I was on Facebook when I saw a post on the nest predator bounty program in SD. I thought it seemed like something that we should have in Wisconsin. I wrote up an email and sent it to someone in my county who is helping me write a resolution to bring it in front of a DNR board in April. To write this resolution I need to do research and see if there are any other states that have programs like this in any way (especially in the midwest). So far I haven't found anything but between work and high school, I don't quite have the time to read all 50 states trapping and hunting rules and regs. I was wondering if anyone would know of any programs like this, or people from South Dakota if you have experience with it and think it's something that would be implemented in other places? Or if anyone would have any advice?
Thank you

SD and Utah are the only states I'm aware of that had a state bounty program. There's some county level programs on other states.

Just a couple thoughts Alicia.

Oftentimes people have a kneejerk reaction against the term "bounty". We found in Alaska that you generate less resistance by using the term "incentive" or something similar that sounds positive.

You may discover that your state is prohibited from participating in any type of 'bounty' program. We got around that by having private groups put up funding for "incentive" programs.

In our case it concerned wolves but in your area it could be on coons or anything else that is taking a toll on nesting game birds. Just be able to back up your proposal with empirical data. Be sure there is a problem before proposing a solution

We have had this bounty on for several years now it’s a great way to get kids into trapping. SD GFP gave away a bunch of nice cages the first year for free, our conservation clubs also hand out cages often. A lot of people have a lot of opinions about the programs but I’ll tell you what I see happening in my area.

I worked evenings for the GFP as a Park Ranger/Warden on Fri, Sat and Sun nights mostly often getting home after midnight on the weekends. One park was a 90 minute drive home during prime predator movement times, did I see some yes but not what I expected to come across. I’ve also noticed a increase in the nesting bird broods this summer in fact I’ve seen more turkey then deer in those days. Pheasant numbers seemed up with mixed aged chicks running together often, we had good mornings with dew that helped them also early on.

One thing to consider is how accessible your critters will be you can have a program sure but if you can’t get on places to trap then it won’t have much of a impact were here in SD it’s weaved into the culture. I’d look into a signup list if that’s the case in your area to see if it’s even practical to try a program.

Good stuff!

So far it has been good, thing that sucks around me is that the colonies just got and cut the tails off the road killed coon, and turn them in for the money. I paid off quite a bit of traps from it in recent years but I have never gotten 59 tails but maybe this year. It would be great to implement other places especially if there are kids trapping.

I tell my 4H trapping kids to buy a smaller freezer with the tail income first to make it easier to preserve their catch.

Call it the "Nesting Bird Conservation Program" that would make it seem less barbaric.

the program is a fart in a hurricane...... it does get s few people into trapping which i applaud.... but the key to phesant pop is habitat.... need fence rows rock piles ect this country looks pretty bare in february when the fields are picked glean.. long gone are the shelterbelts !!!

Habitat management - things like shelter belts - can cost a lot of money, take a long time to be effective, and you need land to do it. $150 can set you up with a few traps, and if you dont have land - can probably get permission to trap.

We found an old one that works on marketplace for free and haven't had issues with it for the 1 year we have had it. It's a good idea though to buy that first but my mentor that I went to for the Ethics program was only 10-15 miles away so I would just go see him every few days with the fur I caught.

Its a political program more than anything else. Its a way for Gov Kristi to give the antis the double bird in their faces. The 59 tail limit is so they don't have to send out a 1099 fed tax form to people (threshold $600) when they started the program (if they were doing $10 a tail). I've turned in tails a couple of years although not a fan of warm temp trapping. I'll never reach 59 tails until maybe when I retire.

TheYouthTrapper, the Hutterites also have an advantage by rotating family addresses within the colony. I'm sure the state agency people know the Hutes are playing games but it is what it is. I do like making $10 off of a grinner now and then

Doesn’t Idaho have an incentive/reimbursement program if you kill a wolf?

Bingo. Politics. I cant imagine how much crep or walk-in that could have paid for that coulve given places to hunt for everyone and boosted numbers. Meanwhile, we paid millions to farm kids who protected their dads sweet corn patch and silage piles along with who knows how many road kills.

I believe Delta Waterfowl has published some good data regarding predator trapping in the Prairie Pothole region as it relates to duck nesting success.

All I see is the hatch is up and predators are down from driving the roads at night for work so how it came about I careless I’m just glad it went in that direction I hope it keeps up.

Yep but not by the state of ID.

A guy was offering $50 a beaver but it’s so far away it’s not worth it to go down that far, I told him I’d teach his kid how to trap them it would be easier.

Besides shrinking and disappearing habitat (mostly private) some of the remaining stuff is poorly managed if managed at all (state owned land).

AliciaK is your idea is to help what game birds?

If you can get the money from private donations then I don't care, from state (DNR) funds I'd be against it.