· Changes Proposed for Mountain Lion Hunting Season
· State’s Mountain Lion Population Estimate Revised
· S.D. Offering More Opportunities for Young Hunters
· Handling of Leftover Hunting Licenses Could Change
Changes Proposed for Mountain Lion Hunting Season
CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D.—The S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Commission is considering major revisions to the state’s mountain lion hunting season. The commission approved the season proposal at its May meeting at the State Game Lodge at Custer State Park.
As proposed, the hunting season dates would change to Jan. 1 through March 31 and create a special provision for landowner licenses. A public hearing about the season will be held at the commission’s June meeting in Pierre.
Wildlife Division Director Tony Leif explained to commissioners that changing the start of the season to Jan. 1 would decrease the chances of department personnel needing to retrieve orphaned mountain lion kittens. The Game, Fish and Parks Department has a policy of recovering mountain lion kittens that are 3 months old or younger if they are orphaned during the hunting season.
“To mainstream South Dakotans, this is an important issue,” Leif said. “It’s a very important social issue and we need to be responsive to that.”
Wildlife Program Administrator Tom Kirschenmann shared data with commissioners about research the department has conducted on 26 mountain lion litters. The research showed that the highest probability of harvesting a mountain lion female with dependent kittens was in August, September, October and November. The state’s last two mountain lion hunting seasons started on Nov. 1.
The research also showed that January, February and March were the months when it would be least likely to harvest a female with cubs who were 3 months old or younger.
Assistant Wildlife Division Director George Vandel said that the purpose of the hunting season proposal was to minimize the kitten issue and still get the harvest of lions that’s needed in the Black Hills. “We think we can do both,” Vandel said. If the harvest limits aren’t met, the proposal includes a provision that allows the commission to extend the season beyond March 31.
More than 4,000 mountain lion hunting licenses were sold in South Dakota last year. Leif said that the number of licenses sold for the next season is likely to go down since many deer and elk hunters also bought mountain lion hunting licenses on the chance that they would get a shot at one of the big cats.
“Participation in that season will decline,” Lief said, noting that the season will quite likely last longer than the three weeks it has taken in the past to fulfill the subquota of female mountain lions. The proposed harvest limit has not changed. It remains at 35 lions or 15 female lions.
Also included in the proposal is a provision that allows landowners outside of the Black Hills Fire Prevention District to hunt mountain lions on their property year-round.
Leif said this provision would allow properly-licensed landowners the opportunity to hunt a lion on their property. The new provision would not change the current policy that allows landowners to protect themselves or their property from a threatening mountain lion.
“When that happens,” Leif said, “the landowner often wants the lion after it’s harvested and that’s not allowed.” Big game animals have a level of status in South Dakota that doesn’t allow them to be kept when harvested out of season.
“With this provision, a licensed landowner in fear of depredation will be able to protect his property and keep the lion,” Leif said. Other than being able to hunt year-round, landowners must follow the other requirements of the season.
Leif said an administrative change in the way license applications are processed would guide applicants through the season’s regulations. “It requires them to check off on knowing the rules of the season,” Leif said.
The mountain lion hunting season is scheduled to be the topic of a public hearing at the commission’s June meeting in Pierre. Citizens who would like to provide written comments on the mountain lion hunting season may do so up until 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 4. Those comments may be mailed to Game, Fish and Parks Commission, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501 or e-mailed to wildinfo@state.sd.us. All comments must include the sender’s full name and address in order to become part of the official record.
Comments may also be presented in person at the GFP Commission meeting at the public hearing which will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 5, at the Ramkota RiverCentre in Pierre.
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State’s Mountain Lion Population Estimate Revised
CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D.—S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Commissioners were updated on the state’s mountain lion population at their May meeting at the State Game Lodge at Custer State Park. That update included a revised estimate of the mountain lion population in the Black Hills.
Game Program Administrator Tom Kirschenmann told commissioners that GFP staff estimates that there are between 220 and 280 mountain lions in the Black Hills. Last year’s estimate put the mountain lion population at or just above 210 lions. The current estimate includes 33 to 43 adult males, 90 to 114 breeding females and 97 to 127 dependent young.
Kirschenmann said department biologists use three factors to help them reach the population estimate. Those factors include the harvest rate, home range size and modeling estimates. The estimates are the results of research conducted by GFP staff as well as projects conducted by South Dakota State University.
