SCI Greater Dacotah Chapter

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Rapid City, SD
SCI Greater Dacotah Chapter

Providing value to members by shaping policies and legislation that protect the freedom to hunt locally, nationally and internationally.

The Greater Dacotah Chapter (GDC) is proud to be part of SCI’s great tradition of ensuring ethical and sustainable hunting opportunities through scientific based management & research by wildlife professionals! Greater Dacotah Chapter
Mission Statement: To protect and enhance the freedom to hunt and the conservation of our wildlife resources, while connecting people to outdoor opportunities! Visi

on Statement: The Greater Dacotah Chapter is a strong and effective voice to promote wildlife conservation and management, through the utilization of hunting as a primary management tool to ensure sustainable wildlife populations worldwide. Keeping members informed regarding issues that impact hunting while educating and providing members with engaging articles and opportunities! Promoting a positive image of hunters and portraying them as responsible citizens who fund wildlife conservation, education and other programs which benefit the community

Safari Club International (SCI) is the world’s leading hunter-conservationist group and has more than 200 active chapters worldwide. The Greater Dacotah Chapter (GDC) is proud to be part of SCI’s great tradition of ensuring hunting opportunities and preserving wildlife resources. The GDC is very active in local conservation programs and working with the Game Fish & Parks on wildlife management options. Our chapter members include everyone from hunters who travel far and wide to hunters who love to hunt around the Dakotas. What we have in common is a love of hunting and a desire to protect our wildlife resources for future generations.

03/18/2026

The Wildlife Society and the Greater Dacotah Chapter have been partners in terrestrial management for the last 18 years, supporting wildlife professionals, students, and wildlife universities in research and management opportunities.
Science First
We ground our work in the best available information, including both Western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). From wildlife conservation to habitat management, we recognize the value of multiple ways of knowing—drawing on evidence, experience and long-standing relationships with the land to guide our decisions and define our standards.
Community & Collaboration
We are stronger together. We unite wildlife professionals, students, partners and advocates across sectors to build a diverse, inclusive and supportive network that advances our shared mission.
Leadership Through Education
With the help of our supporters, we empower current and future wildlife professionals through lifelong learning, mentorship and knowledge exchange. Supporting career development options strengthens the profession—and wildlife opportunities across the globe!
Over the past 18 years many Greater Dacotah Chapter board members have received the Citizen Conservation award from the South Dakota chapter and the Central Mountains and Plains Section which includes SD, ND, NB, KS, CO, WY, and UT. Gary English received the award at the conference at SDSU in Brooking. Past recipients include Carl Stonecipher, Jeff Olson, Mary Ann Mann, Brian Dail, and Jim Scull.
This is one of the highest honors to receive and is dedicated to their support and advocacy for scientific management on a local and global arena. Congratulations to all of the recipients, Gary received the award from Dennie Mann President of the SD Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

03/17/2026

Commit to protect hunting for future generations.
Safari Club International (SCI) is the leader in defending the freedom to hunt and promoting sustainable-use wildlife conservation worldwide. As the only hunting rights organization with a Washington D.C.-based national and international advocacy team and an all-species focus, SCI mobilizes nearly 150 chapters and affiliate networks representing millions of hunters around the world.
SCI’s staff, partner organizations, and chapter networks worldwide are involved in advocacy on local and global hunting issues, particularly in opposing international hunting import bans, opposing fi****ms restrictions, supporting rural areas and community leadership, and more.
The Greater Dacotah Chapter is committed to scientific wildlife management by state, federal, and conservation-based NGO's for sustainable use of the natural resources on a local and global perspective!
The Chapter received the Diamond Conservation award at the SCI national convention in Nashville with President Gary English accepting that award while attending the conference with family Christi and Luke.

02/20/2026

Forest Service News Release

Forest Service announces $182 million in retroactive Secure Rural Schools payments to support counties, schools and wildfire preparedness
(Washington, D.C., February 20, 2026) -- The U.S. Forest Service today announced it is issuing $182 million in retroactive Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments for 2024, delivering critical funding to eligible states and counties with National Forest System lands. These payments help sustain public schools, maintain local roads, strengthen wildfire preparedness, and support other essential services in rural communities.

“For many rural counties, SRS payments aren’t optional – they’re essential,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “The Forest Service’s annual payments provide reliable, predictable funding that rural states and counties depend on. These payments strengthen local schools and infrastructure while honoring the partnership between national forests and the communities that surround them.”

