Lori Walsh: We're talking this hour about outdoor sports and recreation during the pandemic. Today we'll hear from sportsmen and athletes. We'll talk about the CDC guidelines for everything from swimming safely to running safely. And we begin the hour with South Dakota's secretary of Game, Fish and Parks, kelly Hepler. Secretary Hepler, welcome back. Thank you for being here.
Kelly Hepler: Well thank you Lori. I just want to commend public radio and public television. You guys were doing outstanding coverage during the COVID-19 at open house last night. Did really good with the governor, so thank you for all your efforts on that.
Lori Walsh: Thank you very much. And people who missed that conversation with SDPB Stephanie Whistler can find it online at sdpb.org as well today. So secretary Hepler, let's start. You've been on the program before, but this is a story that changes very quickly. So have there been any changes in the state of South Dakota with those state parks and whether they're open or closed? What sort of decisions have you had to make lately?
Kelly Hepler: Well thanks Lori. Well, it's... I want to be happy to report to you that the outdoors is still continues to be open. That has not changed. We've been looking at this daily, in contact with the governor's office, but our parks are still open. Hunting and fishing is still available, and we think it's critically important this time where we are with the crisis and where people's psyche is, is get people outside just to get that enjoyment and be able to share some time responsibly with each other. But we stress responsibly because you have to follow those CDC guidelines that people have heard about and you can talk about later in the show. Those are also what the governor stresses are every time. So far right now it's all status quo, but that's good news Lori, because we're still out, we're still open for business.
Lori Walsh: So events are canceled or are canceled or adapted according to the CDC guidelines, right? Tournaments, any kind of event, sort of things canceled?
Kelly Hepler: Generally within our campsites, our cabins, boat ramps, fall toilets, those things are open. But our areas like our visitor center areas or meeting rooms, those things have been closed. And then we have a lot of events for example, outdoor campuses, those have all been closed. But a lot of those things have gone online so people can find that stuff online. But we're very much watching, we're following you can't have gatherings 10 or more people. So we're very conscious of that and even at those gathering of 10 we want people to be at least six feet apart.
So it's modified, but it's still open. And that's the main message that people want is the [inaudible 00:02:46]. We need to get them outside. I can just tell you personally, how important it is for me to be able to get out, and hear the meadowlarks in the morning and where they're singing, it helps my heart sing a little bit. And yes, actually my wife Carol was running on some back roads. We fortunately live out of town in a beautiful area, and the cranes are flying overhead and it's such a nice thing to come home to and be able to do those things. And that feeling carries with you. Then you're watching the nightly news and all those horror stories like you've seen in New York city, in some of those areas. So get people outside but do it responsibly.
Lori Walsh: Let's talk about some of the other programs for the parks. And there is a frequently asked question if you're listening right now. If you go to the state Game, Fish and Parks, gfp.sd.gov frequently asked questions about everything from out-of-state hunting to camp ground reservations to the turkey season. It's all on there. So I don't need to ask you all those questions right now, secretary Hepler. But I do want to talk about welcoming out-of-state fishers and hunters and changes to the Nest Predator Bounty Program. So let's talk about two of those things. Why say that we're open for people from out-of-state when we know that that means travel further away from your home or the CDC guidelines say try to use a facility close to your home so that you don't have to make some of those difficult decisions as you travel too far away. Find a park near you or find a trail near you. That's in the CDC guidelines, but that's not necessarily what we're saying about out-of-state anglers, for example. Help us figure out the logic behind that please.
Kelly Hepler: Well, it's a great question, Lori, as you can well imagine. Our commissioners, and we hear that on Facebook quite a bit too, but we do strongly suggest people to recreate locally. We started a national campaign, with all the states saying that. We say that repeatedly ourselves, but at the same time, there's nothing as far as the science or the facts that would say, we're concerned or more concerned about somebody coming from Minnesota for example, than somebody from Hughes County. There's nothing that shows that. And we tracked where all these positive cases have been, where they've been positive COVID-19. We have not seen any evidence they've got those interactions either through a park or through fishing or hunting.
And I also think that what the governor is saying, and I agree with her 100 percent, is that she wants people to be personally responsible. You cannot dictate that completely by the government. There has to be some individual responsibility and that's what that really is.
But we also hear that there's thousands and thousands of Minnesota license plates, for example, boat launches and the evidence doesn't bear that up. We have our conservation officers, they're going out and they're doing what I consider observation patrols, and look and see how people, first of all, are they following the social distancing that they should? And two, what's a general number of license plates, resident versus non-resident? And we're not... We're seeing what's considered more of a normal spring, but those numbers are falling off now too as we get further and further in this disease interaction. So there's nothing to suggest that we need to be afraid of someone from Minnesota and I still believe strongly our borders are open and we are a community, but everybody has got to make those personal decisions themselves.
