SD Nest Predator Bounty Program

 ,  Oppose The SD Nest Predator Bounty Program (NPBP) 
ACTIONS:
LEGISLATURE
Please ask legislators to support an amended version of HB 1262 and to join as bill sponsors.
House Bill  https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/26187 terminate bounty payments for nest predators, transfer moneys to the general fund, and declare an emergency
This bill is sent to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, with a hearing at 7:45 am CT on Tuesday, Feb 18th. It was killed in Committee with a 7 to 5 vote. Voting against the bill: Auch, Goodwin, Ladner, Peterson (Drew), Vasgaard, Van Diepen, and Overweg.  Voting for the bill: Hunt, Nolz, Rice, Wittman, and Gosch  IT IS DEAD
Please contact representatives on that committee.  Our SD Legislature  web page has committee information on it, towards the bottom, also scroll down on this page.  Folks can register to testify remotely on the internet (Microsoft Teams) if ask by e-mail at least 24 hours in advance. However the legislators are on a 4 day holiday over president’s Day Weekend, We don’t know how legislative aides function on such weekends. . 
       PHAS has been working very hard to get bill sponsors for a bill to stop the Nest Predator Bounty Program (NPBP) . Rep Scott Odenbach volunteered to be prime sponsor of such a bill and revised a draft bill we provided him with. His bill will kill the NPBP.   PHAS supports the bill, as it will stop the NPBP (see sections 1 & 2 were the NPBP will be stopped) , and we are very thankful to Rep. Odenbach.
     However we want it amended to remove the proposed transfer of $500,000 from GFP’s budget to the general fund (section 3) . Thankfully, Representative Odenbach agrees and has introduced a “friendly amendment” to remove Section 3. That transfer would have endangered SDGFP receipt of Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson federal grants, which make up about a quarter of the Wildlife Divisions revenue. The federal government does not allow state wildlife agencies to lose control over license revenue, if they still want to get the federal funds. 
Contact your legislator and contact also the members of  the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Call and leave messages at Senate Lobby 773-3821, House Lobby 773-3851 – ask them to support HB 1262 and join as co-sponsors.

House Agriculture and Natural Resources — 

 https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Committee/1225/Detail  – E-mail  – houseagnaturalresources@sdlegislature.gov

Marty.Overweg@sdlegislature.gov, Spencer.Gosch@sdlegislature.gov, Julie.Auch@sdlegislature.gov, Tim.Goodwin@sdlegislature.gov, Jana.Hunt@sdlegislature.gov, Travis.Ismay@sdlegislature.gov, Trish.Ladner@sdlegislature.gov, Kaley.Nolz@sdlegislature.gov, Drew.Peterson@sdlegislature.gov, Kathy.Rice@sdlegislature.gov, Kevin.VanDiepen@sdlegislature.gov, Richard.Vasgaard@sdlegislature.gov, Kadyn.Wittman@sdlegislature.gov

 If you care a lot about killing this wasteful and cruel program, you can register by e-mail – houseagnaturalresources@sdlegislature.gov –  with the committee to testify at the hearing before House Ag. & Nat. R., at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing.
LEGISLATURE – Early in the session we had been trying to find sponsors for a bill against the  NPBP

Prairie Hills Audubon Society had  two  draft bills to kill the Nest Predator Bounty Program  (NPBP) and welcomed people to help contact SD legislators before next February 2025 to get them to oppose the Nest Predator Bounty Program. Thanks to all who volunteered to contact legislators.  Representative Odenbach from district 31 (Lawrence County) stepped forward to be the prime sponsor and start the bill in the House. Senator Howard volunteered to be senate prime sponsor.

