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South Dakota
At a Glance
South Dakota Game Fish and Parks
523 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: 605-773-3485
Website
Governor: Mike Rounds
Office of the Governor
500 E. Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: 605-773-3212
South Dakota Legislature
In 2005, the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks removed the cougar from the state's threatened and endangered species list. Now, despite the lack of data and scientific evidence that reflects actual population numbers, there is a maximum quota of 35 cougars total or 15 females allowed for the 2009 season, which runs from Jan. 1- March 31.
Please consider donating to the Cougar Fund by visiting our Donate page, or by shopping in our Store. Thank you.
Additionally, in a new regulation for the 2009 season landowners who have purchased a mountain lion license ($15) can harvest a mountain lion year-round on private land they own or private land they lease outside the Black Hills Fire Protection District. The 2008 estimate for the Black Hills mountain lion population was between 220-280 lions (adult males, adult females, and dependent young).
Currently SD Rep. Betty Olsen is also legislating to let landowners shoot cougars on their private land and keep their pelts, regardless of whether or not they hold a license to do so.
--Additionally, a total of 4 kittens have been orphaned this season.
Game, Fish and Parks Department will be on the road over the next few weeks visiting with South Dakota citizens about mountain lions.
"We are in the process of updating South Dakota's mountain lion management plan," Tony Leif, GFP Wildlife Division director said. "An important early step in that process is to gather public input."
Leif said that GFP staff will travel to several locations around the state in March and April to hold information gathering meetings. The information will be worked into a draft mountain lion management plan in April and then made available to the public for a 30-day comment period. The management plan will be finalized in time for the August GFP Commission meeting when the mountain lion hunting season will be proposed.
"Not only will this be an opportunity for the public to provide input, but also our staff will have details from research on mountain lions we have completed over the past few years," Leif said.
Meeting locations and times will be posted on the GFP Web site at www.sdgfp.info under "What's New."
Meeting Locations:
* Spearfish - Mar. 22, 6-8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn
* Sioux Falls - Mar. 23, 7-9 p.m. at The Outdoor Campus
* Yankton - Mar. 24, 7-9 p.m. at the Archery Center
* Mitchell - Mar. 25, 7-9 p.m. at the MTI Tech Center
* Hot Springs - Mar. 29, 7-9 p.m. at the Mueller Center
* Buffalo - Mar. 30, 6-8 p.m. at the Buffalo Rec. Center
* Custer - Mar. 31, 7-9 p.m. at the County Annex Building
* Rapid City, Apr. 1, 7-9 p.m. at the Best Western Ramkota
* Aberdeen, Apr. 12, 7-9 p.m. at the Ramada
* Winner, Apr. 13, 7-9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn
* Pierre, Apr. 14, 7-9 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce
News
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GF&P proposes lion license fee increaseRapid City Journal | 2010-08-16 The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission proposed bumping up mountain lion licensing fees when it suggested changes for the 2011 season. |
GF&P 50-lion limit proposal higher than staff recommendsRapid City Journal | 2010-08-09 For the second straight year, the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission is proposing a mountain lion season that would kill more cats than its staff recommended. |
Letters: S.D. poorly manages lionsArgus Leader -Thomas Mangelsen | 2010-08-02 As usual, South Dakota's mountain lion management plan reflects a desire to maximize hunter "harvest" and ignores the science of cougar management. |
GFP euthanizes hurt mountain lion near Rapid CityKSFY.com Sioux Falls | 2010-08-02 Game Fish and Parks officers have euthanized a mountain lion hit by a car near Rapid City. The lion was hit about 1 p.m. Saturday and was put down soon after. |
Letters: Housing invades lion habitatArgus Leader | 2010-07-20 Even though I no longer live in South Dakota, the state is dear to me. Mountain lions are not the biggest problem in the Black Hills. Rather, overdevelopment is the cause of mountain lion issues in the Black Hills and many other problems. |
