Some substantial changes may be in store for South Dakota’s main season for hunting pheasants. The state Game, Fish & Parks Commission on July 16 introduced several proposals, including changing hunting hours, a longer season and higher limits.
If approved, the first week of the main season that starts the third Saturday of October each year would open two hours earlier, at 10 a.m., similar to the rest of the main season, starting this October. The 10 a.m. start would also apply to the threeday resident-only season held on the weekend before the main season. The season would run deeper, until January 31. It currently ends the first Sunday of January. Licenses already run through the end of January.
In addition, starting Dec. 1, 2021, hunters would be allowed to take four roosters apiece per day, which is up from three, through the end of the season. The possession limit also would increase.
The commission will take public comments in writing or in person by teleconference. The public hearing is Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. CT. The commission will make its decision following the public comment period.
Last month Game, Fish & Parks Secretary Kelly Hepler announced his staff would not conduct the July-August brood route survey this year. The survey has been a fixture since 1949. Hepler said the population estimate hadn’t been used in pheasant season decisions.
The proposed changes come as the number of hunters declined in recent years. Residents went from 65,135 in 2015 to 47,401 in 2019; and non-residents dropped from 84,901 to 60,211. The estimated harvest fell too, from 1,255,878 birds to 829,501.
The commission received reports last week from GFP Upland Game Biologist Travis Runia and Iowa State Assistant Professor Adam Janke about population estimates and from several state officials about marketing and promotion. Runia said that at the end of the day, true abundance is difficult to estimate.
He noted the 110 routes are each about 30 miles long and have largely been the same for decades. GFP staff check them between July 25 and August 15, when broods are still mostly with hens. The best mornings tend to have heavy dew, forcing birds onto hay bales and roadsides where they can dry their feathers in the sun.
Runia said that dry years can lead to under-estimates, and some routes are done three times while others get just one check, depending upon how dewy the morning is. A late wheat harvest, acres that aren’t planted, and traffic can also affect the index. Janke is leading an eight-state
Janke is leading an eight-state project, including South Dakota, to better understand what affects pheasant population estimates.