The Legislative Rules and Review Committee approved two controversial rule changes brought by Game, Fish and Parks.
The first created the fees and day pass structure of a controversial state-funded shooting complex in Rapid City.
The Game, Fish and Park Pete Lien & Sons Sports Complex cost $20 million dollars total but utilized $13.5 million from the state’s Future Fund for Economic Development.
Some legislators were displeased with the Noem Administration’s use of the Future Fund after the project failed to receive funding approval from the Legislature.
The newly approved fee structure includes a $20 one-day fee for individuals, annual permits for $100 and an annual family permit at $150. Clubs are also able to obtain a year-long permit at a $500 rate.
In July, GFP said the fees would help offset around $360,000 in annual maintenance and operations cost.
The shooting complex will offer free opportunities for kids and the public when it opens next month.
Legislators approved the fee structure in a 5-1 vote.
The second set of approved rule changes applied to mountain lion hunting in the Black Hills.
The rules expand where hunters can use hounds to detect mountain lions in the Black Hills Fire Protection District, including some private land.
The rules were controversial at the Game, Fish and Parks Commission meeting last month.
Rep. Roger DeGroot is on the Legislature’s Rules and Review Committee and was a yes vote on approving the change.
“I think the mountain lion change is a win-win," DeGroot said. "It’s a win for the landowners because they want to have some mountain lions taken off their property, and I think it’s a win for the hunters and boot hunters that can go there and hunt those in that area now and before they couldn’t do that."
The Rules and Review Committee unanimously approved the hunting changes.
