The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, together with South Dakota Legislature, and various agencies, including the South Dakota Department of School and Public Land regulate hunting within the State.

RULES and REGULATIONS

For specific information about hunting in South Dakota, we encourage hunters to consult the 2008 South Dakota Hunting and Trapping Handbook  The Handbook contains a wealth of information, including regulations on the Youth Hunting Initiative, that permits 10 year olds to engage in mentored hunting.  You will, however, need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to access the handbook from the link listed above.

PLACES to HUNT

In South Dakota, most private game preserves, hunting lodges and outfitters spin a web that ensnares unwary hunters into believing that that the only way to successfully hunt within the state is to pay for the right to hunt on private property. Unfortunately, hunters caught in this web  often pay private sector operators to pursue the same game that the Department of Game Fish and Parks is charged with managing for everyone's benefit, not simply that of private hunting enterprises.

To be sure, a large majority of land in the state is privately owned, but it's generally not any more productive than public land available to all hunters without charge.

SDHRA has identified over 3 million acres of land open to public hunting at little or no charge. Much of this land is leased, owned or held in trust by the state and or Federal government for various purposes and includes hunting conducted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks. Information about its use and location use is available at South Dakota Interactive Public Lands Map site.

Among the land available for public use, are over 750,000 acres across the state which are managed by the South Dakota Department of  School and Public Lands, and may be identified using the Interactive Public Lands Map site, described above. Much of this land provides excellent large and small game opportunities. However, with very few exceptions, none of it is posted and mapping its locations throughout the state is  tedious. Additionally, adjacent land owners often complicate the problem by posting their own property in a manner that appears to include adjacent public land. To address this problem, SDHRA has adopted an initiative to work with the Department of School and Public Lands to prevent interference by adjacent property owners.