Here is material we have sent to legislators

BACKROUND MATERIAL:

 Introductory comments about need for bills – for e-mail text: – 1 page (3 paragraphs)
https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Short-anti-NPBP-statementx2.pdf

Generic Letter to a SD legislator asking her/him to be a bill sponsor of anti-Nest Predator Bounty Program bill   – 2 pages long
https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/01Generic_Long_Letter_to_Legislatorwhite.pdf

 Appendix to letter ( Talking points – Long Version of – 4 pages of arguments against the NPBP)

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/02Appendix2_to_Legislator_letter_finalx.pdf

FORMERLY SUGGESTED BILLS 

THIS IS HISTORY – We have a bill 1262, that is slightly different from,  but achieves purpose of the “Simple Bill”

(The simple one was rewritten in HB 1262):

URL –Simple Bill – “just say no’

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/04Bill_JustSayNoToNPBP_finalX.pdf

URL- More Broad Bill with greater impact

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Stop-NPBP-broader-impact-version2.pdf

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FOR MORE INFO

Please feel free to contact us directly – Alexey Egorov at (605)736-3929 alexey.egorov.jr@gmail.com or Nancy
Hilding, phas.wsd@rapidnet.com or nhilshat@rapidnet.com, (605)787-6466 land line,
(605)787-2806 cell.  Nancy and Alexey wrote this legislative material together.

Shorter Earlier Version of talking points (2 pages):

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/NPBP-talking-points-Jan-23rd_2.pdf

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CONTACT CANDIDATES

If this effort fails in the 2025 or 2026 legislatures – It  can also  be made into an election issue. Do SD politicians want SDGFP to waste a half  million/year on this ineffectual program that  supports unjustified animal suffering? If this is still an issue in 2026, ask the candidates.
OTHER TASKS
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SDGFP
SD Game, Fish & Parks,
       We urge folks to constantly write the SDGFP Commission in opposition to the NPBP.  The Commission normally meets the first Thursday/Friday of the month, unless holidays interfere (They skip February and August).  You can testify in the afternoon at hybrid hearings held by Zoom & in person. You can send in written comments – https://gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/. To get in public record for next Commission meeting you need to send written comments by midnight on Sunday before the Thursday. We post notices about Commission meetings on our events calendar.  These tell you how to comment – https://phas-wsd.org/events-alerts/  If you scroll down this web page towards the bottom, we provide talking points.
        If we get rid of the NPBP in the legislature, we then need to get rid of a rule that they approved in May 2019 to extend the trapping period on public land from the spring till the end of July (thus allowing mothers with babies to be trapped).
A petition for rule change will be needed in the future.
GOVERNOR
Noem & Rhoden
We used to ask folks to  write Kristi Noem in opposition. It is believed by many that she is a main driver/supporter behind this program. She promised a bounty against pheasant predators during 2018 election.  https://governor.sd.gov/office/contact.aspx,  so we were never sure how well she would listen to opponents of NPBP.
Noem has been confirmed as  Secretary of Homeland Security and Larry Rhoden is now SD’s governor, https://governor.sd.gov/governor/lt-governor.aspx
While Rhoden indicated support for the NPBP when it was released  (2019) , he was lieutenant governor at that time and may have just been supporting his governor’s position. We don’t know his individual  position (when indpendent of Noem) is yet.
 NETWORK
Letters to editor/social media
Write letters to editor in opposition to this program or get friends to join in opposition or create information on social media.
National newspapers may care about Kristi Noem’s character as she is confirmed for Secretary of Homeland Security. National newspapers were upset about her killing her dog – what about her instance on the NPBP?
Petition to sign on Change.org
This petition was created by a South Dakotan in May 2024.
 
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BACKGROUND
SD GFP statistics on the small predators killed under the Nest Predator Bounty Program for the current year are at the below link: https://sdgfp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/e7bbbd6fa93b48c6a31985aa7c57c5ff 
Details on 2024 Nest Predator Bounty Program results:
Cumulatively 50,141 tails were submitted. 
Raccoons were 40.7k tails, 
Opossum were 4.6 k tails, 
Striped skunk were 4 k tails, 
Badger were 404 tails, 
Red fox were 362 tails submitted
Details on 2023 Nest Predator Bounty Program results:
 Late June 2023 was the end of the Nest Predator Bounty Tail Collection for 2023 season.
 50,797 tails were submitted and they used up all the bounty money by the end of June. 
 Total animals killed in 2023
Raccoons = 42,300
Opossums = 4,000
Striped Skunks =3,800

Badger = 387

Red Fox = 276

SD GFP 2022 Tail tracker – info taken from charts in that year
(you can see how many tails of which species were taken and in which counties)
Total animals killed 2019-2022
Raccoons= 142,000
Striped Skunks =22,400
Opossums = 16,700
Red Fox = 1,578
Badgers = 1,554

