SOUTH DAKOTA GFP NEWS FOR 3-18-09
New South Dakota Teaming With Wildlife Members
PIERRE, S.D. – A national conservation movement, Teaming with Wildlife, has seven new supporters from South Dakota joining their efforts.
South Dakota’s coalition now totals 176 groups and over 250,000 citizens. They represent a grass-roots effort to support wildlife by working with the legislative process to promote a stable funding source for state wildlife agencies. Funds will help prevent wildlife from becoming endangered and enhance environmental education and nature-based recreation.
Nearly 6,000 organizations and businesses in the United States have endorsed Teaming with Wildlife, showing a commitment to address the need for increased funding for wildlife recreation, education and conservation.
Pheasant hunting’s economic impact is well known. Less widely known is the increasing interest and economic importance of wildlife watchers, people who observe, feed, or photograph wildlife. In 2006, 432,000 residents and nonresidents participated in wildlife watching in South Dakota, according to the most recent survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildlife watchers spent $183 million on their activities in this state in 2006. Seventy-one percent ($130 million) of these expenditures were trip-related expenses, such as food, lodging, transportation, and equipment rental.
South Dakota’s Teaming with Wildlife coalition represents hunters, anglers, archers, scouts, businesses, agricultural, economic development and tourism interests, and more. These new members have expressed their commitment to wildlife and the natural places that contribute to the state’s quality of life.
Heritage O'Neill Portrait Studio, Rapid City
Lumostudios/Aaron Packard Photography, Vermillion
M.Linn Studios, Pierre
Photography by Jerry, Yankton
Photography by Scott, Chamberlain
Upper Big Sioux River Watershed Project, Watertown
Willow Row Photography, Clear Lake
There is no charge to join the coalition. Members go on record to show support for the need to ensure that wildlife and natural habitats in South Dakota and throughout the U.S. are responsibly managed.
More information is available on the South Dakota Teaming with Wildlife Web site at: http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Diversity/teaming.htm. There you can view South Dakota’s complete coalition list and learn how your organization or business can join the coalition and keep South Dakota a place where people and wildlife find the clean water and air and healthy landscapes we all need to thrive.
To learn more about the national Teaming with Wildlife initiative, visit http://teaming.com/. For more information on South Dakota’s Teaming with Wildlife Coalition, contact Eileen Dowd Stukel at eileen.dowdstukel@state.sd.us or (605) 773-4229.
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CHAMBERLAIN, S.D - The South Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society held its annual meeting at Cedar Shores Resort in Oacoma, February 23rd through the 25th, 2009. The annual meeting is an opportunity to conduct a business meeting, to share current research topics conducted through professional presentations, and to recognize individuals for their contribution to wildlife management in South Dakota.
The Chapter presented one special and two annual awards to recognize outstanding efforts in wildlife management.
The Wildlife Professional of the Year Award is presented to an individual who is employed in the field of wildlife management and has made an outstanding contribution in wildlife management in South Dakota. This award was presented to William (Bill) Smith for his outstanding contribution to wildlife management and the sportsmen and women of South Dakota, as well as those who visit this state. Bill is a Senior Wildlife Biologist for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks (GFP). Bill is responsible for serving as the agency’s Farm Bill coordinator and administers the Walk-In Area Program.
The Citizen’s Wildlife Award is presented to a person or group not employed in wildlife management and has also made an outstanding effort to contribute in wildlife management in South Dakota. The Citizen’s Wildlife Award was presented to Dennis Skadsen of Webster. Skadsen was nominated for the award because of his thirty years of conducting biological surveys, accomplishments in soil, water and habitat conservation, his efforts in environmental education, and his promotion of citizen science. According to GFP biologist Dave Ode, who presented the award, “Dennis Skadsen is a true conservation entrepreneur. Dennis’s interest in wildlife, his dedication to conservation and his unquenchable curiosity of nature, have made him one of the most knowledgeable and effective practitioners of wildlife conservation in South Dakota.”
Bill Walker, a District Manager for Crop Production Services “Timberland,” was presented with a special award from the Wildlife Society. Bill has worked with Federal, State, County and private individuals and organizations on chemical control of invasive non-native vegetation over the last 25 years.
GFP Wildlife Biologist Dennie Mann said, “I can’t say enough about the assistance provided by Bill and his staff throughout the state to improve and enhance grassland, cropland, and riparian management opportunities.”
The South Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society was organized in March of 1966 as a nonprofit organization of professional wildlife ecologist and managers. The objectives of the Chapter are to develop and promote sound stewardship of wildlife resources and environment, to take an active role in preventing human-induced environmental degradation, to increase awareness and appreciation of wildlife values, and to seek the highest standards in all activities of the wildlife profession. There are currently 180 members in the South Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society. To learn more about the South Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society, visit www.sdwildlife.org.
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