I am a certifiable duck nut, so I normally welcome rain reports across South Dakota as more water = more ducks.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s spring breeding survey confirmed that the return of abundant water to the prairies of SD resulted in a tremendous breeding effort from ducks and Canada geese here in the state.  However, this year things are getting a bit out of control.  With precipitation amounts already approaching record levels, we received over 10” of rain in the last week around my home in southeast SD and there are reports of even more in the east-central portions of the state.  While the ducks and geese are enjoying the excess, I’m thinking enough is enough.

The impact on people and property is enormous as many homes have been damaged or destroyed by flood waters.  Roads, bridges and other structures we rely on each day are gone and it will take millions of dollars to rebuild them.  Crops have been damaged in many areas by the high water and the impact to farmers will be significant as well.

Unfortunately, we will also see the impact of the flooding on wildlife in South Dakota as we head to the fields this fall.  Our number one fall attraction, the ring-necked pheasant, has been enjoying the best of times these past few years as populations haven’t been this high since the early 60’s.  As the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks complete their annual pheasant brood surveys over the next two weeks, I’m predicting those good times will be coming to an end.  A harsh winter sent fewer hens into the breeding season this spring across much of the pheasant range.  Combined with the loss of tens of thousands of CRP nesting acres and excessive rainfall during the peak hatch in June, this years’ pheasant production is sure to be reduced.

The bright spot is that there are areas of the state that escaped the harshest weather and the excess moisture has created ideal growing conditions for grass nesting cover and delayed normal haying operations in many areas that often wrestle with drought.  I’m betting that the west river pheasant counties like Stanley, Lyman, Tripp, and Gregory will be the place to be this fall.

The other thing to keep in mind is that top quality bird habitat will remain productive even when weather conditions are not favorable.  Pockets of high pheasant numbers will still be found throughout their traditional east river range, you just might have to work a little harder to find them.

We will know more once the pheasant surveys are published later this month.  I’m hoping that the birds prove me wrong and their strong re-nesting efforts will make up for the early losses.  If not, South Dakota will still offer better pheasant hunting opportunities than any other state in the U.S….and the duck hunting will be second to none!

“The property is perfect for what you’re looking for!  It adjoins a big ranch that does very little hunting.  There is a variety of wildlife on the property from whitetail deer to wild turkey and wild hogs.  Plus there are a few exotics such as Axis deer and aoudad sheep that wander through.  They’ve even seen a few red stag here.  And while there is no water well on the property there are wells on the adjoining property and water is seldom very deep.  And there is a good pond. There’s also an electrical line that runs the length of the western boundary.  The price is right, a little below current market, and the owner needs to sell.” Spoke the agent.

I had been nodding with each point he made.  All were important to me, as was a cabin site near the center of the property.  My intentions were to initially, set up a flat platform upon which I set up a wall tent, then in time possibly build a log cabin.  Water for cooking and drinking I would bring in with me in gallon jugs.  That would be OK, because I knew I could not afford to drill a well for a while. Having access to electricity on the perimeter was important, even if I had no current need for electricity.  I wanted “camp” to be rather rustic.

I wanted enough land to take at least one whitetail buck and a couple of does each year.  No hunting on three sides of the property was a big plus; in time that could change.  The deer population in the area was approximately one deer per every 5 acres.  That meant there were about 20 deer on property.  A larger harvest might be necessary if there was a high fawn survival rate. The turkey population was such we should annually be able to take 2 spring gobblers.  No doubt we could take a couple of exotics, particularly since they just roamed through the area.

Now questions to be answered:

• Do I have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the property and can I procure a loan a from Capital Farm Credit of Texas?  In my instance the answer is “yes” based on the fact most of the cost will be paid up front from a fund I established years ago to purchase recreational property.

• Is there money for improvement to the intra-structure?  Most of these will have to wait at least for a couple of years until the property is totally paid for.

• What of property taxes? The current owner thankfully has an agricultural exemption.  I’ll stock the property with a sufficient number of cows to maintain the exemption.  But a consideration to having this happen will depend upon whether or not all the fences are “up” and how long the stock tank (pond) will maintain a water level to support the cattle.  The difference in taxes between an agricultural status and a recreational status the difference between about $250 in annual taxes and about $6,000 without the ag exemption.

• Will the investment in property be worth it?  From a personal perspective having a rural place where I can escape to, spend time with my family in a quality environment, and hunt without first obtaining permission.  The answer is “most certainly!”