Welcome to the Website of the South Dakota State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation
SD NWTF Seeks Nominations for Hall of Fame
The South Dakota NWTF Hall of Fame has been designed by the SD Board of Directors to reward and recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the NWTF at the local, state or national level and/or to the wild turkey resource in South Dakota.
Those wishing to nominate a person for the Hall of Fame is asked to complete the Nomination Form. Any supporting documentation that should be taken into consideration by the Committee in rendering their decision can also be attached to the form. Supporting documentation may include news articles, letters of support from organizations and individual reference letters.
Nominations are due to the nominating committee by June 1, 2024. Completed Nomination Forms will be kept on file for 3 years. Nominees not successful in the year in which the nomination is made will be considered subsequently as the Committee is convened.
More information and nominating forms can be obtained by contacting Mike McKernan at mikemckernan10@gmail.com, Holly Hilbrands at holly.hilbrands@gmail.com or Ted Wick at wick@gwtc.net.
Completed Nomination Form and any supporting material can be sent to:
Ted Wick Hall of Fame Committee 28023 Cascade Road Hot Springs, SD 57747 605-745-4164 wick@gwtc.net
Join a Committee!
South Dakota hit a high of 30 chapters at one time. We are now down to about 13 events. We have a few areas where committees just burned out and the chapters folded and some that need more help or they are in danger of ending. I am making it a priority to build up the chapters that need help so that we don’t lose more, and to start or re-start chapters in towns that no longer have chapters. Please contact me if you would like to help a chapter or help me start a new chapter, contact me at rgaskins@nwtf.net, 605-391-1386. We need new committee members to keep or restart chapters in Custer, Armour/Wagner, Yankton, Winner, Aberdeen, Spearfish, Flandreau, and Brookings. These are all priority areas. If you don’t have a chapter in your area, but would like a local banquet, we can work together to start a new chapter. Even if a local chapter is healthy, they can always use extra help and new ideas!
Randy Gaskins Senior Regional Director National Wild Turkey Federation
East Dakota Chapter Helps Others Have a Happy Thanksgiving
The holiday season is here, and committee members from the NWTF East Dakota Chapter were once again busy delivering a record 50 frozen turkeys to The Banquet in Sioux Falls, SD. In addition to the frozen turkeys, 10-packages of turkey burger and 12-packages of deer burger were also added to the donation. The Banquet is a non-profit meal provider for thousands of people in and around the greater Sioux Falls area and provides meals to needy families and other guests.
This was the 16th year that the East Dakota Chapter has made this donation, which brings their total donation to well over 550 turkeys. This means that The Banquet will be able to prepare and serve thousands of warm turkey meals to all their guests over the Thanksgiving season.
Ron Schauer, project organizer for the East Dakota Chapter says, “We know how important turkey is on Thanksgiving and the other holidays, and we just feel that it’s good to give back to those in need. Some people are struggling, probably more than most people know, and it just feels good to give back to those that can enjoy a nice warm Thanksgiving meal.”
The Banquet’s Executive Director says donations like this make it easier for them to serve a holiday meal.
Hunting Heritage Success in the Mount Rushmore State
Hunting Heritage Success in the Mount Rushmore State
Twenty-one hunters and over 30 volunteers recently gathered at Sioux River Wildlife near Flandreau, South Dakota for the 19th Annual Wheelin’ Sportsmen Rooster Round Up pheasant hunting event.
This year’s event was made possible by the South Dakota NWTF State Chapter and South Dakota Game Fish and Parks.
Sioux River Wildlife is a family-run hunting preserve, with hundreds of acres of hunting land on the bluffs of the Big Sioux River. The preserve’s native prairie grasses, food plots, shelterbelts and ponds provide the perfect assemblage of habitat for native wildlife and upland game. In support of the NWTF’s Wheelin’ Sportsmen program, Sioux River Wildlife owners Tad and Kathy Jabobs hosted the Wheelin’ event at the preserve for the 10th year this year.
The event brought together participants from previous years as well as many new faces. NWTF volunteers and dog owners helped work the fields, moving the birds towards the hunters.
Despite the unseasonable temperatures (reaching into the 90s), everyone had fun enjoying the beginning of hunting seasons and the foreseeable temperature drops. Altogether, hunters harvested 94 birds.
The hunt was followed by a lunch, banquet dinner, raffles and silent auction to raise funds for the NWTF mission.
In addition to the partners mentioned, the 19th Annual Rooster Roundup was made possible thanks to County Fair Food Store, Rysavy Excavating, Central Valley Struttin’ Gobblers, Morning Optimist Club, Pendar Properties, Dell Rapids Ace Hardware, Tom Kromminga, Mike McKernan and Holly Hilbrands.
The Wheelin’ Sportsmen program began in October 2000 as the NWTF recognized the need to help people with mobility impairments enjoy the outdoors by participating in hunting and shooting sports.
Wheelin’ Sportsmen events provide participants an opportunity they may not be able to have on their own due to the lack of hunting land access, lack of knowledge of how to return to the field after an injury or lack of necessary assistance.
Often, the knowledge and experience gained at an NWTF Wheelin' Sportsmen event allows the participants to continue hunting on their own throughout the year.
Annual Camp Crook Youth Hunt Held
The South Dakota and Montana State Chapters combined efforts to host the 2023 NWTF Camp Crook Youth Turkey Hunt the first weekend of May. We had 4 youth hunters that had completed Hunt Safety courses, but had never hunted turkeys before. All of the youth got their first turkeys, adult Merriam's gobblers.
The NWTF Camp Crook Youth Turkey Hunt has support from many partners, the local 4-H Shooting Sports people who help select youth and provide breakfast and lunch, landowners who open up their land, U.S. Forest Service, NWTF volunteer guides and staff, Outfitters that donate lodging for the guides, and Bobby Cordell and Laurie Elmore who coordinates all of the pieces and players so they come together for a successful hunt.
The guides were Tony Tabisz, Dale Tribby, Rob & Justin Lyons, Collin Smith and Randy Gaskins. The youth hunters were Walker and Weston Dingfelder, Kane Olsen, and Dane Smith.