The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks’ Nest Predator Bounty program is starting a new season. It’s part of Governor Kristi Noem’s initiative to improve habitat and increase pheasant numbers.
Nick Harrington is a Game, Fish and Parks spokesman.
“We have two goals with this program. Our first goal is to enhance nest success for pheasants and ducks. Our secondary goal is to encourage individuals, youth, families to get outdoors and get them involved in these traditions that have made South Dakota what it is.”
The program pays hunters and trappers to turn in the tails of raccoon, striped skunk, badger, red fox, and opossum. The payment is 10 dollars per tail this year, which is twice as much as last year.
Harrington says the department wants more participation.
“So, if you go back in 2019, you’ll see 54,471 tails were submitted… that was at $10 a tail. Then, in 2020, when you look, we had 26,390 tails submitted. And this was when we were only paying $5s a tale. So, we didn't quite see the participation that we had seen the year before. So, this year for 2021, we're back up to $10 a tail.”
Tails can be harvested by trapping or hunting with the required licenses.
Dates, times and locations for tail submissions can be found here.