Wildlife Diversity Program
- The Wildlife Diversity Program inventories, protects, and manages the diversity of species and habitats in South Dakota. It works to address wildlife diversity issues, and sustain all native plants, animals, and habitats. By taking a proactive approach to sustaining native species, listing of species as threatened or endangered can often be prevented.
- The South Dakota Natural Heritage Program is maintained by the Wildlife Diversity program. Natural heritage programs collect and manage detailed local information on plants, animals, and ecosystems and develop information, data management tools, and conservation services to help meet local, national, and global conservation needs.
Contacts
Dave Ode: Acting Coordinator-Botanist-Ecologist
Eileen Dowd Stukel: Endangered Species-Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
Casey Heimerl: Database Manager-Wildlife Biologist
Silka Kempema: Terrestrial Ecologist
Chelsey Pasbrig: Aquatic Ecologist - The South Dakota Natural Heritage Program is a member of NatureServe, an international network of biological inventories known as natural heritage programs or conservation data centers that operate in all fifty U.S. states, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Rare Species Grants
Wildlife Diversity Small Grants Program
The Wildlife Diversity Small Grants Program provides funding for researchers, educators and naturalists to carry out projects focused on native wildlife.
State Wildlife Grant funding helps provide for the needs of rare animal species. Learn more about this national effort and how South Dakota has used this annual appropriation.