South Dakota has bold plans to expand waterfowling access

Key points from the story

• Declining participation drives new plan: South Dakota waterfowl participation fell 29% from 2005 to 2022, prompting Game, Fish and Parks to draft a new 2026–2028 Waterfowl Hunting Access Plan aimed at retaining current hunters and attracting new ones.
• Expanding and improving access: The plan focuses on increasing public hunting opportunities by managing more than 1,000 private-land access contracts covering about 464,000 acres, improving access, and hopefully adding another 25,000 acres of private-land access by 2028.
• Partnerships and funding underpin efforts: GF&P will rely on partnerships with conservation groups, landowners, and federal agencies, supported by license fees, federal Pittman-Robertson funds, and the state’s Habitat Stamp program.

The number of duck hunters in South Dakota has been declining. So, state wildlife officials have drafted another three-year waterfowl hunting-access plan to help retain seasoned hunters and call in new ones.

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department’s 2026-2028 Waterfowl Hunting Access Plan builds on earlier efforts to respond to two decades of declining resident hunter numbers and growing concern about access and crowding.

Waterfowl season participation dropped 29% from 33,950 in 2005 to 24,166 in 2022, even as nonresident duck hunter license numbers stayed relatively flat because of license caps.

Some hunters blame the loss of permission-based access on private land ownership, pointing to commercial guides leasing exclusive access to prime locations – all while consolidation in agriculture has left fewer farmers to ask for permission to hunt and an unknown number of wetlands that have been drained, plowed, and planted.

A 2017 poll of waterfowl hunters found that 41% viewed a lack of public places to hunt as at least a “moderate” problem, and 37% said crowding at hunting areas posed a similar challenge, according to the state.

The plan says South Dakota cannot control every factor that affects hunter numbers, but it can expand places to hunt and make it easier for hunters to reach wetlands and crop fields that hold ducks and geese.

MORE WATERFOWL COVERAGE FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:

Fewer hunters are chasing diving ducks each fall; Would tweaking limits bring them back?

Troubles with Minnesota’s shrinking duck habitat have led to slow hunting, may require controversial solutions

Here’s how to effectively jump-shoot ducks

The plan says that as of January 2026, the department will be managing more than 1,000 contracts with landowners who provide public hunting access to about 464,000 acres of private land in eastern South Dakota (where most of the waterfowl are).

About half of those acres are in the state’s general “Walk-In Area” program. About 121,000 acres are in a program targeted specifically for waterfowl, about 90,000 are Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program acres with public access along the James and Big Sioux rivers, and about 26,000 acres are in the Lower Oahe Waterfowl Access Program.

On publicly owned land, the department already has enhanced waterfowl access on 118 “game production areas” in 42 counties by adding boat ramps, access roads, trails, parking areas, and equipment drop-off sites. The plan notes several state-owned game production lands with specialized features for hunters with disabilities, including vehicle trails and accessible blinds.

The new objectives

GF&P wants to add another 25,000 acres of private-land access for waterfowl hunters by December 2028. Staff plan to seek more public access to acres in the James River and Big Sioux River watersheds, as well as deals that secure exclusive access routes across private land to public water.

Staff will also inventory water bodies and coordinate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to identify federal waterfowl production areas and refuges that could support new trails, ramps, and boat launches. Improvements could include mowed corridors, mat-style boat ramps at the water’s edge, and areas where hunters can load, unload, and park.

The department also pledges to maintain all existing waterfowl access points, trails, decoy drop sites, and ramps every year. Crews will mow trails and parking lots, and add gravel and other material as needed.

The department’s plan emphasizes mapping and communication. Staff will update their satellite maps to reflect new access points or changes, then publish that information through the state’s online hunting atlas and other maps.

The plan leans heavily on partnerships. It lists outreach to local sportsmen’s clubs and chapters of national groups such as Ducks Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl as a priority, both to help identify local needs and to assist with volunteer projects. It also supports the acquisition of new game production areas and waterfowl production areas.

Funding for the work will continue to come from a mix of hunting license dollars, Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grants, and South Dakota’s Habitat Stamp, which the state began requiring in 2020 for most hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses.

Habitat Stamp revenue topped $5.4 million for the 2025 license year, with nonresident hunters supplying $3.9 million.

GF&P points to its prior efforts as evidence that ambitious goals are achievable. Between 2023 and 2025, staff enrolled about 54,000 additional publicly accessible acres in eastern South Dakota. Roughly 31,000 of those new acres went into a program for field hunting. Crews also built or upgraded 23 public access sites in 15 counties, including ramps, trails, and parking lots, plus an interactive waterfowl access map on the department’s website.

GF&P credits the South Dakota Wildlife Federation and the South Dakota Waterfowl Association for their help. Here’s to hoping these efforts can preserve the duck-hunting culture that helps preserve the prairie potholes within the state’s borders.