S.D. Admin. R. 41:06:01:15 - Elk application requirements

The following requirements and restrictions apply to all license applications for elk seasons:

(1) Only a resident of the state may apply for a license;

(2) Except for a qualifying landowner-operator applicant described in subdivisions (3) and (4), and except as provided in § 41:06:01:09, a person who received an elk hunting license for this season in the first lottery drawing or the second drawing by using preference points in any of the nine preceding years may not apply for a license under this chapter for the next nine years; and

(3) Fifty percent of the licenses are available to persons who operate or live as owner or tenant on agricultural, timber, or grazing lands pursuant to SDCL 41-6-21. To qualify as a landowner-operator applicant, the person must own or lease a minimum of two hundred forty acres of land within an elk unit that has had at least five hundred days of elk use since the last day of the previous application period. A day of elk use is any day an elk feeds or waters on private land. Any qualifying landowner or operator's grandparent, parent, spouse, child, child's spouse, or grandchild who lives on the ranch unit or in the closest community and has an active role in the ranch operation also qualifies. Only one qualifying applicant per ranch unit per year may apply for a landowner-operator preference elk license in the first draw. For purposes of this subdivision, a ranch unit means all private property owned or leased for agricultural, timber, or grazing purposes by written agreement by a qualifying landowner in the state. A ranch unit may not be subdivided for the purpose of qualifying for more than one landowner-operator preference; and

(4) A person is eligible for a landowner-on-own-land license, pursuant to SDCL 41-6-19.9, by owning or leasing a minimum of two hundred forty acres of land within an open prairie elk hunting season unit. Any qualifying landowner's grandparent, parent, spouse, child, child's spouse, or grandchild who lives on the ranch unit or in the closest community and has an active role in the ranch operation also qualifies. Only one qualifying applicant per ranch unit per year may purchase the license. A qualifying applicant for a ranch unit may not purchase the license if any qualifying member of the ranch unit holds an elk license obtained using landowner-operator preference, as provided in subdivision (3), in the prairie elk hunting season. For purposes of this subdivision, a ranch unit means all private property owned or leased for agricultural purposes by written agreement by an individual qualifying landowner in the state. A ranch unit may not be subdivided for the purpose of qualifying for more than one landowner-on-own-land elk license. The elk may be harvested only on land that is owned or leased by the qualifying landowner within the designated open prairie elk hunting season unit.

Notes

S.D. Admin. R. 41:06:01:15

39 SDR 10, effective 8/1/2012; 42 SDR 146, effective 5/5/2016; 46 SDR 116, effective 4/29/2020; 51 SDR 013, effective 8/14/2024

General Authority: SDCL 41-2-18(12)(13), 41-6-19.9, 41-6-21.

Law Implemented: SDCL 41-2-18(12)(13), 41-6-19.9, 41-6-21.