GF&P releases five-year mountain lion management planDaily Republic | 2010-07-07 In 2005, the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department instituted the state’s first-ever open mountain lion season. Since then, 112 mountain lions have been taken in five seasons by hunters specifically pursuing the carnivorous mammal, which is also known as a cougar. |
GF&P to slash lion populationBlack Hills Pioneer | 2010-07-06 State wildlife managers want to lower the mountain lion population in the Black Hills by 80 animals. |
2 charged with illegal lion killKCAU-TV abc | 2010-07-05 Two men are charged in federal court with killing a mountain lion within the boundaries of Mount Rushmore National Park where hunting is not allowed. |
Public input sought on state's mountain lion management planArugus Leader | 2010-07-02 The state Game, Fish and Parks Department is offering citizens an opportunity to review a draft of a new five-year management plan for mountain lions. |
Lion killed inside Rapid City limitsRapid City Journal | 2010-06-21 A mountain lion was shot and killed Saturday morning in the backyard of a Rapid City residence on the city’s southeast side. |
GF&P commissioner who faced term-limit suit resignsRapid City Journal | 2010-06-15 An Aberdeen man who has served on the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission has resigned after being sued by a frequent critic of the board. |
A Black Hills lion in the Badger State? MaybeRapid City Journal | 2010-05-19 Wildlife biologists and hunters in Wisconsin are wondering if the latest visit by a mountain lion, which might have wandered from the Black Hills, is a sign of things to come in the Badger State. |
Proposed lion season in state park would have limitationsRapid City Journal | 2010-05-14 Chances are good that the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission will consider extending the mountain lion season to Custer State Park when commissioners meet to set the lion season in August, GF&P secretary Jeff Vonk said. |
Three lions found in subdivision near Hot Springs: Two killed, one driven awayRapid City Journal | 2010-05-03 When a pet goat and a deer were discovered killed the morning of April 20 behind a home in the Eagle Valley Subdivision, less than a mile east of Hot Springs, there was little doubt what caused the deaths. |
Lead veterinarian sues to oust GF&P commissionerRapid City Journal | 2010-04-20 A frequent critic of the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission has asked a judge to bar a commissioner from finishing his term on the panel that sets rules for hunting, fishing and other outdoors activities because he has served too long. |
Most comments so far seek fewer lionsRapid City Journal | 2010-04-01 Public comments have been consistent across the state in a series of Game, Fish & Parks Department meetings on mountain lions: We have too many. |
GF&P: Cougars Not Major Presence In AreaPress & Dakotan | 2010-03-25 A mountain lion was shot six years ago inside Yankton, but the animals are not considered a major presence in southeast South Dakota, according to a state Game, Fish and Parks official. |
GF&P: Cougars now kill as many Black Hills deer as huntersRapid City Journal | 2010-03-24 Some hunters don’t like the increased competition from lions, said Mike Kintigh, GF&P regional supervisor in Rapid City. |
Mountain Lion meetings plannedMidwest Agent | 2010-03-17 "We are in the process of updating South Dakota's mountain lion management plan," Tony Leif, GFP Wildlife Division director said. "An important early step in that process is to gather public input." |
LETTER: GF&P causing problems, not fixing themRapid City Journal | 2010-03-11 Once again the Guns, Fees & Politics (GF&P) Commission has proclaimed another successful mountain lion hunting season. Not hard to do when you have no clue what you are doing other than economically exploiting a natural resource! |
GF&P to hold statewide public meetings on mountain lionsArgus Leader | 2010-03-11 State Game, Fish & Parks Department officials will be on the road over the next few weeks visiting with South Dakota citizens about mountain lions. We are in the process of updating South Dakota's mountain lion management plan,” said Tony Leif, GF&P Wildlife Division director. “An important early step in that process is to gather public input.” |
