From the President
May Schaefer

July 2006
No article at time of posting.
 

HuntSAFE Course for Women

There will be a South Dakota Hunter Safety and Firearms Education course held in Mitchell Friday and Saturday, July 21 & 22.

There are three primary objectives for this course:

1. To teach safe handling of firearms, in the home as well as in the field.
2. To develop safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters who are aware of our hunting heritage and who understand the hunter’s role and relationship with the wildlife and the land.
3. To certify persons age 12 and older making them eligible to apply for hunting licenses. more

Girl Scouts and OWSD
By Vicki Rath

What a great partnership: OWSD and Girl Scouts. Girls all over the state are now experiencing camping, canoeing, fishing, knot tying and crafts as they go to Girl Scout camp. What a great place for OWSD to get involved.

I spent two days in June teaching basic fly-fishing to Brownie Girl Scouts for the Minn-Ia-Kota Girl Scout Council headquartered in Sioux Falls. Their camp is on Wall Lake. Although fly-fishing can be quite difficult for little ones, I introduced them to the basics that may spark an interest later as they grow. The theme for this year’s camp was “Camp Courage,” so trying new things was part of the offerings.  more



The next South Dakota BOW workshop will be September 22-24, 2006, at Lake Poinsett UM Camp. Registrations - both online and paper - will be available in early summer. For more information: http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Education/BOW/BOWIndex.htm

Updated 2006 Archery Education Course Listing
The Game, Fish and Parks archery education course listing has been updated....more

 

West River Deer Applications

The 2006 West River deer applications and the 2006 Black Hills deer applications are available at the Park offices.
West River deer deadline is July 28, and BH deer deadline is July 14 by paper application.
Also available is 2006 Fall turkey (July 14) and Mountain Lion (no deadline).

 

Special Events in SD State Parks for July
Compiled by Becky Graff

Here is a list of Special Events going on in the SD State Parks for the month of July. There are lots of fun and exciting things to do, whether you like to hike, canoe, eat or listen to music. There's a little something for everyone. For more information, visit the Game, Fish & Parks website: www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Calendar.

Day-Event
1 - Sand Sculpture Championship, Lake Poinsett, 10 AM
2 - Firefly Fireworks WITP, Lewis & Clark, 10:30 PM
3 - Kids' Bicycle Parade, Snake Creek, 6 PM
8-9 - Historical Happenings, Fort Sisseton, 10 AM
8 - Following in Fisk's Footsteps WITP, Fort Sisseton, 2 PM
8 - 5K Farm Island Trail Run, Farm Island, 7:30 AM
8 - Coffee Club Heart Walk WITP, Oahe Downstream, 8:30 AM
8 - Seuss and Juice WITP, Snake Creek, 6 PM
15- Journey Through Time WITP, Oakwood Lakes, 9 AM
15- Sacajawea's Story WITP, Lewis & Clark, 9:30 AM
15- Beach Bash, Lake Herman, 10 AM
15- Flakes Make Lakes WITP, Lake Thompson, 10 AM
15- Family Fun Days, Farm Island, 1 PM
15- It's a Micro World, Indian Creek, 2 PM
15- 4th Annual D.O.G. (Dutch Oven Gathering), Big Sioux, 3 PM
15- Lost In The Dark WITP, Farm Island, 10 PM
22- Good 2 The Heart Hike WITP, LaFramboise Island, 8:30 AM
22- Recollections of Roy WITP, Roy Lake, 10 AM
22- Red Rocks Concert, Palisades, 7 PM
23- Family Canoe Tours, Oakwood Lakes, 12:30 PM
29- Disc Golf Tournament, Richmond Lake, 10 AM
29- Chief White Crane WITP, Chief White Crane, 7:30 PM
29- Finding Your Way WITP, Indian Creek, 10 PM
30- Whitlock Wheels Car Show and Bean Bag Toss Tournament, West Whitlock, 11 AM

WITP = Walk In The Park
Walks are co-sponsored by the Dept. of Health and Dept. of Education

“Girl Scouts Receive Linking Girls to the Land Grant”
For additional information, contact: Laura Neubert, Communications Specialist (605) 343-6355

Black Hills, SD…Girl Scouts of the Black Hills Council announced today the award of a $2,500 grant from the Elliot Wildlife Values Project “Linking Girls to the Land”. Funds will be used at Rockin’ the Hills summer camp for an environmental education and restoration project at Sheridan Lake titled “Ecotones in U-Pods”. Girls will learn the critical importance of ecotones, the precarious transition area between two ecosystems.
Girl Scouts, ages 8-12, will collect samples, study and analyze land and water habitat, erosion and watershed, and participate in ecosystem restoration. They will practice stewardship of our natural resources with a native tree-planting project at the Sheridan Lake watershed. Rockin’ the Hills camp is scheduled for June 27-30.
Girl Scouts of the Black Hills Council, chartered in 1959, has a current membership of 2,903 girls, and serves 18 counties including three Indian Reservations and Ellsworth Air Force Base in western South Dakota.
Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s pre-eminent organization for girls, with a membership of more than 3.6 million girls and adults. Today, as when founded in 1912, Girl Scouts helps cultivate values, social conscience, and self-esteem in young girls, while also teaching them critical life skills that will enable them to succeed as adults. In Girl Scouting - and its special girl-only environment - girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Girl Scouting has helped more than 50 million girls grow up into confident and strong women.


