South Dakota doesn’t lack defining issues in the race for governor. Property taxes, economic growth and landowner rights dominate the debate — as they should.
Yet a far more urgent crisis is being ignored: the accelerating collapse of our land, water and outdoor heritage.
Wildlife habitat, water quality and public access form the bedrock of South Dakota’s economy, culture and quality of life. Ignore them, and we mortgage our children’s future for short-term convenience.
Grasslands are vanishing at breakneck speed. Native prairie across eastern South Dakota is relentlessly plowed under for row crops. Grassland bird populations have declined more than 40% since 1970.
Monarch butterfly populations have plunged dramatically since the 1990s. The web supporting pheasants, waterfowl, pollinators — and agriculture itself — is unraveling.
Prairie pothole wetlands are disappearing even faster. More than half the state’s original wetlands have been drained, with losses exceeding 90% in some eastern counties.
These are not expendable puddles. They are the nurseries for ducks, the filters for our waters, and the last strongholds for birds and butterflies clinging to survival.
The 2023 Sackett v. EPA ruling stripped federal protections from 93% of wetland acreage and 99% of individual wetlands. With zero state safeguards in place, this green light for unchecked drainage threatens the nurseries for ducks and natural filters for our waters.
Water quality is in free fall. The 2026 Integrated Water Quality Report is damning: A crushing majority of assessed lakes and streams fail to support fishing, swimming or aquatic life. Only 27% of streams and 17% of lakes meet all standards.
Agricultural nutrient runoff — excess nitrogen and phosphorus — fuels toxic algae blooms and oxygen-starved water. Vanishing wetlands only worsen the pollution. This isn’t handwringing; it’s a direct assault on public health, tourism, lakeside property values and downstream communities forced to pay the cleanup bill.
Aquatic invaders are spreading rapidly and inflicting irreversible harm. Zebra mussels, first detected in 2018, have now infested 32 water bodies, with five new detections in 2025 alone. Broader aquatic invasive species plague more than 50 lakes, sloughs and rivers. Invasive carp muddy waters and destroy vegetation.
Shockingly, once zebra mussels establish in a lake or river, South Dakota has no effective mitigation plan. Studies show zebra mussels increase the concentration of mercury in our prized walleye and perch, and the clear water they create results in massive plant growth because of excessive agricultural pollution.
Last legislative session, the Department of Game, Fish and Parks, under the leadership of Gov. Larry Rhoden, opposed calls for developing a more comprehensive strategy. When these pests take hold, damage to fisheries, infrastructure, recreation and water quality becomes permanent. Half-measures equal surrender.
Public access also faces growing challenges. In our private-land state, most habitat relies on voluntary landowner partnerships.
Out-of-state hunters and anglers fund roughly 33% of the Game, Fish and Parks wildlife budget — nearly double resident contributions. This tilts priorities toward tourism revenue and commercialized hunting over local families.
Meanwhile, out-of-staters are snapping up or leasing farmland for private hunting retreats, pulling land from public access programs and squeezing opportunities for South Dakotans. Without bold action to protect resident priorities, our hunting and fishing traditions will wither.
These threats are linked. Plowing grasslands and draining wetlands strips nature’s filters, flooding waters with pollution that feeds algae and invasives. Dirty water weakens fisheries. Shrinking access locks families out. Every land-use decision either accelerates the damage or begins the repair — especially with federal wetland protections now gone.
What’s shocking is the silence by our political leaders.
These measurable, worsening crises have barely surfaced in the governor’s race. Voters are left guessing where candidates stand on the issues that will define South Dakota’s livability for generations.
This is not about ideology. It’s about honest leadership — now.
How will South Dakota balance intensive agriculture with the clean water, healthy grasslands, and remaining wetlands our wildlife and economy desperately need?
What aggressive action will confront aquatic invasives — including a real mitigation plan for zebra mussels — and replace lost wetland protections?
How do we incentivize habitat conservation on working lands without punishing producers?
And how do we secure genuine public access so every South Dakotan — not just out-of-state interests — can enjoy our outdoor birthright?
South Dakota residents demand stewardship of land, water and wildlife. It’s time candidates prove they share that commitment. Bring these issues into the race. Give voters the clarity they deserve.
Our lakes, streams, birds, butterflies, wetlands and current and future generations of South Dakotans deserve it.
— This commentary was written by Brad Johnson, president of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, for South Dakota Searchlight, an online news organization.
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