Fee increases from GFP would impact thousands of users

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It could cost more to camp and visit South Dakota State Parks in the future, but just how many campers and visitors could that potentially impact?

A look at the 2023 to 2024 year-to-date comparison shows that there were 284,335 camping unit nights at state parks from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, 2023. That is less than the 286,880 during the same time period this year.

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In September 2023, according to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission meeting book, the camping number for 2023 through August was listed at 281,879 and 283,573 for 2022. The 2023 year-to-date total was a 1% decrease from 2022. The year-to-date total for 2024 is a 1% increase from 2023.

The South Dakota Game Fish and Parks proposed fee increases for camping, visiting, hunting and fishing during Thursday’s GFP commission meeting. The GFP will have a public hearing during its Oct. 3 meeting.

Not all visits to state parks are for camping. Some campers may get a daily park pass, but those are also used by people who may stop for a day to hike, or drive through a park. Revenue for Jan. 1 through Aug. 31 for daily licenses was $735,596 which is a 6% from the $694,787 in 2023. The state has issued 92,980 daily passes through Aug. 31. In 2023, it issued 87,976.

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The 2022 daily pass year-to-date figure was 83,615 for $668,918.

Fee increases would come as hunting license holders have generally decreased since 2014, with an uptick in 2024.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Dakota has 227,312 paid hunting license holders this year. The state had about 206,000 in 2023. Numbers were higher in 2014 at 246,319.

The number of fishing license holders has generally been above 200,000 since 2015.

South Dakota has 237,457 fishing license holders this year. It had 247,186 in 2023 and 192,138 in 2014, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A public hearing on the proposed fee increases is set for Thursday, Oct. 3, during the commission’s next meeting in Huron. The commission will make a decision at some point later during the Oct. 3-4 meeting.