Lori Walsh: Talk a little bit about camping. It's probably easy to maintain social distancing when you're in a cabin or when you've put your tent somewhere, but more difficult when you're trying to use camping facilities and the surfaces there might've been visited by, by someone else. Talk us through a little bit of how to camp safely, if that's something that you have decided to do.
Kelly Hepler: You know, that's another great question. If you go into my front seat in my car right now, Lori, you'll see I have wipes in there. I have hand sanitizer in there and I strongly suggest that people carry those with you and they're much more readily available than even a week ago, the last time we talked. And so when you go into an area like a park toilet, the common area and say the door knob or touching things inside is... Just clean your hands right after that. We will go out of our way as far as state parks, we will go out of our way to make sure those things are clean as much as we possibly can, following our CDC guidelines. But just be cautious about that. Or if you see somebody going in or just give them the distance and then come back in later. Just some common sense things.
But in today's world, I don't care, even on the gas pump. I cleaned my hands this morning. I picked up groceries at the pickup point in Walmart. I cleaned my steering wheel, my hands and everything else before I moved my vehicle. And I just think that's going to become the norm right now. And that just good hygiene. And of course the whole thing of soap and water. I mean there's nothing better than soap and water and doing it for 20 seconds, but always have some hand sanitizer with you and just be smart.
Lori Walsh: One of the things early on when people were talking about masks and wearing masks and there was a big shortage and then we were recommended not to use them. And now that conversation is changing a little bit with the White House coronavirus task force, but one of those early pieces of advice that I think is useful here was people were saying, "If you're wearing a mask, it also helps you not touch your face." It's a quick reminder.
So if you are using a high risk area where somebody else might be in contact, if you have some kind of face covering, it can be that quick barrier that says, "Oh yeah, I just touched the faucet and then I went right to my face." So there are different ways that we're all finding, to kind of figure out how to live a life in this world right now that is different than before. And some of those changes feel kind of awkward at first, but are you getting more used to it? As you said, just wiping off your steering wheel and some of these things are becoming habits as you go in the world.
Kelly Hepler: It's interesting you mentioned that. My wife was making masks for our family and our friends and a bunch of her friends are doing that too. And actually I forgot, I actually had one around my neck that I wore this morning when I stopped and picked the stuff up at Walmart and it's a Snoopy dog. And so, which is great and I do wear that. And but I wore it about a week ago and then people stared at me like I was from Mars, but that's not what people are saying now. And it's another personal choice. But those masks really stop you spreading your water droplets to somebody else. But also it's a good reminder to get it on your face and you'll know not to touch your face. So it is becoming more than norm and people aren't scared by them anymore. They're not fearful about wearing a mask like maybe two weeks ago. So at least from my viewpoint, I certainly wear them for my personal protection and yours.
Lori Walsh: YAnd two things. One, you might have to tell me where to get those wipes and hand sanitizer because I have not been able to find any. And two, please send us a picture of secretary Kelly Hepler in a Snoopy mask that we can put on our website because that would be a great leadership moment for you to show the world that you're willing to wear a mask and doing it.
Kelly Hepler: You know, I'll do that. The other thing I'll do is I'll send you... My wife has a great sense of humor. She always makes every Easter a cake, like a bunny and it's really well decorated and with things. But this year she actually made a mask and put that on the bunny too. So Lori, I'll be sure you get that as well as a picture of me.
There is something I do want to share with you, speaking of pictures. Chris Hall is a very talented person who runs a lot of her podcasts from her apartment, who's had a chance to interview Jody Moats and Jody works on at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve. Jody is this one off. She loves snakes and I know some people don't like them, but she took this neat photo right when it was warm before it got cold here about two weeks ago. And it's a bunch of garter snakes coming out of their den. They den up in the winter time. There must have been like 15, 16 of these garter snakes all sticking their head up looking. And that thing went viral. It's like 23 million hits now on that one photograph and it's on our website.
But the point of that besides it's a neat photo, it just tells you how much people are starved for nature and that connection and to get out and it just, when you think about nature, brings hope to you. And so I think that 23 million hits, that tells you where we are in the world now. People have to get outside, they have to enjoy nature.
Lori Walsh: Right. Our social media expert, Heather Benson has a farm and she posts pictures of it's lambing season and I'm just so happy about this. She just shares generously pictures of, again the outdoors and the adorable lambs, and it has become something that in the past I thought was passingly cute and now I find it to be a surprising lifeline to life going on and spring in South Dakota. It makes me happy. For people who can't get to their campground, who have a hunting license, who are unable or have decided through personal responsibilities that this is not the time to make that trip. Are we offering refunds?
Kelly Hepler: Oh absolutely. We definitely would. And we normally would but we especially are now. So anytime, for whatever reason you can't make it or you feel uncomfortable, like you said Lori, you contact us and we'll definitely be sure to get you to get a hunting license. Because we believe in customer service and we want you to come back because there will be a world after this and it's going to be a changed world but there will be a world after this. And so I think people, when this gets over, it's going to be even be more important for people to get connection with the outdoors and back to hunting and fishing, those traditions that we care so much about in South Dakota. So you contact us and we'll take care of you.
