Positions
- Even though it was in response to a legislative rule change, the action taken by the GFP Department in moving licenses from the Missouri River unit to other parts of the state is illegal because the statutory requirement to create additional access and opportunity was not met.
- The large gap between opportunities to hunt waterfowl in SD and the number of waterfowl hunters has created excessive competition and consequently driven down the number of resident waterfowl hunters.
- Resident waterfowl hunters are of greater economic value than nonresident hunters and consequently trading a resident for a nonresident represents a net loss to rural counties and the state as a whole.
Actions
As a consequence of these positions, the SDWA will seek support for legislation that will:
- Eliminate all three-day waterfowl licenses with the exception of 500 that will be restricted to private land in the Missouri River unit
- Limit the number of 10-day nonresident licenses each year to eight percent of the average number of resident waterfowl licenses sold in the prior three-years
The SDWA will also take the following actions:
- Make a formal petition to the GF&P Department asking the department to prove that it met the requirement to provide the required additional hunting access and opportunities when it transferred waterfowl licenses from the Missouri River unit to other parts of the state
- Survey waterfowl hunters regarding the locations they hunt throughout the state and the dollars they expend in their waterfowl hunting
- Petition the GFP department to develop a statewide plan to increase access for waterfowl hunters on state game production areas, walk-in areas, conservation reserve enhancement program areas, cooperative hunting access areas, controlled hunting access program areas, waterfowl production areas and school and public lands
- Petition the GFP department to develop a plan to increase the number of resident waterfowl hunters by twenty five percent in the next 10 years