Dear supporters.
Here is an update on the Nest Predator Bounty Program following the GFP Commission meeting on March 5–6. Our pressure continues, and it is producing results, although not the outcome we ultimately want.
At the meeting there was an agenda item titled “18. Nest Predator Bounty Program.” Agenda: https://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/Commission_Agenda_-_March_5-6_Public.pdf
Yesterday many of us testified and urged the Commission to defund the program, pointing to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee’s recommendation to cut its funding.
This morning instead of defunding the Nest Predator Bounty Program, GFP simply split it into two parts, but the total waste of public money remains exactly the same as before: $500,000 per year for both new bounty programs
• Youth Trapping Recruitment Program (essentially a renamed version of the Nest Predator Bounty Program) receives $200,000 out of $500,000 and is limited to children.
• Coyote Bounty Program (a brand-new bounty program) receives $300,000 out of $500,000 and is open to all South Dakotans
So despite the restructuring, the total wasting remains unchanged: $200,000 + $300,000 = $500,000 per year.
Some things became slightly better, some worse, some have stayed the same. But overall, though the program has been significantly restructured, the level of absurdity remains nearly unchanged.
What changed:
1️⃣ Same: Total public spending remains $500,000 per year.
2️⃣ Better: About 60% fewer mesopredators/omnivores (ex-NPBP target species) will be killed — roughly 20,000 instead of 50,000.
3️⃣ Worse: The Youth Trapping Recruitment Program is now explicitly aimed only at children.
4️⃣ Worse: Up to 10,000 coyotes may now be killed each year under the new bounty.
5️⃣ Better: Total animals killed drops from about 50,000 to roughly 30,000 annually.
6️⃣ Better: The policy may become even less effective — coyotes are well known for compensatory reproduction, meaning populations often rebound quickly after removal.
7️⃣ Better: The restructuring makes the policy even harder to justify scientifically. The new Youth Trapping Recruitment Program raises even more serious questions than the previous bounty program.
There are many other implications as well.
We will continue our campaign to defund the new Youth Trapping Recruitment Program and challenge the creation of the Coyote Bounty Program.
This is not the end. Stay tuned.