Lion hunters use snow, calls for record Black Hills killRapid City Journal | 2010-02-15 Of that total, 24 were females, a fact that continues to worry Dr. Sharon Seneczko of Custer, a veterinarian and president of the Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation. Seneczko and other lion advocates have argued against increases in the overall lion limit and the sub-limit. The 2005 season had an overall limit of 25 lions but a sub-limit of five breeding-age females. |
South Dakota Mountain lion season closed as hunters reach limitRapid City Journal | 2010-02-11 The mountain lion hunting season in the Black Hills closed Wednesday after 40 lions were reported killed for the 2010 season –- the limit set by the state Department of Game, Fish & Parks. |
Poaching bill's punch restoredArgus Leader | 2010-02-08 A bill that would raise the fines for poaching trophy wildlife in the state was amended back to its original language Thursday, setting up a vote by the full state Senate. |
29 mountain lions harvestedRapid City Journal | 2010-02-08 Two more mountain lions were killed this weekend in the Black Hills area, raising to 29 the mountain lions killed thus far in South Dakota's 2010 hunting season. Nearly 75 percent of the big cats allowed to be killed have been taken. |
Mountain lion tally now at 26Rapid City Journal | 2010-02-03 As of late Tuesday, 26 mountain lions have been killed in South Dakota’s 2010 mountain lion hunting season. |
Mountain lion harvest count at 23, 15 femalesRapid City Journal | 2010-02-01 As of Friday, 23 mountain lions have been killed in South Dakota's mountain lion hunting season. Of those, 15 are females, according to the informational hotline of the state Department of Game, Fish & Parks. |
Bigger fines pitched to fight poachingArgus Leader | 2010-01-20 Given the penalties for poaching in South Dakota, conservationists say it's cheaper for someone to illegally shoot a trophy mule deer than it is to pay for a guided hunt. |
Mountain lion tally at 18Rapid City Journal | 2010-01-19 So far this week, 45 percent of the licenses have been filled in the third week of South Dakota’s 2010 mountain lion hunting season. More than half of the limit on female mountain lions has been reached. |
Lion count reaches 17 in the Black HillsRapid City Journal | 2010-01-18 As of Sunday, 17 mountain lions have been killed in South Dakota's 2010 mountain lion hunting season. |
With mountain lion killed Monday, count up to 15 in Black HillsRapid City Journal | 2010-01-13 Hunters killed two mountain lions in the Black Hills over the weekend and another on Monday, raising the season total to 15. |
Journey brings in big cat for wildlife displayRapid City Journal | 2010-01-14 In the heart of South Dakota mountain lion hunting season, The Journey Museum in Rapid City is trying something news -- adding big cats to its wildlife exhibit. |
14 cats killed so far in mountain lion hunting seasonArgus Leader | 2010-01-12 The 2010 mountain lion season started Jan. 1 and a total of 14 cats have been harvested as of today - five males and nine females. |
Mountain lion killed WednesdayBlack Hills Pioneer | 2010-01-11 A seventh female mountain lion was killed Wednesday. The lion was shot 1 mile northwest of Hayward. |
Nine mountain lions killed in South Dakota season countRapid City Journal | 2010-01-04 As of Sunday, nine mountain lions have been killed in South Dakota’s 2010 mountain lion hunting season. Of the nine mountain lions harvested, six are females, according to the informational hotline of the state Department of Game, Fish & Parks. |
G&FP kills lion captured near Storybook IslandEmilie Rusch - Rapid City Journal | 2009-11-20 A 2-year-old mountain lion was found in a city neighborhood near Storybook Island on Thursday morning. |
Lion trapped in DeadwoodMark Watson - Black Hills Pioneer | 2009-10-26 One day after wildlife officials killed a female mountain lion within Deadwood city limits a kitten was captured by a trap. |
GF&P kills lion found in backyardAP - South Dakota | 2009-10-22 A state trapper killed a mountain lion that had been eating a deer in a homeowner's backyard in Deadwood, and now officials are looking for a home for its kitten. |
