The Game, Fish and Parks Commission recently approved changes to mountain lion hunting in the Black Hills.
An attempt to pass similar changes failed two years ago.
Members approved expanding where hunters can use hounds to detect mountain lions in the Black Hills Fire Protection District, including some privately owned land
Using hounds to hunt mountain lions has traditionally been reserved to Custer State Park, but the GFP commission approved moving the borders significantly around the
southern and eastern portions of Custer State Park. The western border remains the same.
Much of the land in the area is private property, some landowners supported the proposal in public comment.
Andrew Norton is the Wildlife Program Administrator for South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks. He explained how the expansion area was chosen.
“Specifically, we chose this area with the ultimate goal to redistribute harvest. You heard from some landowners down there that they might like to see more lions harvested, or at least that opportunity," Norton said. "And this is exactly why we chose this area as opposed to moving to say central Black Hills or northern Black Hills where we already see what we deem as adequate harvest to meet that population objective.”
GFP said additional mountain lion hunting could help declining mule and whitetail deer numbers in the southern Black Hills. Officials note hunters have a much higher success rates when using dogs.
The change also increases the permit length to hunt with dogs from two weeks to three weeks. However, the number of permits to hunt with dogs will remain limited to 15 individuals.
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Meanwhile, authorities will no longer limit the number of permits for hunting mountain lions without the use of dogs in Custer State Park. No changes were made to the harvest limit, which stays at 60 mountain lions or 40 females.
Some opponents argued the expansion will lead to trespassing dogs in the area and affect private landowners.
John Kanta is the Terrestrial Section Chief for GFP. He said that hasn’t been the case for similar rules in the past.
“I can tell you that there’s very few instances where we’ve had folks pursuing bobcats with dogs that have ended up in a trespass issue," Kanta said.
He said if it were to happen, it would be treated like any other trespass case.
The changes apply to the next two seasons in 2025 and 2026 pending approval from the Legislature’s Rules Review Committee on Sept. 9.
