Page 8 - SDWF Out of Doors

Out of Doors 8 January - April 2023
Thanks in large part to hunters and anglers, games
species we chase in fields and steams with our guns
and our rods are generally doing very well. Funded
largely by license dollars and taxes on sporting
equipment, state game and fish agencies like the South
Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department guided by
the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation
have brought back deer, pheasants, walleye, and most
other game species from historic lows a century ago to
relative abundance now.
Unfortunately, nongame species aren’t doing nearly as
well. In fact, 1/3 of all U.S. wildlife species currently
face an elevated risk of extinction. More than 1,600
U.S. species are already listed under the federal
Endangered Species Act. The population of all birds
has gone down by nearly 3 billion since 1970, according
to a study by Cornell University. Nearly 40 percent of
all songbirds have disappeared within the same time
span. Similar stories of decline exist for nongame fish,
amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and bats.
With this nongame wildlife crisis in mind, the
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is being introduced
again in this session of Congress. This bill will allow
state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies to invest
more than a billion dollars annually in proactive, on the
ground, collaborative efforts to help species at risk by
SOUTH DAKOTA WILDLIFE FEDERATION, CALLS ON SOUTH DAKOTA GAME FISH AND PARKS
COMMISSION TO PAUSE THE WATERFOWL PROPOSAL FOR AT LEAST A YEAR TO GATHER
ADDITIONAL DATA ON RESIDENT WATERFOWL HUNTING STATISTICS.
Pierre, S.D. April 12, 2023. Opening the door to additional nonresident
waterfowl hunters would see a further erosion of South Dakota
resident waterfowl hunting and access. South Dakota Wildlife
Federation requests that the Game Fish and Parks Commission, at
their May meeting at Custer State Park, requests the Department of
Game, Fish and Parks to work with hunters and the SDWF to come
up with an alternative proposal on waterfowl hunting, access and
license availability that does not increase the number of non-resident
licenses.
The number of non-resident licenses is at an all-time high. While the
number of resident waterfowl hunters continues to decline according
to the 2008 GFP study. The two main reasons they cited in reducing
their waterfowl hunting were difficulty in finding a place to hunt and
conditions were to crowded.
Data from the GFP indicated that almost half (48%) of the waterfowl
hunting that occurs in SD is in a 5-county area (Brown, Clark, Day,
Marshall, and Roberts), with technology available today in identifying
flocks of birds it is easy to see why the overcrowding conditions
materialize in a very short period of time.
restoring habitat, controlling invasive species,
reconnecting migration routes, addressing
emerging diseases, and more.
The benefits of passing the Recovering
America’s Wildlife Act would be multifold. First
of all and most importantly, the bill would take
advantage of state fish and wildlife agencies’
experience and expertise and finally give them
a funding source to work on and recover at risk
species. As a result, a multitude of species
will be stabilized and ultimately recovered.
But the benefits don’t stop there. To restore
habitats necessary for species recovery,
partnerships with farmers, ranchers, and
timberland owners will certainly be needed. Much of the
money under the bill would be directed towards these public/
private partnerships. As a result, local landowners and their
surrounding economies will benefit. Private landowners will
benefit additionally from the bill, because it will undoubtably
keep many species from having to be listed under the federal
Endangered Species Act, and by doing so prevent the added
regulation that sometimes accompanies such listing.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is a once in a generation
wildlife bill. It’s time it is passed into law. Please contact Senator
Thune, Senator Rounds, and Representative Johnson asking
them to support it.
Resident waterfowl hunters contribute to the economy far more
than non-resident hunters. South Dakota hunters buy pickups,
SUV’s, boats, motors and trailers in South Dakota. They license,
fuel, and maintain this equipment and pay state taxes on all these
costs. In addition, the hunting supplies and groceries purchased by
local hunters far exceed the non-resident hunter.
Further commercial exploitation to attract non-resident waterfowl
hunters will further magnify the problem for both resident and non-
resident hunters. With an expansion of additional non-resident
licenses, we expect out of state commercial outfitters to further
erode opportunities for resident hunters.
“Providing the waterfowl hunting experience to people that live
and work in South Dakota is not only a generation experience it
is one that should be protected.” Executive Director of the SDWF,
Megan Howell commented. She went on to say, “South Dakota is
one of the premier waterfowl hunting states in North America and
the SDWF would like to work with the Commission to make sure
there is access and opportunity for resident hunters to continue this
hunting tradition.”