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South Dakota Considers Special Landowner Licenses
From an Associated Press story in the Rapid City Journal:
A bill that would give landowners special big-game licenses that they could use to sponsor hunters has received its first hearing in the South Dakota Legislature.
Sen. Julie Bartling of Burke says the measure would encourage hunting and help landowners who have problems with overpopulated deer herds.
Opponents say the measure would interfere with state game management and reduce the chances that some residents would draw licenses they want to hunt deer.
Good idea?
Mike this must piss you off royally?
Posted by: GREG | January 25, 2008 at 11:08 AM
I just knew you were gonna go there, GREG!! LOL!
Posted by: Blue Ox | January 25, 2008 at 11:14 AM
No actually, Greg, it does not. If the state legislature through official acts wishes to waive public rights to game, that's the constitutional process in action. If the voting public go along with that, so be it.
I don't think it would be a good idea in the state in which I live. But apparently South Dakota is so overrun with deer that access isn't a problem these days.
Posted by: Mike Diehl | January 25, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Dog gone Mike we are on the same page. Wouldnt a thunk it! Im happy about it though.
Posted by: GREG | January 25, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Ox, I tried not to go there, I really did. Im glad Mike showed some restraint and didnt just destroy me!LOL
Posted by: GREG | January 25, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Good. That means I won't have to separate youse. LOL!
Posted by: Blue Ox | January 25, 2008 at 11:35 AM
this will be a disaster. it will take take no time at all for the average hunter to lose access to prime hunting ground. look at KS. where landowner tags have regularly been sold for thousands of dollars, since they were created. its has also resulted in most of the state being leased by outfitters who pay the farmer/rancher for those tags. the average hunter in KS has been shut out in the last ten years, primarily because of this landowner tag issue. KS is currently reexamining this issue. it pits the money (read outfitters) with the average hunters who actually pay the bills for the KS Fish and Game. if you live in SD, i urge you to not go down that road.
Posted by: Tom | January 25, 2008 at 03:39 PM
Mike Diehl,
Are you a member of the ACLU?
Bubba
Posted by: Bubba | January 25, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Tom thanks for the enlightenment of the situation in Kansas. Helps me as an easterner to understand issues that arise in the west and midwest. This may be an oversimplification, but if the deer are that big of a problem in South Dakota, why not issue "bonus tags" to the landowners and then not reduce the number of tags normally open to the rest of the state hunters. It would allow the landowner to get rid of some nuisance deer and still provide the same opportunities for the rest of the state's hunters.
Posted by: John R | January 26, 2008 at 08:33 AM
I think the bonus tags idea John R. is great. I really think that there should be a program where if you donate venison to charity that goes to food banks and places such as the Salvation army a hunter should be rewarded with an extra tag. As for landowners being issues these tags- I don't know. It seems like those privileged with land are once again rewarded and the rest of us who can't afford land are getting marginalized once more by restricting our access to available tags. I've been known to be wrong however.
Posted by: William | January 28, 2008 at 02:26 AM
I agree. I think these tags would end up being sold for thousands of dollars and will come at the expense of non land owning hunters. This is for South Datkotans to figure out, but I would be raising holy hell if they tried it in Michigan.
Posted by: Jason | January 28, 2008 at 06:14 AM
its stupid they do something like this here in montana. all of the ranchers that own more than 640 acres get ten percent of the tags given.(for elk and deer, number is lower for antelope) so you can go into some of their barns and they will have four or five bulls on the wall scoreing higher than three fifty. i dont think you should be able to hunt more just cause you own land.
Posted by: steve | January 28, 2008 at 08:34 PM
Pretty soon we're going to be just like in England where only the rich and privileged can hunt. More and more access to hunting land is taken away and it looks like access to tags is going the same route as long as landowners get more than everyone else. I've heard it said before that people pay more taxes for the land they own so they should be able to get more tags to hunt on it. This is a poor excuse, a person pays taxes because they own the land which has value not because they should have more access to tags.
Posted by: William | January 29, 2008 at 12:45 AM