Five years in, South Dakota’s Habitat Stamp praised as one of state’s ‘smartest investments’

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight

The first fish that Republican former state Sen. V.J. Smith ever caught was from a dock when he was a young boy.

Today, dozens of new docks are available for kids to share that same thrill, thanks to funding Smith helped create.

South Dakota’s Habitat Stamp fee has become a cornerstone in the state’s strategy to improve wildlife habitat and expand public access for outdoor recreation since the stamp’s inception five years ago.

“It’s a small price to pay for the critters that were here long before we were,” Smith said.

The stamp is a required extra purchase of $10 for state residents and $25 for non-residents when buying a hunting, trapping or fishing license. It was instituted by the state Legislature and sponsored by Smith, of Brookings, who described it as “an insurance policy for the future” of the state’s outdoor heritage.

Every dollar of the stamp is required by law to go toward wildlife habitat and public access projects. The stamp has raised $21.6 million in its first five years, and the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks has so far spent $14 million on about 1,300 projects. The money is divided roughly equally between water and land-based efforts.

The water projects have included rehabilitating aging dams, constructing and improving boat ramps and fishing piers, dredging and aerating lakes, and restoring habitats such as rock reefs and stream banks.

On land, the department focuses on seeding native grasses and wildflowers, planting trees and shrubs, improving access roads and trails, and supporting programs that compensate private landowners who open their land to public recreation.

The stamp’s origins

After watching fellow lawmakers debate a one-time, $1 million transfer to a habitat fund in 2019, Smith said he and others saw the need for a permanent, self-funded solution. Surrounding states already had habitat and conservation fees tied to license sales.

The next year, the stamp bill passed with bipartisan support.

“The legislation would never have passed without the endorsement of the outdoor groups,” Smith said.

Smith said one of the key players was the Brookings area chapter of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, including chapter member and retired state waterfowl biologist Spencer Vaa, who inspired Smith to introduce the bill.

“He enlightened me on the needs of wildlife and the importance of habitat,” Smith said. “A lot of people deserve credit for this. You need a lot of people to get stuff done.”

Jeff Olson, of the Black Hills Sportsmen Club and Black Hills Flyfishers, said some hunters and anglers were initially skeptical of the stamp, and worried it might become “just another tax.” But five years later, he said the results speak for themselves.

Olson pointed to Pactola Reservoir, a popular man-made lake in the Black Hills, and the stamp-funded work local anglers and the department have been doing to add fish habitat structures and improve shoreline access below the reservoir. He said the projects help to make Rapid Creek, which feeds the lake and runs through Rapid City, a prime fishing spot.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do a lot of the recent fisheries projects we’ve gotten done, like the one below Pactola Reservoir, without those stamp dollars,” Olson said.

Insurance policy for the future

Retired wildlife biologist George Vandel, who now lobbies in Pierre on behalf of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, called the stamp “one of the smartest investments hunters and anglers have ever made.”

Vandel said the fee pays for habitat and access improvements that would be “nearly impossible” to secure through South Dakota’s Legislature, where “it’s a fight” to secure funding.

Nevertheless, a few concerns remain. Vandel mentioned an exemption that allows shooting‐preserve customers to avoid paying the fee. Those are privately owned and managed lands where pen-raised game birds (and sometimes other animals) are released to be shot by customers. He said that was a compromise made during the bill’s passage, with preserves arguing they do not impact wildlife numbers. Vandel wants to apply the fee to preserves and bring in more revenue for Habitat Stamp projects.

Some western South Dakota hunters and anglers, including Olson, say investments have been more concentrated in the eastern part of the state. Of the $14 million spent so far, $4.5 million was spent in western counties.

Regardless, for outdoor enthusiasts, the narrative is clear: The annual fee provides a tangible return. As Vandel puts it, “The $10 you spend is half a box of shells or a six pack of beer. This is a direct return on your investment. There’s no administrative overhead, it’s just money on the ground.”

Vandel praised the stamp’s results, from new boat ramps and shoreline access to grassland and food-plot restoration. He also pointed to the public access programs as essential to maintaining hunting opportunities.

“Sportsmen and women have to realize you get what you pay for, and if you want cheap, that’s exactly what you’ll end up with: less habitat, less access, and fewer game,” Vandel said.