10-10-2004, 12:06 AM
[size 2]PIERRE, S.D. – Citizens in eastern South Dakota will have an opportunity to provide input to the West River Issues Working Group formed by the Game, Fish and Parks Commission.[/size]
[size 2]The working group is comprised of landowners and sportsmen and is looking at issues that have been a cause of negative relations with GFP. The group has been holding meetings in western South Dakota since early summer and now hope to gather public testimony in the eastern part of the state.[/size]
[size 2]The group will be meeting in Aberdeen on Tuesday, Oct. 12. The public is invited to the regular meeting, which will be held from 1-5 p.m. at the Ramada Inn. Public testimony will be taken at a special session held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.[/size]
[size 2]The next meeting will be Wednesday, Oct. 13, in Sioux Falls at the Sheraton. Again, the public is invited to sit in on the regular meeting that will be held from 1-5 p.m. Public testimony will be taken from 6:30-8:30.[/size]
[size 2]"The West River Issues Working Group feels that many of the issues we have been discussing are statewide issues," said GFP Secretary John Cooper. "They are very interested in hearing how viewpoints of individuals in eastern South Dakota may match or differ from what has been heard in the western part of the state."[/size]
[size 2]Cooper urged everyone who has an interest in topics being covered to attend the meetings, and in particular the public testimony portion. "If you have an interest in any of these issues, it will benefit you to attend these meetings and speak out during the public testimony."[/size]
[size 2]The working group has been dealing with the following issues: [/size] [ul] [li][size 2]Communication with GFP staff, [/size] [li][size 2]The Open Fields Doctrine, [/size] [li][size 2]Allocation of big game hunting licenses, [/size] [li][size 2]Improving 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 Division of Wildlife budget, [/size] [li][size 2]Prairie dogs, [/size] [li][size 2]Mountain lion management, [/size] [li][size 2]Use of paraplanes for animal damage control.[/size] [/li][/ul]
[size 2]Information and meeting notes for the West River Issues Working Group may be found 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]. Click on "What’s New" and then on the link to "West River Work Group Meeting."[/size][/font]
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[size 2]The working group is comprised of landowners and sportsmen and is looking at issues that have been a cause of negative relations with GFP. The group has been holding meetings in western South Dakota since early summer and now hope to gather public testimony in the eastern part of the state.[/size]
[size 2]The group will be meeting in Aberdeen on Tuesday, Oct. 12. The public is invited to the regular meeting, which will be held from 1-5 p.m. at the Ramada Inn. Public testimony will be taken at a special session held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.[/size]
[size 2]The next meeting will be Wednesday, Oct. 13, in Sioux Falls at the Sheraton. Again, the public is invited to sit in on the regular meeting that will be held from 1-5 p.m. Public testimony will be taken from 6:30-8:30.[/size]
[size 2]"The West River Issues Working Group feels that many of the issues we have been discussing are statewide issues," said GFP Secretary John Cooper. "They are very interested in hearing how viewpoints of individuals in eastern South Dakota may match or differ from what has been heard in the western part of the state."[/size]
[size 2]Cooper urged everyone who has an interest in topics being covered to attend the meetings, and in particular the public testimony portion. "If you have an interest in any of these issues, it will benefit you to attend these meetings and speak out during the public testimony."[/size]
[size 2]The working group has been dealing with the following issues: [/size] [ul] [li][size 2]Communication with GFP staff, [/size] [li][size 2]The Open Fields Doctrine, [/size] [li][size 2]Allocation of big game hunting licenses, [/size] [li][size 2]Improving 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 Division of Wildlife budget, [/size] [li][size 2]Prairie dogs, [/size] [li][size 2]Mountain lion management, [/size] [li][size 2]Use of paraplanes for animal damage control.[/size] [/li][/ul]
[size 2]Information and meeting notes for the West River Issues Working Group may be found 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]. Click on "What’s New" and then on the link to "West River Work Group Meeting."[/size][/font]
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