Mountain lion killed in Deadwood city limitsKevin Woster Rapid City Journal | 2009-10-22 A mountain lion was killed within the Deadwood city limits Wednesday morning after the big cat, and possibly another, apparently killed a deer in a backyard in town. A South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department trapper killed one lion Wednesday, but the hunt wasn't over, because police reports early in the day indicated that two lions were in the area. |
New collars provide more info on mountain lions in Black HillsSioux City Journal | 2009-10-19 South Dakota wildlife officials say new satellite collars on mountain lions are giving them a better understanding of the animals in the Black Hills. The collars are an upgrade from radio collars. Fifteen lions have been equipped with them so far. |
Rooftop officer shoots, kills mountain lionPat Dobbs -Rapid City Journal staff, SD | 2009-08-31 Reports of mountain lions in Rapid City almost always turn out to be overfed house cats, Sgt. Chris DeGroote said Saturday. After the second call of a mountain lion strolling a street about 9 a.m. near Robbinsdale Park, he knew this was no fat tabby. |
Lion research continues in Black HillsWAYNE ORTMAN | 2009-06-16 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A closer look at diet is the next phase in a study of mountain lions in the Black Hills, research that's gone high-tech to learn more about an animal that few South Dakotans will ever see in the wild. |
Are SD Mountain Lions Eating Livestock?Radio 1380 KOTA | 2009-05-26 While ranchers are worried about mountain lions attacking their livestock, one study said there is nothing to worry about. |
GF&P to consider higher lion kill - GF&P Commission proposes raising lion limit; one commissioner waBy Kevin Woster, Rapid City Journal staff | 2009-05-13 South Dakota mountain lion hunters could kill an additional five female lions under a 2010 hunting season proposed by the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission Thursday. |
GF&P reviews lion hunting seasonAP | 2009-03-07 SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — Information from this year's hunting season on mountain lions will be used by state game officials to make a recommendation for next year's season to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission. |
Aberdeen native bags 4th-largest mountain lion on Canadian huntLUKE HAGEN | 2009-02-20 After five long tiring days of hunting, a 200-pound-plus mountain lion fell from a tree, possibly putting Mitchell resident Jeff Jarman in the record books. |
Mountain lion season closes with 26 cats shotBarbara Soderlin, Journal staff | 2009-02-14 South Dakota's fourth mountain lion hunting season ended Saturday when a hunter harvested a 78-pound female cat in Meade County. The lion was the 15th female of the season, a harvest limit. |
Mountain Lion Season Ended Saturday2009-02-15 The 2009 South Dakota mountain lion season closed Saturday with the harvesting of the 14th and 15th female lions. |
End of season approaches for mountain lion huntStaff reports, Sioux Falls Argus Leader | 2009-02-06 With the taking of the 13th female mountain lion on Monday, state Game Fish & Parks Department officials remind hunters to check the season status before going out to the field. |
Senate rejects plan to use dogs for lion huntingBob Mercer, American News Correspondent | 2009-02-06 The state Senate strongly refused Wednesday to allow mountain-lion hunters to use dogs in South Dakota. The vote was 27-6 against the bill sponsored by Sen. Gordon Howie, an avid big-game hunter. |
South Dakota Game Fish and Parks
523 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
605) 773-3485
Website
Game, Fish and Parks Department will be on the road over the next few weeks visiting with South Dakota citizens about mountain lions.
"We are in the process of updating South Dakota's mountain lion management plan," Tony Leif, GFP Wildlife Division director said. "An important early step in that process is to gather public input."
Meeting Locations:
* Spearfish - Mar. 22, 6-8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn
* Sioux Falls - Mar. 23, 7-9 p.m. at The Outdoor Campus
* Yankton - Mar. 24, 7-9 p.m. at the Archery Center
* Mitchell - Mar. 25, 7-9 p.m. at the MTI Tech Center
* Hot Springs - Mar. 29, 7-9 p.m. at the Mueller Center
* Buffalo - Mar. 30, 6-8 p.m. at the Buffalo Rec. Center
* Custer - Mar. 31, 7-9 p.m. at the County Annex Building
 | South Dakota Survey 2002 - 408.8KB |
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