Hunting, fishing license sales remain in same ballpark as ‘10

• Walk-in hunter

Jason Bruhn, of Mitchell, hunts at a public walk-in area northwest of Mount Vernon during the resident-only public lands hunt earlier this year. (Chris Huber/Republic)

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FORT PIERRE —The state Game, Fish and Parks Commission received better news Thursday about 2011 license sales than conditions suggested.

The diminished population of pheasants this fall and the Missouri River flood last summer didn’t dissuade too many hunters and anglers from buying their South Dakota licenses.

Total sales through Nov. 28 were down less than 1 percent from the similar point one year ago, according to Chris Petersen, the director of administration for the state Game, Fish and Parks Department.

Non-residents purchased 89,795 small-game hunting licenses through Nov. 28. The number was down about 4,300 so far. Non-residents bought about 102,000 in 2010.

Those licenses are primarily for pheasant hunting.

If the recent spurt of strong sales continues through the Dec. 15 close of the 2011 licensing year, revenue from the non-resident small-game licenses will be off only $500,000 to $600,000 from a year ago, Petersen said.

“In the scheme of what the license system generates, pretty stable,” he said.

South Dakota residents purchased nearly as many annual fishing licenses and combination fishing and small-game hunting licenses as they did in 2010. They bought slightly more small-game licenses.

Non-resident fishing license sales are close to last year too, with slightly more one-day licenses and fewer three-day and annual licenses.

Through Nov. 28, the numbers were:

* Resident combination: 43,408 this year and 43,117 last year;

* Resident small game: 31,420 this year and 34,668 last year; and

* Resident annual fishing: 57,972 this year and 58,628 last year.

* Total license sales of all types were 379,476 this year so far, down 0.9 percent from the 382,899 last year at this point.

Tags: game fish and parks, news, outdoors, state, hunting, fishing, licenses