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MEDIA 

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Here is a link  – to a November 2023 Newswatch article on this issue titled “South Dakota predator bounty program to continue despite opposition”

  https://www.sdnewswatch.org/south-dakota-nest-predator-bounty-program-raccoons-pheasants

Here is a link to SD Searchlight Article on legislative committee discussing the Nest Predator Bounty Program

SD Searchlight on House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee interviewing Sec Kevin Robling on the Nest Predator Bounty Program in 2024

https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/01/16/state-lacks-data-to-prove-trapping-program-increases-the-pheasant-population-official-says/

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Public Opinion Letters sent to SDGFP

The public opinion letters sent to SDGFP about the NPBP were over 90% against the NPBP
Review of public comments sent to GFP – review by Alexey Egorov
https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/06Review-by-ALexey-EgorovPublicComments_final.docx

URL  Link to to Remington Research Group’s 2020  statewide public opinion survey on the NPBP:      https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/HSUS_pred_survey.Remington.pdf

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TRAPPING FACTS/BACKGROUND

In the fur pelt market as per ” Trapping Today”  in 2023/2024

1.  the price for most raccoon pelts won’t be as much as $5, unless large pelt,  in which case it could bring 5-10 dollars,

2. Red fox pelts are a niche market product and usually average about  $10-15

3. Skunks are a traditional novelty market, and should  get $10-15.. 

4. Badger are being harvested in very limited quantities. Badger prices have been strong at around $20 averages, and are expected to stay that way.

5. There was no price offered for opossum pelts.

https://www.trappingtoday.com/2023-2024-fur-prices-trapping-todays-fur-market-forecast/

We assume theses prices are for winter pelts, which are thicker

At this link see the average price for furs received in SD in 2022-2023 

 https://gfp.sd.gov/fur-harvest/

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JAN 13th, 2023 UPDATE – 4 MORE YEARS

SD Game, Fish and Parks Commission on Friday, January  13th 2023 approved 4  more years of the Nest Predator Bounty Program at $500,000 per year and  $10 per tail. The resolution (23-01) passed unanimously.  Here is a link to the resolution: https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/RES_23-01_-_2023_to_2026_Nest_Predator_Bounty_Program_Resolution.pdf   On Thursday 3 folks testified against the Program – Nancy  Hilding for PHAS and Julie Anderson and Jamie Al-Haj. PHAS had a Zoom evening meeting to discuss this and other issues on April 30th, 2023 .

When SD Game, Fish and Parks Commission on January  12th or 13th 2023,  it considered the resolution to refund the Nest Predator Bounty Program for 4 years.  It was expected that the resolution , would look like the one they passed 2 years ago – funding two years of the program: https://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/nav/21-06_Resolution-_Nest_Predator_Bounty_Program_-_2021_and_2022.pdf  This approved $500,000 for each year and bounties of $10 per tail. However they surprised us and approved the program for 4 years. 

You could have testified against the Program for 3 minutes (or less) during the “Open Forum” (You still can).  For instructions on how to testify for the next Commission meeting see our events page).

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PHAS MEETING ON NPBP Nov. 2023

PHAS had a meeting on raccoons & SDGFP management of meso-carnivores 11/29/23 . It discussed the NPBP.  It’s recording and other past

 PHAS meeting’s recordings are available on our web page on our meeting recordings.

https://phas-wsd.org/recorded-meetings/

 

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 LONGER TERM HISTORY – 4 Previous years

SD Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) created a bounty program for nest predators in 2019 and has offered 3 years  (2019, 2021 & 2022) of  the program –  funded  at a  $500,000 expenditure for bounties  at $10 per tail and 1 year (2020) funded with $250,000 in bounties at $5 per tail. The first year SDGFP gave away free traps. Target animals are – raccoons, opossums, striped skunk, red fox, badger. The first year (2019) the live trap give-away program cost $958,171, the payment for tails cost $547,400, salaries/benefits cost $190,915 & miscellaneous expenses cost $35,778 – Thus 2019’s  total cost was $1,732,264.

