Wildlife damage management program
GFP employs 27 full-time Wildlife Damage Specialists (WDS) within its Wildlife Damage Management Program. These staff work directly with landowners and producers to reduce or alleviate wildlife damage such as: livestock losses, damage to stored-feed supplies and hay, damage to growing crops, as well as damage to personal property. They also conduct educational programs on sport trapping as a form of recreation and its importance in the management of furbearers. Programs can be given in classrooms, meeting halls, summer camps or other group meeting locations.
Winter Depredation hunts
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There are a number of methods for deterring wildlife from causing damage, including: create alternate feeding sites, temporary and permanent fencing, and hazing wildlife away from an area. More information on registering for these hunts.
Landowners Matter
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Landowners matter. As a vast majority of South Dakota is privately owned; farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are the principal stewards of wildlife resources and the habitats in which they depend. Cooperative relationships and collaborative approaches among landowners, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and others who enjoy and appreciate fish and wildlife resources in this state, are critical.
- The Landowners Matter newsletter is printed and distributed twice a year; in the spring and in the fall and is mailed to approximately 14,000 South Dakota landowners. Sign up to receive this publication in your mailbox or directly to your email inbox.