Game, Fish & Parks Reminds the Public to Leave Deer Fawns Alone
by Shawn L. Wichmann
Minnehaha County Conservation Officer

White-tailed deer are giving birth to thousands of fawns across South Dakota at this time of year. These young fawns soon venture into the world on shaky legs and are discovered by people living and working nearby. Every year, the lives of many fawns are upset by people who mean only to help. These people take fawns from the wild in a mistaken attempt to save them. In fact, these would-be rescuers are harming a young whitetails chances of becoming a normal adult. Hopefully, some precautionary tips will prevent this problem.

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks reminds the public to leave deer fawns alone as the animal's instinctive behavior in its first weeks of life is to remain motionless and let danger pass. A young fawn may appear helpless, but it is behaving normally in response to a perceived threat or even a predator. Adult female deer visit their fawns sparingly to nurse for only a short time then leave to find food. This short visit is an adaptation that further helps fawns avoid detection by predators. If you should happen to encounter a fawn they should be left alone and not picked up. The best thing you could do is leave the area and allow the doe to return without interference. It is illegal to have in your possession or capture any South Dakota big game animal at any time without proper licensing. A violation of this is a class 1 misdemeanor. Wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians and animal care specialists may not accept orphaned deer; therefore sometimes euthanasia is the only option.

So what do you do if you take a fawn into the house to try and save it, but don't know how to care for it? Immediately bring the fawn back to the place where you found it, and leave it there. The mother will return again looking for the fawn to feed it. Fawns have been successfully reunited with their mothers by returning them to the place where they were found. Mothers have been known to accept them even one or two days after removal from the wild. When you picked up the fawn, the mother was probably browsing on food not far away. Young fawns are usually very safe when left alone because of their camouflage color pattern and lack of scent help them to remain undetected until their mothers return. This holds true for many other species of wildlife as well, such as rabbits and raccoons.

Fawns that survive human care missed the natural experiences that would enable them to fend for themselves. If these fawns are released back into the wild they would have a reduced ability to survive. It is difficult for them to function, as they should in the natural world. Their ability to find natural foods and cover is impaired, thereby reducing chances of survival. Further, they may be forced as unwelcome intruders into the home range of another member of the same species. Often, the care given to fawns can result in some attachment to humans. When released to the wild, those animals generally have little fear of people. Some fawns come back to places where people live, only to be attacked by domestic animals or hit by cars and killed. People have also been injured or even killed by once-tamed wildlife.

All of these problems can be avoided if you follow one simple rule when coming upon fawns or any other wild animal: LEAVE THEM ALONE! It is sometimes hard to do, but this is the real act of kindness. Don't be fooled into thinking that your situation is different. In nearly all cases, fawns do not need to be assisted by humans. Please try and resist the temptation to help them. Only when they are found injured or with their dead mother is there reason to do something, and then the South Dakota wildlife laws are specific about what may be done legally.


 

American Volkssports Association

Come walk with the clubs and walkers of the American Volkssport Association. Meet friends and walk scenic trails at your own pace for health, fitness, and fun.

The AVA's network of 350 walking clubs organize more than 3000 walking events per year in all 50 states, as well as occasional bikes, skis, and swims.

All events are open to the public - come walk with us!
A member of the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV)

Editor’s note: the AVA website is: http://www.ava.org/.

Use the link on the homepage, Find Walking Clubs, to obtain event and contact information for clubs across the US. There is a SD link.


Tuesday Treks in the Black Hills

The Black Hills Volkssport Association hosts Tuesday Treks at 6:00 PM each Tuesday through August 1. There is no walk on July 4.

Everyone is welcome, and you do not need to be a member to participate. All walks and bike rides are group-led over the year-round and seasonal routes.

For more information, go to www.ava.org/clubs/bhva.

Women's Climbing & Yoga Weekend

Engage your mind, body and spirit! Join Sylvan Rocks for a women's weekend of rock climbing, yoga, relaxation and fun! What better way to spice up your summer and relieve some stress? Open to all levels of climbers and yogis! July 28th - 30th. Check out the website for complete information. http://www.sylvanrocks.com/

Sylvan Rocks Owners: Daryl Stisser and Cheryl Mayer-Stisser
PO Box 600, Hill City, SD 57745. Phone (605) 484-7585.


International Becoming an Outdoors Woman
Updated BOW website: http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/bow/

BOW Destinations are adventure trips organized by the International BOW office.
NEW! Women's turkey hunt, April 2007
Prairie Sky Ranch, Veblen, South Dakota
There are just 8 spaces available for this very special learn-to-hunt turkey program. Participants will also have the opportunity to go horseback riding, fishing and exploring the beautiful rolling hills of the spring prairie.
Details coming soon!!

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) offers outdoor skills workshops to women
throughout North America. Explore our pages and discover what's waiting in the great outdoors! (There is contact information for the 2006 BOW workshops in North America-ed.)


George S. Mickelson Trail
The Mickelson Trail winds through the heart of the Black Hills from Edgemont to Lead/Deadwood. This rails-to-trails project provides the opportunity to hike, bike, or ride horses in a beautiful setting. For information on the Mickelson Trail, visit www.MickelsonTrail.com or contact the Black Hills Trail office at (605) 584-3896.

 

Outdoor Activities Next Door

Check out the activities that our neighboring states have to offer. more

 

 

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