 The expenditures  are normally approved by the GFP Commission in the first few months of the year and while times of the bounty season have varied  – the 2022 bounty ran from March 1 till July 1st. (The first month was for youth). The 2022 Season ended on July 1st and they took 49,778 tails, with raccoons being caught the most, followed by striped skunk and opossums as most caught. 

We oppose this  – The NPBP was originally sold as a way to increase pheasant numbers and then also increase other ground nesting birds. As that was not very credible, they added inspiring youth to take up trapping as a program goal. It is ineffective at protecting eggs/nestlings and is cruel. Why do we want to spend at least 3 million dollars  over 4 years inspiring children to trap? It is  a waste of SDGFP money, that could be better spent on other projects. 

One of Kristi Noem’s justifications for Merging DENR into Agriculture Department (creating DANR) was to save about $500,000 a year. She was wasting that annually inspiring kids to trap with a useless & harmful  bounty program .

Here is a link to recent (fall 2023) article by SD News Watch on this issue: 

 OLD ALERT

This page is being written and is evolving. We plan to update, rewrite &  move the old alert on the SD Nest Predator Bounty Program (NPBP) that exists on our Blog page.   For now our old alert can be found at https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4368376858740594690/6395956365739341594  but you have to scroll past the otter section to reach the NPBP section.

TAKE ACTION WITH ADMINISTRATION

Tell the SDGFP Commission that you object to the NPBP. Tell the Governor you object (she is a very very strong promoter of it & appoints the Commissioners and hires/fires staff).  On our events page we post the dates of upcoming Commission meetings and how to contact the Commissioners.  You can get 3 minutes to testify at any Commission meeting. You can write to them. We need people to show up year round and object to the Nest Predator Bounty Program.

You can write to the Commission at any point and/or attend Commission meetings face-to-face or virtual and testify

for 3 minutes.

BASIS IN LAW

Because of SDCL 40-36-9, SDGFP can give away free traps, set bounties and allocate money as an administrative action — legislative approval, formal rule making and a public hearing are not  required.  Ask your legislator to change this law (SDCL 40-36-9) and remove or limit the SDGFP Department’s authority to set bounty programs and decide to spend 1.7 million in just one  year on such a wasteful & harmful program.

SDCL 40-36-9.   Programs and rules for control of injurious animals–Payment of expenses. The Department of Game, Fish and Parks may direct or employ personnel and conduct programs and the Game, Fish and Parks Commission may adopt pursuant to chapter 1-26 necessary rules to control foxes, coyotes, feral dogs, prairie dogs, and other wild animals. The expense thereof shall be paid out of the Department of Game, Fish and Parks fund or the state animal damage control fund.

Source: SDC 1939, § 25.1004; SL 1974, ch 274, § 2; SL 1978, ch 288, § 5; SL 1983, ch 292, § 10; SL 1984, ch 273, § 36.

 

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 WHY OPPOSE?  (see also talking points at the start of the web page)
This killing of predators is not scientifically justified.   —-
 