The 2024 payments include Title I and Title III allocations, which help fund education, transportation infrastructure and critical community services in rural areas. They also enhance wildfire readiness at the local level by supporting Firewise Communities programs, reimbursing counties for emergency services on national forests, and supporting the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans — making communities safer and improving coordination with Forest Service wildfire response efforts.

Because SRS had not yet been reauthorized when 2024 payments were issued, the Forest Service initially made payments under the 1908 revenue-sharing framework, as required by law. With reauthorization, the agency is now reconciling payments to ensure counties receive the full amounts owed under the program.

Since 1908, 25% of Forest Service revenue from timber sales, mineral leases, livestock grazing, recreation fees and other sources have been shared with states and counties containing national forests. By the 1990s, long-term reductions in timber revenue significantly reduced these payments, prompting Congress to enact the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to provide more stable funding for at-risk local services.

Over the past decade, the Forest Service has distributed $2.6 billion through the SRS program.

02/10/2026

Board Members engage in Hunting with Cameras. Kambra, Mary Ann, Colton, and Dennie. What a great opportunity with friends & SCI Board Team members. South Dakota affords abundant opportunity to test your skills with both cameras and fi****ms throughout the year. Hunting with cameras gives you 365 days a year to be in the field hunting!

02/06/2026

Shoot to Hunt: How competitive Shooting Builds Better Hunters. Competitive shooting disciplines like NRL Hunter, PRS, and even pistol matches translate into better hunting skills. From gear familiarity and shooting positions to time pressure and mental prep, competition sharpens the skills that matter most when it’s time to take the shot in the field.
The PLS/GFP Shooting Complex will a safe, designated place for people to go. This project created one complex that provides all amenities. Designing a complex that feels convenient, safe, and easy to use - just minutes from town. Provide an organized range layout. Construction of a range that supports the R3 efforts: To recruit, retain, and reactivate outdoor enthusiasts. To build a community partnership project. As of 2020, fi****ms represented 59.9% of all U.S. consumer sales obligated to pay into the Wildlife Restoration program. The other sources are ammunition (33.9% of taxable sales) and archery products (6.2%). PR funding now supplies over one billion dollars a year for terrestrial management and research projects to state wildlife agencies! In addition, 1 billion dollars each year from hunting license sales, and another five hundred million dollars from wildlife/hunting NGO’s to provide project dollars in the management of terrestrial resources, access programs, and hunter education programs.

02/03/2026

SCI Hosts a Successful Lunch & Learn on CWD
Last week, Safari Club International Foundation’s Director of Conservation Dr. Chris Comer and Sportsmen's Alliance’s Associate Litigation Counsel Torin Miller led a Hunters’ Embassy™ Lunch & Learn to educate Congressional staffers on the impact of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The program saw 22 staff members from both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate in attendance. Dr. Comer and Miller emphasized the biological history of CWD, its impact on the environment/hunting, why it is such a threat, and how government funding is critical to learning about the disease and slowing its spread.

02/01/2026

Know a high school student that loves the outdoors? Our SDWF Youth Conservation Camp 2026 camp registration begins Feb 1. June 7 – June 13, 2026 at Camp Bob Marshall just outside CSP. Our fantastic volunteer counselors and GFP education staff put on an amazing experience. The Greater Dacotah Chapter is a proud sponsor of this project, teaching youth about conservation and the importance of our hunting and fishing heritage. Mary Ann and I have been part of the Bob Marshall Camp since 1981 when moving to Murdo where the Jones County Sportsman Club was a member of the SD Wildlife Federation. For more information
https://sdwf.org/

