon Catch and Release Season
The Commission proposed to allow for a catch and release Lake Sturgeon season on Big Stone Lake. The proposed season would run from June 16 through April 14.
Hoop Net, Trap, Setline, and Floatline Licenses
The Commission proposed to list the cost of resident hoop net, trap, and setline licenses with other fishing license fees. The proposal also clarifies that floatline fishing is allowed with a setline/floatline license.
Landowner Fisheries Management
The Commission proposed to better clarify that a resident is not in violation of any fish season, daily, or possession limit in a man-made water body on land owned by the resident, provided that the resident owns the entire bed of the water body.
Dip Nets for Invasive Carp and Rough Fish
The Commission also proposed to allow invasive carp and rough fish to be taken with dip nets.
Lake Francis Case Paddlefish
The Commission proposed to increase the number of resident paddlefish tags for the Lake Francis Case snagging/archery season from 350 to 500.
Trout Spearing
The Commission proposed to allow rainbow trout to be harvested by legal spearing methods from reservoirs within the Black Hills Fish Management Area.
Mountain Lion Season-Expanded Use of Hounds
The Commission accepted a petition to expand the use of hounds for the mountain lion season. The petition would allow the use of dogs within the Black Hills Fire Protection District for residents only with a harvest limit of 12 cats: 6 males and 6 females. This would be included within the overall Black Hills Fire Protection District harvest limit. The petition is now a proposal, and will enter the rule promulgation process.
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 September 3.
The next GFP Commission meeting will be held in Watertown September 7-8.
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