DISABLED HUNTING ACCESS AREAS

South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks has purchased various land tracts called Game Production Areas (GPA’s) across the state that are open to public access for hunting or wildlife viewing. Special restrictions for vehicle access are posted at the entrances to these areas. The department also has four GPA’s that have been designed, modified and signed as areas providing exemptions to vehicle access for individuals qualifying as "hunters or outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities." The following are the designated areas:

• Badger GPA (1,160 acres) in Lawrence County near Spearfish. This area is located 3 miles west and 2 miles south of Spearfish. Outdoor enthusiasts may enjoy the areas scenic beauty and seek deer, elk, and turkey.
• Carpenter GPA (1,209 acres) in Lyman County near Chamberlain. This area is adjacent to the Missouri River (Lake Francis Case) 1 mile west, 1 mile south, 2 1/2 miles west, and 3 miles south of Oacoma. The area has a combination of row crops, grassland, shelterbelts, and river breaks. Outdoor enthusiasts may enjoy the areas scenic beauty and seek deer, pheasants, grouse, and coyotes.
• Long Lake GPA (358 acres) in Jerauld County, near Wessington Springs. This area is located 7 miles west and 6 miles north of Wessington Springs. Outdoor enthusiasts may seek deer and waterfowl.
• Mydland Pass (Lynn Lake) GPA (1,470 acres) in Day County near Webster. This area is located 9 miles west and 2 miles north of Roslyn. Outdoor enthusiasts will be able to view a great variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, and song birds during their yearly migration periods. Hunters may seek deer and waterfowl in the area. If you would be interested in fishing, the lake is known for its crappie and walleye fishery.

The four designated disabled access areas will permit access with all-terrain vehicles (ATV) or other vehicles on special designated roads and trails for those individuals with a disabled hunter permit. Due to the safety concerns for those with disabilities, as well as other hunters, the potential for fire danger and the need to maintain wildlife habitat, vehicles will not be allowed to travel off of these trails, except for the direct trail line to retrieve downed game. Any passengers in or on the disabled permit holders vehicle must be non-hunters, and all firearms must be fully cased and unloaded while the vehicle is in motion or transit. The access vehicle must come to a complete stop with the motor turned off while aiming, firing, or shooting a weapon. Disabled hunter permittees cannot use vehicles to retrieve game for other hunters and cannot use vehicles to chase, harass, pursue or intercept wildlife. These access trails have been selected for ease of access, adequate pull-off areas, and are located in areas where a person will likely have an opportunity to view various wildlife species.

Please be aware that such public areas will expose disabled hunters or other people with physical challenges, to various degrees of physical risk. Due to the variability of the terrain and conditions on these public areas, not all areas may be totally accessible for the disabled hunter. These public use areas have no attendants, and there would be little chance that GFP personnel would be in the local area in case of an accident or if emergency assistance is needed. Hunters will have the responsibility and right to decide their safe use of such area(s), and will need to judge their own access ability on these areas.

The department also has a special unit for the West River firearms deer season (Unit 358D - Stanley County in central South Dakota) for those persons confined to a wheelchair. This hunt takes place on a specified weekend in November. GFP will allow successful applicants to hunt as instructed with volunteers from established blinds in a forested area below the Oahe Dam (in Oahe Downstream Recreation Area north of Ft. Pierre). The West River deer application can be downloaded from the GFP web site: www.sdgfp.info. The application deadline is the first Friday in August. It is planned to allow five any deer licenses and five antlerless deer licenses for residents ($30) and one any deer license and one antlerless deer license for nonresidents ($155) in the first drawing for this unit. Any leftover licenses will available in a second drawing for residents only. Nonresidents can apply for any remaining licenses in a possible third drawing for this unit.

DISABLED FISHING ACCESS AREAS

The South Dakota Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks also has various fishing areas that have structures or piers that allow access for disabled individuals. To ensure everyone has an opportunity to catch a South Dakota walleye, northern pike, bluegill or brown trout, accessible fishing piers have been installed in a number of parks. These floating piers feature low railings, accessible ramps, sidewalks and nearby parking.

Fishing piers are found at the following state parks or recreation areas:

• Angostura (near Hot Springs)
• Bear Butte (near Sturgis)
• Burke Lake (near Burke)
• Custer (near Custer)
• Farm Island (near Pierre),
• Hartford Beach (near Milbank)
• Lake Alvin (near Harrisburg)
• Lake Herman (near Madison)
• Lake Louise (near Miller)
• Lake Vermillion (East of Canistota)
• Lewis and Clark (near Yankton)
• Mina Lake (near Mina)
• Oakwood Lakes (near Bruce)
• Pickerel Lake (near Waubay)
• Richmond Lake (near Aberdeen)
• Roy Lake (near Lake City)
• Springfield (near Springfield)
• Walker's Point (near Madison)

A variety of handicapped access fishing facilities are located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

On Forest Service and Bureau of Reclamation land these include Strawberry Hill Pond in the Black Hills, Pactola Lake at Veteran’s Point, Sheridan Lake at the Highway 385 parking lot, Horsethief Lake near Mount Rushmore, Iron Creek Lake southwest of Spearfish and Dalton Lake near Nemo.

Within cities in the Black Hills those facilities can be found at Whitewood Creek in Deadwood, and Canyon Lake and the Canyon Lake Park ponds in Rapid City. Two facilities are on Rapid Creek at Sioux Park in Rapid City and at Cliff Park just a short distance upstream from Cleghorn Fish Hatchery. Spearfish Creek has handicapped fishing access at Ray Fidler Lions Memorial Park on Third Street and West Lincoln Street in Spearfish and at City Park downstream of D.C. Booth and just upstream from Indian Springs.

Handicapped fishing access on Game, Fish and Parks lands includes Sunday Gulch Pond near Hill City, Savoy Weir in Spearfish Canyon and Legion Lake and Stockade Lake in Custer State Park.

Other fishing access areas include piers on the LaFramboise Island causeway (near Pierre), Lake Oahe tailwaters (near Pierre), Mirror Lake and Coxes Lake (near Spearfish), Ravine Lake (Huron), and Lake Mitchell – West end fishing bridge (Mitchell).