The first meeting of the West River Issues Working Group, formed by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks in an effort to address landowner concerns that has had them at loggerheads for several years, was held at the new Rec Center in Buffalo, South Dakota, on  June 8.

The West River Issues Working Group consists of twelve members, four of whom are east river members of the legislature, Senators Jay Duenwald and Paul Dennert and Representatives Bill Van Gerpen and Gary Hanson; Chris Hesla from the SD Wildlife Federation; Jan Nicolay, an educator from Chester; Terry Mayes, former commander of the South Dakota Highway Patrol; Bill Fraas, a retired dentist from Hot Springs; Mark DeVries, South Dakota Stock Growers Association; Dean Wink, Meade County Commissioner; Robert Johnson, Harding County Commissioner; and Secretary of South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks John Cooper.

Several area legislators attending were Senators Marguerite Kleven, Bill Napoli, Eric Bogue, Jerry Apa and Representatives Jim Lintz and Ted Klaudt, all of whom have all worked on legislation intended to alleviate problems faced by landowners in dealing with GF&P.

Facilitator Spencer Amend with Dynamic Solutions Group from Casper, Wyoming, moderated the meeting. There are 10 key issues of concern that the group will focus on. The issues are:

* The open fields doctrine and GF&P authority.

* Aerial hunting policies and regulations.

* Big game hunting seasons and license allocations, including deer and elk.

* Landowners and their relations with GF&P.

* Improving hunter access to private land.

* Land acquisition policies and conservation easement programs.

* An overview of the state Wildlife Division budget.

* Paraplane hunting and permits.

* Prairie dog management.

* Mountain lion management.


Landowners and hunters from across the state testified before the working group about several concerns and complaints they have with GF&P policies.

 

Mike Butler, Harding County rancher, would like to see hunters have to produce proof of a place to hunt before they are issued a license.

 

Rick Hanson and his son came from Waubay to support the landowners and stressed the need for better communication between GF&P and landowners.

 

Rodney Carr, Perkins County rancher, wants GF&P Conservation Officers to be elected the same as county sheriffs.

 

Dick Meyer, Butte County rancher and former GF&P Commissioner, wants the Secretary of Game Fish and Parks to be chosen by the GF&P Commissioners so the Secretary is answerable to someone besides the governor.

Harding County rancher Matt Gilbert testified that he has gone to 'pay hunting' because of problems with GF&P personnel and with hunters. Gilbert would like to see landowner tags; he considers that he is 'running on shares' with GF&P, because it is the landowners who raise the game that GF&P sells licenses on.

Bill Vroman, Harding County rancher and former county commissioner, wants current GF&P personnel replaced in Harding County to improve landowner relations with the department. Vroman feels that the most important thing is for a hunter to have a place to hunt, and this would help.

Over 1.6 million acres have been closed to hunting following the defeat of HB1258 in the last session of the legislature.

 

HB1258 would protect landowners from trespass by GF&P unless they had probable cause to suspect criminal activity.

 

Many of the landowners currently in the lockout say they will continue to bar hunters from their ranches until protections granted to private property are written into state law.

Rep. Ted Klaudt blasted Game Fish and Parks for the lack of communication and attempts to control hunting issues in the legislature. Klaudt cited the change in the aerial hunting rules this year as an example.

 

Landowner pilots hunting their own land are now permitted to hunt four miles -- up from the two-mile limit -- onto neighboring land if the neighbor requests help.

 

Landowners wanted the rule extended to include all of the neighbor's land.

 

GF&P fought extending the limit and Rep. Klaudt wondered what difference it should make to the GF&P?

 

He said if there is no communication between GF&P and the legislators, he could only imagine what it's like for a mere landowner!

 

Klaudt expressed his frustration with the working group meetings saying, "We'll have meetings, take testimony, feel good -- and never solve the problems!"

Harding County rancher and permitted aerial predator control pilot Clark Blake explained that the permission to hunt using paraplanes was revoked because of complaints to the Federal Aviation Administration by Art Smith of GF&P and USFWS Special Agent in South Dakota, Bob Prieksat.

 

Blake, who is president of the Multi-County Predator Control District, testified that the FAA exemptions have been tied up in Washington D.C., for months -- while ranchers have lost a very effective tool to control predators.

 

Butte County rancher Ken Eide and Perkins County rancher Kevin VanSlooten are among the many sheep producers losing livestock because of the grounding of the paraplanes.

Marvin Jobgen from Scenic and Mark DeVries spoke to the prairie dog problem and the fact that GF&P does not have a prairie dog control program. South Dakota needs a plan of control and funding for the plan. The federal government has said that it will abide by a state plan, if we had one.

Harding County rancher Larry Nelson also addressed the prairie dog issue, the 'open fields doctrine', and legislative oversight of GF&P.

 

Nelson cited laws passed in New York, Montana and Oregon that say that the right to privacy in open fields is protected by the United States Constitution.

 

He also said that game checks do not constitute probable cause for game wardens to trespass on private property.