Conservation
Photo © Vickie Prussman
Wildlife Action Plan
The South Dakota Wildlife Action Plan is a statewide strategic plan to conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats. It evaluates the status of species and ecosystems, identifies conservation challenges, and outlines proactive actions and monitoring strategies to support wildlife populations and the environments they depend on.
Approval of a State Wildlife Action Plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required for states to receive funding through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. This funding has been critical to advancing research and monitoring, substantially strengthening conservation for species of greatest conservation need and their habitats. South Dakota has participated in this program since its conception in 2000.
Wildlife Action Plans are comprehensively revised every ten years, incorporating new data and emerging conservation challenges. The 2025 South Dakota Wildlife Action Plan was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in December 2025. The plan emphasizes voluntary partnerships among agencies, tribes, organizations, and private landowners to conserve ecosystems, reduce the likelihood of future state and federal threatened and endangered species listings, and support healthy wildlife populations and resilient habitats for current and future generations.
Due to the size of the plan, sections are provided as separate files to improve download speed. The Executive Summary offers a concise overview of the approaches taken in the plan and the newly incorporated conservation challenges, while the full plan includes detailed tables, maps, and supporting data.
- Executive Summary
- Chapter Overview
- Introductory Materials
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Species of Greatest Conservation Need
- Chapter 3: Conservation Background - Terrestrial and Riparian-Wetland Ecosystems
- Chapter 4: Aquatic Ecosystems
- Chapter 5: Conservation Challenges and Threats to Native Ecosystems
- Chapter 6: Conservation Actions
- Chapter 7: Agency Coordination, Cooperator Interactions, and Public Involvement
- Chapter 8: Monitoring
- Chapter 9: Review Schedule
- Chapter 10: Engaging the Public and partners Through Watchable Wildlife, Environmental Education, and Wildlife-associated Recreation
- References
- Appendices