01/28/2026

A new study from South Dakota State University is working to better understand juvenile survival rates for mule and white-tailed deer in the western half of the state. The Greater Dacotah Chapter and the Mule Deer Foundation teamed up to assist with funding for this critical project. One of our sponsors opened up his ranch for the SDSU students to work and stay during this research project.
After birth, a fawn will instinctively hide in the short-grass prairies of western South Dakota, camouflaged and out of sight from predators. But 140 feet in the sky, Helen Krueger, a graduate research assistant in South Dakota State University's Department of Natural Resource Management, observes the newborn deer through the lens of a thermal camera attached to a remote-controlled drone. After tracking the fawn's location, Krueger and her team of researchers use coordinates to find the deer's hiding spot. Once there, they blindfold the fawn and attach a GPS collar around its neck.
This work is part of a new project led by SDSU assistant professor William Severud, an expert in wildlife ecology and a certified wildlife biologist. In collaboration with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Severud and Krueger are conducting research to better understand South Dakota's mule and white-tailed deer populations.
"'Muleys’ and ‘whitetails’ are highly visible and important wildlife to South Dakota," Severud said. "Understanding how these populations change through time is a shared goal of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and SDSU, and the university’s land-grant mission drives this work to provide science that informs management across the state."
In South Dakota, deer hunting is a popular outdoor activity in which over 60,000 residents participate annually. It also generates millions of dollars for South Dakota's economy each year. In 2023, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conducted a survey of South Dakota landowners and hunters to better understand their perceptions and attitudes related to deer hunting. Many hunters felt that the white-tailed deer population in the state was "just about right," while also feeling that the mule deer population was "far too few." In response, the department has taken steps to increase the mule deer population in most of the western South Dakota counties while maintaining or slightly increasing the white-tailed deer population in many of the same counties.
White-tailed deer — which has an estimated population of 330,000 — are found in both the eastern and western halves of South Dakota. Mule deer — estimated at 110,000 — are predominately found in western South Dakota. Understanding population dynamics of both white-tailed and mule deer, and determining annual rates of population change, requires knowledge of juvenile and adult survival rates. Survival rates are used to estimate deer numbers and monitor changes in populations resulting from shifts in winter conditions, disease outbreaks or harvest strategies.
Severud, Krueger and the rest of the SDSU team aimed to determine the juvenile survival rates for both white-tailed and mule deer in places where the populations overlapped. In South Dakota, many of the western counties have overlapping populations. For this year, the team's study focused on Haakon and Jackson.

01/21/2026

1. SCI Celebrates Secretarial Order Expanding Access for Hunters and Anglers

Last week, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum issued Secretarial Order 3447, which will expand hunting and fishing access on federal lands. Many of the actions outlined in the Order reflect requests by SCI in our 2025 Priorities for the Trump Administration. SCI commends Secretary Burgum for recognizing the vital role hunters and anglers play in conservation.

Secretarial Order 3447 directs agencies within the Department of the Interior to make hunting and fishing access a priority, as required by federal laws like the Dingell Act or National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act. It also instructs agencies to eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers and strengthen coordination with state, tribal, and territorial wildlife authorities. In addition, the Order prohibits restricting the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle unless there is clear scientific evidence of population-level impacts to wildlife.

Most importantly, the Order states plainly the Department’s policy that “public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.” SCI is encouraged and uplifted by this commitment.

This Order marks an important step toward advancing President Trump’s effort to “Make America Beautiful Again.” Hunters, anglers, and recreational shooters are primary contributors to wildlife conservation funding in the United States and have played a central role in acquiring millions of acres within the National Wildlife Refuge System and other public lands.

SCI extends its gratitude to the Secretary and all Department agencies for their dedication to conservation, public access, and the sporting community. We invite our members to join us in celebrating this historic Order.

01/11/2026

Today is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day!

South Dakota Conservation Officers are dedicated to protecting our state’s natural resources by enforcing laws related to fishing, hunting, trapping, boating, parks, and snowmobiling. Beyond that, they work hand-in-hand with partner law enforcement agencies to keep our communities safe.
We are proud to recognize and appreciate our officers today—and every day—for their commitment and service!
South Dakota's Game Fish and Parks is a leader in its commitment to protect and enhance our natural resource base for public opportunity through science-based management and the public involvement process!

SCI and the Greater Dacotah Chapter support wildlife enforcement efforts worldwide to protect wildlife populations from poaching and illegal trafficking!

12/27/2025

Mission

12/18/2025

When the hunting seasons close, hunting with a camera has the advantage.
Moose In the sage brush on their winter range!
December 12th was our last day in the Tetons photographing moose, conditions were great sunshine and 15 moose in one area along the Gros Ventre River.
This one moose that we photographed in the morning had lost his antlers by the afternoon.
Photographing moose is contagious!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Address

PO Box 9455
Rapid City, SD
57709

Website

http://greaterdacotahchapter-sci.org/main/

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