– It is uncertain if predator control works, however if effective, the nest predator control may require hundreds of dollars & man-hours per year & per section of land. It needs to be extremely intense and carried out annually.The Governor’s budget might be enough to cover a smaller subset of the state, but certainly not  enough for the entire state, which makes the impacts too diffuse.
– Even intense predator control has limitations. Those animals that escape capture or death often reproduce at a higher rate. This means more effort must be expended and more money must be appropriated each year.
– Nature does not exist in a vacuum. When one animal is removed, others move in, including other species that may be more effective predators.
– Nest predators also feed on rodents. Opossums also eat ticks.  If these nest predators are successfully controlled, an explosion in rodents can be expected, with a huge and potentially devastating impact on farmers and ranchers. Rodents eat grain in the field, & infest grain bins, outbuildings and farmhouses. In SD rodents carry Hantavirus or fleas/ticks that can have bubonic plague, or Lyme disease. These costs must also be considered.
– Some nest predators are protected by state and federal laws. This would include ALL raptors. (Hawks, owls and eagles are examples.)
– The nest predator bounty may encourage illegal activity, from trespassing and unlawful night hunting to submitting tails collected out-of-state. NO funds have been allocated for the extra law enforcement.  
-The nest predator program is fiscally irresponsible. The money is desperately needed on habitat programs that actually do provide a return on the investment.
– Habitat improvements can be cost shared at a rate of 50% to over 75% through a variety of programs. GF&P receives 75% cost share on habitat purchases and improvements through Pittman Robertson funds.
– Predation is much lower when sufficient habitat for nesting birds is provided.
– Successful nesting will not occur where there is not sufficient habitat, regardless if most predators are removed or not.
–  Good habitat also provides high-protein food sources, clean water and protection from the elements, all in a suitable arrangement. Habitat for pheasants/ducks also benefits various other wildlife & bird species.
– This is a statewide program, but areas with pheasant and duck populations are much more limited West River.  Why pay bounties for West River predator tails?
– Much of SDGFP budget derives from sale of licenses and most hunters do not want GFP’s limited budget spent on this program.
– Pheasants are an exotic species that competes with a native species – the greater prairie chicken, whose range and population were declining — it was losing half its’ population every decade as per IUNC 2016 report. More recent 2020 IUNC report shows recent increasing trend of the greater prairie chicken population.  https://www.iucnredlist.org/
– Accidental take of threatened and endangered species may occur. The swift fox is state listed. The black-footed ferret is listed federally. There is a petition before the USFWS to list the plains spotted skunk and the prairie grey fox under the Endangered Species Act.
– This program will result in animal cruelty. Some trappers will be trapping with leg-hold traps or snares, or body crushing traps. Some will use live traps.  People should realize that in SD the law allows for animals to be left in traps West River for three and a partial day and East River for two and a partial day. Trapping can be cruel.  In high heat or bitter cold, an animal in a box can die in half a day. Animals in boxes or leg-hold traps can freak out and damage their bodies and/or teeth & thus not survive even if released. Dead animals or animals in boxes or traps can’t feed their dependent young. Even via a “live trap” non-target species adults and their dependent young will die, in addition to target species.
– Part of the rational/spin for the program is to introduce children to nature & trapping. Why not introduce children to nature via non-lethal interactions with wildlife such as wildlife watching and spend money on nature guidebooks, binoculars, cameras & not via bounties & traps?

– Empathetic children may encounter moral dilemmas such as how to kill the 12 or 13 babies in an opossums pouch, and later learn that they did this killing of babies, based on lies told them by SD GFP about effects of a bounty program on nesting success. How does this engage children with nature or give them trust in government?

HERE IS A NEW PETITION AT CHANGE.ORG AGAINST THE NPBP TO SIGN (CREATED MAY 2024)

 https://www.change.org/p/the-cruelest-government-funded-massacre-of-indigenous-animals-in-south-dakota?source_location=search

Folks put up national petitions six years ago to collect signatures against the program.  The introduction to the petitions is dated (6 years old), but the signatures were presented to the Commission on Thursday 1/12/23.

 CARE2 petition in January 2023 had 168,652 signatures and the LADYFREE THINKER petition had 27,849.  
 This NPBP began in 2019 (6 years ago) the petitions were written that year. – NPBP has been funded repeatedly since the first year.. 
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2022 WILDLIFE DAMAGE MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT:
https://gfp.sd.gov/userdocs/docs/wdm2022_annualreport.pdf
 

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HSUS FACT SHEET ON NPBP, Likely 2019 or 2020

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/HSUS_SD-bounty-ban-factsheet.pdf

LINKS ON PREDATOR CONTROL AND PHEASANTS/DUCKS

•       We refer you to Pheasants Forever’s web page on “Effects of Predators”,

 https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Habitat/Pheasant-Facts/Effects-of-Predators.aspx

•                          •    Ducks Unlimited’s web page on “Ducks, Habitat Conservation & Predators”

     https://www.ducks.org/media/Conservation/Conservation_Documents/_documents/Ducks and Predators low res.pdf

    •   Also see page 11 of SD GFP’s Pheasant Management Plan 2016–2020, in the section on predators that says:   “Where predator control may be considered as a management option, managers should be aware that cost, logistics, and lack of effectiveness often limit success when compared to habitat management.   (emphasis added) Entire Plan: –  ”https://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/nav/pheasant-mngmnt-planpdf.pdf  

Just page 11: https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Pred.Control.page11-OLD.pheasant-mngmnt-plan.pdf

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