Research shows that 62 to 78 mountain lions are joining the Black Hills population each year. In rare cases that can mean a lion moving in from another state but the strongest recruitment factor is the population’s reproduction rate.
Estimates show that 50 percent of breeding females have young each year with an average of 2.7 cubs per litter. There is a 60 percent survival rate for cubs with 14 months as the mean age at which they become independent.
Kirschenmann said South Dakota had 54 adult lion mortalities in the past year due to a variety of factors including the hunting season, lion interaction, lions harvested because they proposed a threat and other causes.
Not included in the mortality figure are 13 cubs, 10 of which were killed by adult lions. According to Kirschenmann, radio collars play an important role in allowing the department to keep such close track of the lions.
Currently the department has radio collars on 16 cubs, 35 females and 16 males. Eight of those are the more expensive collars with global positioning systems.
“We probably have the best information of any state that has a mountain lion population,” said Wildlife Division Assistant Director George Vandel. “I’m confident that the information we have is the very best.”
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S.D. Offering More Opportunities for Young Hunters
PIERRE, S.D.—Two South Dakota hunting seasons have been expanded to allow more opportunities for young hunters and more opportunities are on the way.
The S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Commission has approved changes in the youth pheasant season that lengthen the season and allow hunting to start earlier in the day. The 2008 season will be lengthened to five days running Saturday, Oct. 4, through Wednesday, Oct. 8.
“This is part of a trend we’re working toward in South Dakota—more opportunities for youth,” said Wildlife Division Assistant Director George Vandel. The season approved by the GFP Commission raises the minimum age for participation from 15 to 17.
Because early October can still have some hot days, shooting hours during the youth pheasant season will start at 10 a.m. rather than noon. “This should make it easier for both the hunters and their hunting dogs,” Vandel said.
At its May meeting the GFP Commission finalized a significantly longer youth deer hunting season. The season will run statewide from Sept. 13 through Jan. 31, 2009. Last year’s season was held Sept. 8 through Sept. 16 and Dec. 8 through Jan. 31.
Vandel said the season was lengthened in response to requests from the public. “We heard that with the uncertainties of weather and busy school schedules, a shorter season didn’t allow enough time to ensure that young hunters could get out in the field,” Vandel said. “This season creates more opportunities for young hunters.”
The age limit in the youth deer season also increased. Now young hunters who have not turned 18 by June 30 will be allowed to take part in the season. Previously the season was limited to hunters who had not turned 16 by June 30.
To further expand opportunities and introduce youth to hunting, the South Dakota Legislature passed a law allowing GFP to establish a hunter mentoring program that allows youngsters 10 to 15 years old who have not taken the hunter safety course to hunt if they are mentored by an unarmed parent or guardian. “Our plan is to bring a recommendation package to the June commission meeting for mentored youth hunting seasons that include deer, turkey, and antelope,” Vandel told the commission.
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Handling of Leftover Hunting Licenses Could Change
CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D.—A proposed change in the way leftover hunting licenses are handled could offer hunters unlimited opportunities in some limited draw big game seasons.
At its May meeting at the State Game Lodge at Custer State Park, the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Commission approved a proposal that adds a step to the license application process and increases the opportunities for deer, antelope and turkey hunters.
Game Program Administrator Tom Kirschenmann said the change was suggested by hunters who noted that some leftover big game licenses go unused. “We use those licenses to manage the resource,” Kirschenmann said, “and if they’re not used, those management objectives might go unmet.”
Currently there are three drawings for licenses in some limited license big game seasons. After a first drawing is held, a second drawing is conducted for applicants who were not successful in the first drawing. The third drawing includes unsold licenses that are still available after the second drawing—up to four for successful applicants and up to five for unsuccessful applicants.
The proposal would allow hunters to purchase an unlimited number of leftover hunting licenses that would become available on a first-come, first-served basis after the third drawing.
The change in the license application process is scheduled to be the topic of a public hearing at the commission’s June meeting in Pierre. Citizens who would like to provide written comments may do so up until 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 4. Those comments may be mailed to Game, Fish and Parks Commission, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501 or e-mailed to wildinfo@state.sd.us. All comments must include the sender’s full name and address in order to become part of the official record.
Comments may also be presented in person at the GFP Commission meeting at the public hearing which will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 5, at the Ramkota RiverCentre in Pierre.
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