PIERRE S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) State Parks and Recreation Division director Jeff VanMeeteren reported that camping numbers in October rose 24% from a year ago. Those 21,976 nights, along with advance reservations logged for next year at Custer State Park, together meant 39% more revenue than the division saw in October 2023.
The division’s 2024 revenue through October came in at $21,503,463. That was nearly $1 million more than at a similar point last year.
VanMeeteren also reported that pheasant hunters west river were limiting out in general. Those in the state’s central region were averaging two birds each while in the southeastern and northeastern parts of the state it was one bird.
There are 1.6 million acres of public land for people to hunt on. That’s up 100,000 acres from last year and the department would like to reach 2 million acres of public land for hunting in the near future