By PIERRE — A South Dakota lake can be used for hunting by surrounding landowners after a legislative rules committee voted April 21 to remove its status as a state waterfowl refuge.
The status has prevented landowners whose property completely surrounds the lake from hunting waterfowl such as ducks, said Tom Kirschenmann, director of wildlife for the South Dakota Department Game, Fish & Parks.
There is more than one Lake Albert in the state — this one is in Grant County near Milbank.
“In this particular case, there is no habitat work, there’s no management activity that has to take place on this particular refuge,” Kirschenmann said. “It is simply a status that means waterfowl cannot be hunted in that designated area.”
The vote was 3-2 for a rules package that included the change.
South Dakota’s Game, Fish and Parks Commission recommended removal of Lake Albert’s refuge status earlier this year. That was done because the refuge consists of private property. The eight landowners who surround Lake Albert requested the change, which means they now control hunting access on their property, according to a news release from the GFP Commission.
The primary goal of a state refuge, Kirschenmann said, is to provide a resting spot for waterfowl so hunting pressure doesn’t push them out of the area.
MORE: Years of hard work help to restore Lake Hiddenwood Recreation Area
After the removal of Lake Albert’s refuge status, there are still more than two dozen state waterfowl refuges. A majority are along the Missouri River. There are five federal wildlife refuges and five federal wetland management districts in South Dakota, including areas supporting bald eagles, ducks and other birds.
This is the second state refuge status removal in recent memory for Kirschenmann.
“It is not a common process,” he said. Each instance was “driven by the landowners because the refuge itself was completely surrounded by private land.”
Sen. Liz Larson, D-Sioux Falls, voted against approving the change.
“I was just worried that this might set a precedent for other landowners to try and do the same thing,” she said. “A lot of different types of waterfowl and songbirds, and even birds of prey, their numbers have just plummeted over the last three to four decades.”