Lori Walsh: I want to just mention to listeners a little bit about the CDC guidelines. If you haven't gone through them very carefully, they are consistent with what secretary Hepler is saying right now. And they're saying visit those parks, get outside, stay physically active. And that's one of the best ways to keep your mind and body healthy. But be prepared before you visit and stay six feet away from others. Practice that social distancing. Play it safe around and in swimming areas. Keep lots of space between yourself and others. Visit parks that are close to your home. Don't use hot tubs or water playgrounds or regular playgrounds. Don't visit the places that are crowded and please do not participate in organized sports, so that's it for those parks that have basketball hoops. That is not what you should be doing unless you're by yourself at that point. Tell us secretary Hepler a little bit about the Nest Bounty Program and how that's going to be handled because it's still going on but yet in a modified way. Correct?
Kelly Hepler: It is. And thanks for bringing that up, because that's another good way for people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. And you can certainly do that solitarily. But point here is we're asking people, center offices are not open, you can't turn those tails in and so we are asking people to freeze those tails, then when our offices open back up again. Then even then I think we're going to find a more efficient way and maybe a less human contact way that be sure people get paid. So please hold on to those tails.
And I do have to tell you just a very quick story this morning. We've had a couple of skunks hanging around my house, which I trapped and I thought they're all done. And this morning I went out for a run with my dog. It was so foggy and I almost stepped on a skunk. And so my heart didn't sing when I almost stepped on that skunk. But the point is it's good to get out. And so people, we encourage them, get out to your trapping, it's a good thing to do. It's healthy, it helps the pheasants and other things. And so do that, but please keep those tails and then once we get open back up, which we will, we'll take care of those tails and make sure you get paid.
Lori Walsh: One of the challenges as we go throughout this time is with so many people, not going to a restaurant for example, we've seen more people flocking to the parks and some of those people are new. They've never been there before. They're taking advantage of the fact that they can enter the park without a fee. Talk a little bit about staying safe if you're a new outdoors person and you're kind of exploring what we talk about, planning ahead. The officers are available to be contacted, but we don't want to tap resources out with a bunch of newcomers trying to figure out for the first time how to be outside. So talk to those people a little bit about how do you begin embracing the outdoors if maybe before this you really hadn't thought about it much in South Dakota?
Kelly Hepler: Well, it's interesting. I always think about people in South Dakota are pretty much outside, but your right, there's places and there are people that just haven't been out. So here's one of the things I would suggest. There's lots of... The outdoor industry in particular in this country have spent a lot of time right now on social media trying to get people used to operating, getting outside. Maybe you haven't been in the past and we can certainly help you through Facebook. But I saw a neat thing the other day. You had a family hadn't been outside and they practiced setting up their tent in the front room and they had a camp out basically in the front room where it was a safe environment. So they figured out what the kids are comfortable. Then they moved and then they went outdoors and tried it in the yard. Then they went into a park.
And so I think that type of transition is good, but there's a lot of people out there that'll help you. And I'm sure if you asked that question also, there's people get online and help you do that, but you can certainly contact us through Facebook and we'll be sure that you get the right answers and so you feel comfortable going outside. There's nothing to be scared of, in fact, you should embrace it.
Lori Walsh: Yeah. What keeps you up at night about this pandemic right now? What is sort of still causing you anxiety and stress about either what's happening right now or about the future?
Kelly Hepler: I do wake up, Carol probably tell you I wake up every night. I think about things. I think about the safety of our healthcare workers. I think about the people working in our food security program, making sure they're being taken care of because sometimes we take that for granted. Smithfield I think illustrated the concern over that. Are we making the right decisions? And I think we do. I have complete faith in this governor, our secretary of health. But I wonder where we're going to be, six months from now because this has devastated our economy and what it means to the state agencies across this country. And the ability for us to be able to maintain that hunting legacy because it's going to be very difficult, and then of course we'll be run by sales tax in this state. It's going to be devastating what it means for our state economy.
So I worry about those things. But as much as I worry about the long term psyche and what it's going to do to people. There's only so much anxiety, so much stress you can go through and we don't know if there's going to be another reoccurrence of this disease. I think we're much better prepared for it. I mean, what's that mean? And as leaders and are we doing everything we can do? I also worry about my staff. They're isolated and we want them to get out. Some have families, they can work or not, or asking people to get outside, be safe still, work with the public as much as they can safely. I worry about those things. And so, I mean, I'm a little bit of a worrier. I'm a doer but I'm a little bit of a worrier too. So, I mean, there's a variety of things I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about my wife's health. And so I think about those things.
Lori Walsh: Yeah. Kelly Hepler, thank you so much for being here with us today. Again, we appreciate your time.
Kelly Hepler: Thank you Lori. And everybody take care.