Trapping in crosshairs amid western South Dakota beaver drought

Biologists as Game, Fish & Parks Commission for restrictions

Photo by Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash

A plummeting beaver population in the Black Hills has state wildlife biologists pushing for a regional trapping ban that would still allow the critters to be hunted in other parts of South Dakota.

The Game, Fish and Parks Commission is considering a proposed prohibition on beaver trapping in the upcoming 2025 and 2026 seasons in areas with lower counts of the North American capybara, and it’s anticipated the GF&P-recommended rule will be adopted later this month.

Working in concert with the U.S. Forest Service to monitor beaver numbers in Black Hills watersheds, GF&P conducted aerial and physical surveys in 2023 that found beaver food caches were located in just 23 percent of the area’s watersheds. That number was down from 52 percent in 2012. Beaver food caches – where beaver colonies store food – were found in 42 percent of watersheds in 2007.

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