The South Dakota Game, Fish, & Parks has announced that they are looking to increase bighorn sheep permits within the state. This permit increase would be valid for the next two years if passed.
2022 – 2023 sheep permits would be moved from eight rams to ten. Likewise, some additional permits would be made available for auction.
Below we will look at the increases and meat of the proposal:
“Based on the strong numbers of ram bighorn sheep across all age classes, the increase to the number of licenses being proposed in Custer State Park will not negatively affect the viewability of bighorn sheep for park visitors and will provide additional hunting opportunities. Modifying the requirement for the mandatory hunter orientation will provide better customer service to those licensed hunters.” – SDGFP Proposal Release
The Elk Mountain District will stay the same as 2021. A two permit increase will be set for the Hell Canyon District, this means there will be an overall increase of two permits, making a total of four in the District. In Custer State Park, the department will offer three licenses, an increase from last year’s one. Lastly, the proposal will look to close the Eastern Pennington Unit. This Unit lies near the Badlands National Park. In previous years the area has had an outbreak of a deadly bacteria that has lowered the sheep population.
Early last year we at Ehuntr covered South Dakota’s bighorn sheep conservation success. In that article, we discussed how the state is creating a successful reintroduction program and how several trophy class rams are taken each year. In 2018, Clayton Miller killed the Pope & Young world record ram. You can check out that article by clicking here. Likewise, you can read more about these proposed changes by clicking here.
