Black Hills elk management and proposed season changes

In 1992, when I worked my first fall hunting season in the Black Hills, there were some elk around and the lucky folks who had tags could fill them with a little work. That has changed radically since, and now we have elk in numbers and places where we never thought we would. The population has been so successful, trying to manage their numbers has become very difficult and frustrating for a lot of folks.

The Black Hills provide excellent habitat for elk. Plus, unlike the western side of our state, the hills do not have a large suite of elk predators. Research on the South Dakota side of th...