SD Game, Fish and Parks May Commission hybrid meeting, in Custer and Zoom

SD Game, Fish and Parks May Commission hybrid meeting, in Custer and Zoom, More details will be posted later.

When close to the date visit: https://gfp.sd.gov/commission/information/

You can testify in person or remotely by Zoom at 2 pm MT.

Written Comments are due  the Sunday before the Thursday, before midnight MT https://gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/

We will want people to testify in in support of a 3 year moratorium on beaver trapping and hunting in the Black Hills National Forest.  We want them to write in on a reduction in the beaver hunting and trapping season outside of Black Hills from 12 months to 5 or 6 months.

That would be November to end of March or end of April.  This is a period of thick pelts, but the beaver start breeding in May and the river otter who are strongly associate with beaver and are incidental take in beaver trap start breeding in April.  State law allows people whose land is harmed by conflict beaver to call up GFP and get permission to kill the beaver all year long.

We want them to testify in support of northern river otter to western SD, which now only occurs east river.  GFP  has no plans to relocate some west river or improve habitat along west River’s rivers/streams to make the riparian habitat better for otters.

You can go to our web site under drop down from Campaigns, Wildlife, Beaver/Otter or drop down from Alerts, Beaver