10-23-2004, 08:04 PM
[size 2]PIERRE, S.D. – After a swing through eastern South Dakota, the West River Issues Working Group is planning to hold one more meeting to allow public testimony on issues the group has been considering.[/size]
[size 2]The group has been working on issues that involve the Department of Game, Fish and Parks, landowners and sportsmen. Members of the group are representative of all these interests, as well as members of the state legislature.[/size]
[size 2]Meetings have been held each month, beginning in June. So far, meetings have been held in Buffalo, Rapid City, Hot Springs, Wall, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.[/size]
[size 2]The next meeting will be Nov. 9 and 10 at the Budget Host Inn/State Motel on Euclid Ave. in Pierre. The group will have a working session from 1-5 p.m. on Nov. 9. This will be followed by an evening session from 6:30-8:30 when any public attending will have a chance to speak on issues the group has been working on. The group will reconvene on Nov. 10 with a working session from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The general public is invited to sit in on the working sessions, but public testimony will be limited to the Tuesday evening session.[/size]
[size 2]The working group’s goal is to complete their review of the issues and formulate their recommendations by the end of November. They will then make a presentation to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission.[/size]
[size 2]Issues that have been discussed by the group include:[/size] [ul] [li][size 2]Communication between GFP and landowners, [/size] [li][size 2]The "open fields" doctrine, [/size] [li][size 2]Allocation of big game licenses, [/size] [li][size 2]Hunter access to private land, [/size] [li][size 2]Land acquisition by GFP, [/size] [li][size 2]Aerial hunting, [/size] [li][size 2]Overview of the GFP Division of Wildlife budget,[/size] [li][size 2]Paraplane control; [/size] [li][size 2]Prairie dogs, [/size] [li][size 2]Mountain lions.[/size] [/li][/ul]
[size 2]A summary of the past meetings is available for review on the GFP web site at [/size][size 2][url "http://www.sdgfp.info/"][font "Arial"]www.sdgfp.info[/font][/url][/size][font "Arial"][size 2]. Go to "What’s New" and click on the link to "West River Work Group Meetings."[/size][/font]
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[size 2]The group has been working on issues that involve the Department of Game, Fish and Parks, landowners and sportsmen. Members of the group are representative of all these interests, as well as members of the state legislature.[/size]
[size 2]Meetings have been held each month, beginning in June. So far, meetings have been held in Buffalo, Rapid City, Hot Springs, Wall, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.[/size]
[size 2]The next meeting will be Nov. 9 and 10 at the Budget Host Inn/State Motel on Euclid Ave. in Pierre. The group will have a working session from 1-5 p.m. on Nov. 9. This will be followed by an evening session from 6:30-8:30 when any public attending will have a chance to speak on issues the group has been working on. The group will reconvene on Nov. 10 with a working session from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The general public is invited to sit in on the working sessions, but public testimony will be limited to the Tuesday evening session.[/size]
[size 2]The working group’s goal is to complete their review of the issues and formulate their recommendations by the end of November. They will then make a presentation to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission.[/size]
[size 2]Issues that have been discussed by the group include:[/size] [ul] [li][size 2]Communication between GFP and landowners, [/size] [li][size 2]The "open fields" doctrine, [/size] [li][size 2]Allocation of big game licenses, [/size] [li][size 2]Hunter access to private land, [/size] [li][size 2]Land acquisition by GFP, [/size] [li][size 2]Aerial hunting, [/size] [li][size 2]Overview of the GFP Division of Wildlife budget,[/size] [li][size 2]Paraplane control; [/size] [li][size 2]Prairie dogs, [/size] [li][size 2]Mountain lions.[/size] [/li][/ul]
[size 2]A summary of the past meetings is available for review on the GFP web site at [/size][size 2][url "http://www.sdgfp.info/"][font "Arial"]www.sdgfp.info[/font][/url][/size][font "Arial"][size 2]. Go to "What’s New" and click on the link to "West River Work Group Meetings."[/size][/font]
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