Committee also approves higher license cap in Custer State Park, where numbers are growing
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By Meghan O’Brien
Published: May 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM PDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
Elk wander to eastern South Dakota, and the state responds with unlimited hunting licenses
(SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT) – Elk hunters in South Dakota will have more opportunities in Custer State Park and east of the Missouri River after a legislative committee approved rule changes Tuesday.
The committee, made up of three state senators and three state representatives, voted 4-2 in favor of a rules package that includes an unlimited elk hunting season on the eastern side of the river and increases the maximum number of elk licenses in the park.
Sen. Liz Larson and Rep. Erik Muckey, Democrats from Sioux Falls, cast the two no votes.
East River elk hunting
More elk are starting to appear in the East River region, said Tom Kirschenmann, director of wildlife for the Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The elk, which typically are more at home in the Black Hills and other rugged terrain of western South Dakota, are unwelcome guests in East River farm fields.
“They can create a lot of damage, and it’s a very, very challenging management activity,” Kirschenmann said. He added that the agency has no intention of managing a permanent East River elk population.
The estimated population of elk in the Black Hills is about 8,000. There could be up to 2,000 on the western South Dakota plains, Kirschenmann said. East River populations are “nowhere near those numbers,” though he didn’t provide an estimate.
East River elk are usually found between Pierre and Chamberlain, particularly on the Crow Creek reservation, which will be excluded from the unlimited hunting unit. Kirschenmann said the agency is in conversation with the tribe’s wildlife department about its elk management strategy.
Larson doesn’t dispute that crops are being harmed, but she said it may be premature to declare open season on all East River elk.
“I don’t see enough evidence that we know how this would affect the elk populations,” she said. “I feel like this is a very new, new area that they’re going into.”
More Custer State Park elk licenses
The elk population in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, is above what the agency prefers to manage at the park, Kirschenmann said. Populations are usually kept between 500 and 600, but a recent estimate placed the number between 750 and 775.
That’s why the agency will increase the limit of antlerless elk hunting licenses for Custer State Park from 20 to 100. The agency will not offer all 100 licenses this year, Kirschenmann said. The number of licenses available will be decided based on the population and whether it’s anticipated to grow or shrink.
Hunters can expect 50 licenses to be available this year. Twenty-five will be available for two weeks in October and the remainder will be available for two weeks in December.
Splitting up licenses over those time periods will “minimize congestion of the hunters on each other,” Kirschenmann said.
Larson said she doesn’t see evidence supporting “that number” for the license cap “should be the one that’s pursued.”
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.