CUSTER The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks held its May commission meeting at the Custer State Park Events Barn.
The commission had several proposals and finalizations for upcoming seasons and regulations.
Wildlife proposals
Closed Area on Lake Francis Case
The commission continued discussions on a proposal to eliminate the closed area, referenced as the “Dredge Hole” below the Interstate 90 bridge on Lake Francis Case by Chamberlain. This area is closed Dec. 1-April 30 and includes the area between the I-90 bridge and railroad bridge. This would open this area to fishing for the entire season.
River otter trapping and hunting season
The board proposed to increase the harvest limit from 20 to 30 otters. Positive growth within the population and harvest limits being reached quickly in prior seasons provided strong evidence the harvest limit can be increased for the 2025 season.
Parks proposals
Purple Heart recipient
The commission accepted a petition to include Purple Heart recipients as eligible for the resident disabled veteran lifetime park entrance license and half off camping discount. This petition will now become a proposal, which will go through the public comment process.
Wildlife finalizations
Mentored/Youth/Apprentice Deer
The commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 mentored/youth/apprentice deer hunting seasons. The season dates will be:
- Sept. 13, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026
- Sept. 12, 2026-Jan. 1, 2027
Archery Deer
The commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 archery deer hunting seasons. The season dates will be:
- Sept. 1, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026
- Sept. 1, 2026-Jan. 1, 2027
Nonresidents may not hunt private lands leased by GFP for public hunting access or public lands until Oct. 1.
The archery deer season will also include the expansion of the municipal deer hunting areas around Sioux Falls and establishment of a municipal deer hunting area in Hot Springs.
Muzzleloader deer
The commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 muzzleloader deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
- Dec. 1, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026
- Dec. 1, 2026-Jan. 1, 2027
There will be 1,000 resident “Any Deer” licenses available for this season.
Black Hills Deer
The panel finalized the 2025 and 2026 Black Hills deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
- Nov. 1-30, 2025
- Nov. 1-30, 2026
All firearm deer season licenses will be restricted to buck only in the Black Hills, resulting in no antlerless deer legal for harvest during the Black Hills firearm deer season. There will be 200 “Any Buck Deer” and 2,750 ” Any Whitetail Buck” resident licenses available, and 16 ” Any Buck Deer” and 220 “Any Whitetail Buck” nonresident licenses available.
West River Deer
The commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 West River deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
2025
Nov. 1530, 2025*
- *Gregory County30A: Nov, 811 and 2430, 2025
- 30B: Nov. 1530, 2025
- Antlerless deer tags only: Dec. 13-21, 2025
2026
Nov. 14 29, 2026*
- *Gregory County 30A: Nov. 7 10 and 23 29, 2026
- 30B: Nov. 14 29, 2026
- Antlerless deer tags only: December 12-20, 2026
Many Any Deer license types were changed to Any Buck Deer license types to reduce antlerless deer harvest. As a result, there will be 730 Any Buck Deer licenses available during the West River Deer season. In addition, there will be 4,120 fewer antlerless deer licenses available in 2025 and 2026, representing a 40% reduction in antlerless licenses. There will be 15,648 resident deer licenses and 1,256 nonresident deer licenses available.
East River Deer
The commission finalized the 2025 and 2026 East River deer hunting seasons with the following dates:
2025
- Nov. 22Dec. 7, 2025
- Antlerless deer tags only: Dec. 13-21, 2025
2026
- Nov. 21Dec. 6, 2026
- Antlerless deer tags only: Dec. 12-20, 2026
Many Any Deer license types were changed to Any Buck Deer license types to reduce antlerless deer harvest. As a result, there will be 950 any buck deer licenses available during the East River Deer season. In addition, there will be 3,550 fewer antlerless deer licenses available in 2025 and 2026, representing a 50% reduction in antlerless licenses. There will be 18,840 resident deer licenses available for this season.
Electronic tagging
The board finalized the description of electronic license registration and tagging requirements to accommodate the comprehensive testing the department is conducting regarding electronic tagging. This will not replace the current locking seal tagging rule, but would allow the option to switch to an electronic tagging option in the future.
Public comment opportunity and upcoming meeting
To hear the discussion on any of the topics on the agenda, audio from the meeting is available through South Dakota Public Broadcasting and will soon be available on the GFP website as part of the meeting archive.
To see these documents in their entirety, go here.
To be included in the public record and to be considered by the commission, public comments must include a full name and city of residence and be submitted by 11:59 p.m. June 2.
The next regular commission meeting will be June 5-6 at the Dakota Event Center in Aberdeen.
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