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Josh Haiar

South Dakota has bold plans to expand waterfowling access

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

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.

South Dakota has bold plans to expand waterfowling access Read More »

Josh Haiar: When it comes to hunting, hard is good

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, Opinion /

Some lessons stick with you. For me, one of those came from former South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary John Cooper.
Cooper, age 80, has been many things, from a Vietnam veteran and loving husband to a former federal game warden and head of the state’s Department of Game, Fish and Parks. But to those who have hunted waterfowl with him, he’s something else too: a living reminder that “hard is good.”

Josh Haiar: When it comes to hunting, hard is good Read More »

Revisiting a century of South Dakota pheasant hunting

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

South Dakota’s first pheasant-hunting season opened Oct. 30, 1919, with about 1,000 hunters harvesting about 200 birds in Spink County in one day.
Now, fast-forward to 2024, when 1.4 million birds were harvested by 140,000 hunters in the state. The roots of South Dakota’s pheasant-hunting heritage trace back to 1909 – the same year the South Dakota Department of Game and Fish was created – when hunters and farmers made the first successful releases of ring-necked pheasants, a colorful game bird native to Asia.

Revisiting a century of South Dakota pheasant hunting Read More »

South Dakota pheasant season could be special, though no brood survey still frustrates some hunters

Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, News /

South Dakota’s most iconic hunt is back, and wildlife officials say 2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year.
At its September meeting, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission heard reports showing that favorable weather and solid habitat conditions are once again setting the stage for pheasant hunters across the state.

South Dakota pheasant season could be special, though no brood survey still frustrates some hunters Read More »

‘PATH’ program unlocking more South Dakota private lands for hunters

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

In South Dakota, where more than 80% of land is privately owned, access can be a limiting factor for hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts if enough acres are not enrolled in a public access program. That’s why the Public Access to Habitat (PATH) program is turning heads, winning over landowners, and opening gates to some of the state’s best pheasant and grouse habitat.
Launched in September 2023, PATH is the product of a partnership between Pheasants Forever and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department.

‘PATH’ program unlocking more South Dakota private lands for hunters Read More »

South Dakota seeks comment on controversial mountain lion proposal

28 Comments / Discussions, Home Page News, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, News /

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission is once again at the center of a heated debate over mountain lion management, as the group considers a new proposal that would expand the use of dogs to hunt mountain lions in the Black Hills National Forest region.
The proposal is open for public comment until the commission’s next meeting in August, when a final vote is expected.

South Dakota seeks comment on controversial mountain lion proposal Read More »

South Dakota volunteers building better fences to benefit the state’s pronghorn

Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

South Dakota wildlife officials aim for a pre-hunting season pronghorn population of 58,000 to 79,000. The 2024 pre-season estimate was about 35,000, well below that range.
Some residents of the state want to turn those numbers around, and one facet of the pronghorn management equation is fences. Some South Dakotans are volunteering to replace sheep fences with a pronghorn-friendly alternative.

South Dakota volunteers building better fences to benefit the state’s pronghorn Read More »

Want more Black Hills trout fishing? Bring in the beavers

Fishing, Home Page News, Minnesota, National Fishing, Nature Page & Night Sky /

If you’re an angler who’s spent any time trout fishing in the Black Hills, you know what makes it special: cold, clear streams, shaded banks, and pockets of deep, slow-moving pools.
But here’s the catch. Those pools are disappearing. And so are the beavers that create and maintain them. So, wildlife officials and volunteers in South Dakota are taking action. A sharp drop in beaver activity in the Black Hills has prompted the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission to advance a two-year moratorium on beaver trapping in the region.

Want more Black Hills trout fishing? Bring in the beavers Read More »

Can nature be nonpartisan in 2025? New nonprofit aims to make it so

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Fishing, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky /

Benji Backer wants to bring political conservatives back into the environmental conversation.
The 27-year-old from Seattle recently launched a nonprofit called Nature is Nonpartisan. He did it from Belle Fourche, S.D. – the self-described geographic center of the United States (don’t forget Alaska and Hawaii!). Backer’s message is simple: Protection of the environment shouldn’t be partisan.

Can nature be nonpartisan in 2025? New nonprofit aims to make it so Read More »

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