SD GFP Parks Free Weekend: Free Entry & No Fishing License Required (May 16–18)

SD GFP Parks Free Weekend: Free Entry & No Fishing License Required (May 16–18)   This Friday through Sunday (May 16–18, 2025), you can visit any South Dakota State Park for free. No entrance license needed! You can also fish without a license all weekend long throughout South Dakota! That’s right: it’s the perfect time […]

SD Ornithologist Union Biennial Spring Meeting

SD Ornithologist Union Biennial Spring Meeting This will be a tri-state joint meeting with our fellow birders from Iowa and Nebraska, hosted the weekend of May 16-18 at the Salvation Army Western Plains Camp in South Sioux City, NE.   There is a fantastic array of field trips scheduled in all three states, a Friday […]

Endangered Species Day Celebration

Friday, May 16th, 2025 Every year we have an Endangered Species Day Celebration, where multiple groups sponsor presentations on federal and state listed endangered or threatened (T & E) species. In recent years it has been a Zoom meeting.   It is normally from 6 pm to 9 pm on the eve of Endangered Species Day, […]

Extended Deadline to Comment on Exploration for Graphite Mine BHNF

May 9th  electronically sent before midnight or postmarked , is the deadline for scoping comments on. THIS DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED A WEEK to Friday the 16th Pete Lien and Sons Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project. https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?Project=67838 The scoping comment period for this project is April 9, 2025 - May 9, 2025. Project web page and […]

International Bird Day Celebration for Western SD – Bird Bash at Bear Butte

International Bird Day Event Celebration for Western SD This event is at Bear Butte State Park - Bear Butte State Park Education Center, Sturgis, SD, 8 am - 3 pm MT It is organized/sponsored by Audubon Great Plains, American Bird Conservancy, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Black Hills Raptor Center, The Nature Conservancy, SDGFP, NRCS, […]

Deadline to Comment on Grizzly Bear ESA listing Rule – USFWS

Deadline to Comment on Grizzly Bear ESA listing Rule, Sat May 17th, 2025 For info. visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00329/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-grizzly-bear-listing-on-the-list-of-endangered-and The USFWS writes "After a review of the best scientific and commercial data available, we affirm that the currently listed grizzly bear population meets our requirements for consideration as a distinct population segment (DPS) under the Act and […]

Deadline (5/17/25) to comment on USFWS rule change on Endangered Species

Our statement that the deadline   to comment on USFWS rule change on Endangered species is 5/17/25 was wrong - it is really May 19th, 2025. We were off by 2 days. This is an extremely bad rule proposal & must be opposed. For more than 40 years, the harm definition has protected endangered species […]

Deadline for extended comment period on Monarch Butterfly’s ESA listing proposal

Deadline for an extended comment period on Monarch Butterfly's ESA listing proposal   Deadline of new comment period on monarch butterfly proposed listing, is May 19th, On March 18th, the USFWS extended the previous comment period for another  60 days. Officials say the proposed rule includes species-specific protections and flexibilities to encourage conservation of the […]

Corrected Deadline to comment on definition of “harm”

We had posted that the deadline to comment on rescinding  the definition of "harm" for ESA was May 17th, that was a mistake, --- it is really Monday, May 19th. This is the link to the sign on letter that the National Audubon Society offers. (You go on-line and submit a pre-fab letter) https://act.audubon.org/a/protect-esa-2025 This […]