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How Many People Hunt and Fish in South Dakota?

South Dakota has a rich tradition of hunting and fishing, and that is evident by the number of individuals who take part in each sport. The state population is approximately 760,000 people. Over one-third of the population either hunts or fishes. Here is a breakdown of the numbers:
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
RESIDENT HUNTING                  
Unique General License Holders 100,422 97,873 93,952 88,830 92,093 99,692 95,370 96,753 99,105
Unique Big Game License Holders 58,912 63,463 66,974 69,335 79,831 82,763 75,166 77,683 78,155
Unique Total Hunting License  Holders 144,278 124,542 121,584 118,001 130,977 139,467 134,116 136,233 137,067
NONRESIDENT HUNTING                  
Unique General License Holders 81,523 83,936 85,630 82,148 95,695 103,719 110,302 115,914 123,741
Unique Big Game License Holders 10,175 11,136 11,729 13,928 17,072 18,045 15,801 17,573 18,302
Unique Total Hunting License Holders 83,931 92,465 94,568 89,972 108,583 117,649 122,723 129,741 138,013
RESIDENT FISHING                  
Unique License Holders 141,954 139,788 133,752 128,182 129,211 127,689 120,251 122,700 122,936
NONRESIDENT FISHING                  
Unique License Holders 72,119 77,680 84,892 76,103 65,882 62,919 54,391 52,165 51,978
COMBINED RESIDENT & NONRESIDENT                  
Total Unique Fishing 228,209 217,007 216,152 207,973 195,021 188,435 174,600 174,806 174,848
Total Unique Hunting 214,073 217,468 218,644 204,285 239,560 256,652 256,744 265,888 275,001

These figures reveal how many people purchased hunting and fishing licenses within a given year. However, each year there are individuals who may not purchase a license for one reason or another, and then purchase a license the following year. A count of the unique number of individuals who have purchased a hunting or fishing license over the past four years will give us a rough estimate of our potential license buyers.
COMBINED HUNTING OR FISHING 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2005-2007
Total Unique Resident License Holders 192,653 196,453 190,479 186,833 195,756 201,365 189,473 192,107 192,040 300,708
Total Unique Nonresident License Holders 143,289 155,597 162,727 160,375 170,314 175,833 172,471 177,281 185,186 368,111
Total Unique Hunting or Fishing 335,943 351,588 352,978 346,969 366,070 376,617 361,767 369,217 377,022 668,819

At the same time, it is important to track the age trend of license holders to determine how the license buying public in South Dakota is aging and if there are sufficient numbers of young people recruiting into these recreation activities.
Total Unique Hunting or Fishing License Holders by Age Class
RESIDENT
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2005-2007
12-18
17,965
18,025
17,633
17,156
17,928
22,218
20,894
20,894
20,734
29,212
19-35
58,259
59,913
57,867
57,048
60,399
62,219
58,837
59,598
59,771
103,073
36-55
72,720
75,742
74,138
72,123
75,191
75,508
71,014
71,196
69,811
106,903
56-100
36,833
37,964
37,078
37,314
39,728
38,619
37,489
39,134
40,436
61,248
100+
0
25
60
104
78
28
74
53
28
103
TOTAL
185,777
191,669
186,776
183,745
193,324
198,592
188,308
190,875
190,780
300,539
NONRESIDENT
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2005-2007
12-18
5,373
5,722
5,988
6,025
6,608
8,433
8,332
8,320
8,728
16,411
19-35
30,989
33,694
34,299
33,420
35,138
38,015
36,949
37,439
38,527
81,768
36-55
68,480
74,614
77,680
76,278
80,193
82,601
81,653
82,316
84,687
167,685
56-100
33,635
36,547
40,534
41,432
45,292
44,203
44,863
48,684
52,763
101,594
100+
0
46
95
133
90
26
196
128
46
334
TOTAL
138,477
150,623
158,596
157,288
167,321
173,278
171,993
176,887
184,751
367,792

The recruitment of teenagers into hunting and fishing has remained constant during this time period, and there appears to be a good balance between the number of young and older individuals. Here is a comparison of 2005 and 2007 license sales by age of license buyer (note, some statistical error may be present due to errors in information provided by license buyers):

Resident Hunters by age class, 2005-2007
Age Class
2005
 2007
12-15
11,119
 11,088
16-18
8,817
 9,355
19-29
28,266
 29,209
30-39
22,011
 21,776
40-55
41,210
 40,241
56-100
21,664
 24,304
100+
63
 27