Longer Summer Season, Shorter Winter Season, Impact on Pheasants, Ducks, and Fish
Photo by Dan Russon
Climate change is starting to affect outdoor activities in South Dakota.
According to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Park Service, this includes fishing, hunting, and winter sports.
Warmer temperatures are making the summer season longer. But they are also bringing stronger storms, more wildfires and changes to the outdoors. The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service say these changes may alter when people visit parks, where they go and what animals they see.
Pheasant Hunting Faces Change
Pheasant hunting is important in South Dakota. The state still has some of the highest pheasant numbers in the country. According to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, hunters harvested more than 1.2 million pheasants in the 2022-2023 season.
Pheasants Forever, a conservation group, said there were many young birds and good nesting in 2024. “It’s the best fall in a long time,” said Matt Gottlob, Pheasants Forever’s state coordinator, in a 2024 news release. “Bird numbers are as good as they can remember.”
But pheasant numbers across the Great Plains have dropped over the years. A University of Nebraska study in the Journal of Wildlife Management says this is mostly because of habitat loss from farming and land changes. The study found pheasant numbers in Nebraska dropped about 15 percent a year before 1986 and about 5 percent a year after. The Conservation Reserve Program helped slow the decline.
South Dakota’s 2024-2028 Ring-necked Pheasant Action Plan says the biggest threats to pheasants are losing good habitat, such as CRP grasslands and wetland drainage.
Duck Hunting and Drought
Duck hunting is also changing. The U.S. Geological Survey says hunters have fewer chances because droughts dry up small wetlands where ducks gather.
“Only a substantial increase in precipitation would counterbalance the effects of a warmer climate,” said Dr. Carter Johnson, a South Dakota State University ecologist, in Prairie Fire.
Ducks Unlimited, a national group, says climate models show prairie wetland numbers could decline by up to 90 percent. This could cause nearly 70 percent fewer ducks in the fall.
Some hunters are not sure climate change is the main reason. “I’m not smart enough to know which extremes are ‘normal’ weather and which extremes signal a long-range change in climate,” wrote Kevin Woster, a longtime outdoorsman and journalist, in the Mitchell Republic in March.
Others point to predators or land use as reasons for fewer ducks. There are many opinions among South Dakota hunters and anglers, according to interviews and letters in the Mitchell Republic.
Fishing Gets Tougher
Fishing is also changing. The Northern Great Plains Climate Toolkit, a U.S. Department of Agriculture project, says anglers catch fewer fish in usual spots as water gets warmer and streams shrink in summer.
“At times, we will see such an outpouring of floodwater that the landscape is going to be a saturated sponge… And then at other times… things are drier and will plunge into these droughts,” said Michaela Neal, a University of North Dakota researcher, in the Grand Forks Herald.
According to the toolkit, some fishing guides now target warm-water fish that are moving north.
Winter Sports Season Shrinks
Winter sports businesses in the Black Hills are facing shorter and less predictable seasons, according to the Black Hills State University Climate Resiliency Plan.
Big storms still bring snow, but the plan says warmer winters mean less snow overall, especially in fall and spring.
Public lands and outdoor recreation are also being affected. Whit Fosburgh, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, told the Washington Post that climate change “impacts every single acre of public land, whether in Alaska, Maine, or Florida.” He said it also impacts things like invasive species and public access.
Tourism Patterns Shift
Tourism is changing, too. According to the National Climate Assessment for the Northern Great Plains, the peak season now includes spring and fall as summers get hotter.
“Sportsmen and women, landowners and managers, and outdoor enthusiasts are on the front lines of climate change, often witnessing declines in landscape health and resiliency,” 41 hunting and fishing groups, including Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, said in a joint statement in 2024.
Economic Impact
According to the Northern Great Plains Climate Toolkit, these changes could affect the $5.6 billion that outdoor recreation brings to the Northern Great Plains each year.
“Hunting and associated travel expenditures generate substantial revenue for local communities. An estimated 10,000 jobs and $760 million in labor income is generated in the region due to hunting and wildlife viewing,” the U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2023.
The South Dakota Upland Outfitters Association claims pheasant hunting has a $1 billion economic impact in the state. But South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks says the number is much lower. The agency reported pheasant hunting brought about $257 million to the state’s economy in 2022. Other estimates range from $250 million to $287 million per year. All hunting combined generated $681 million in 2022, according to a study commissioned by Game, Fish and Parks.
Communities Respond
Communities and organizations are working to adjust. The Nature Conservancy supports nature-based solutions to help communities and store carbon, according to its 2024 South Dakota climate report.
South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks has recognized climate change as a challenge in its Wildlife Action Plan and is working to use climate science in land management. However, according to its Wildlife Action Plan and agency documents, there is no clear evidence that the agency has made formal backup plans for state parks based on climate scenarios.
Conservation groups and outdoor businesses are linking farming and conservation to build strength. “It’s a paradigm shift toward better land care,” Howard Vincent, president of Pheasants Forever, said in a 2024 interview.
A 2024 survey by The Nature Conservancy found two-thirds of South Dakotans now worry that climate change will harm future generations. Still, some people outdoors remain skeptical or blame other causes.
Education and outreach are key to gaining support for conservation, The Nature Conservancy said.
Conclusion
Across South Dakota, people are noticing changes in the outdoors. Many traditions remain strong, but the future of recreation and the state’s rural economy may depend on how communities and individuals respond. As South Dakotans discuss the causes and viable solutions, the choices made today will help shape the outdoors of tomorrow.
