PIERRE — Aside from a minor alteration regarding Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission proposed Friday that South Dakota’s 2010 season for pheasant hunting should stay the same as 2009.

The stand-pat approach follows in the wake of several tries to expand the season in some fashion or another during recent years.

It also comes as chairman Spencer Hawley, of Brookings, departs from the commission. He supported broader opportunities for pheasant hunting. Friday marked his last meeting.

Last December the commission struggled with a controversial, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to expand the daily bag limit to from the traditional three roosters to five for the final weeks of the 2009 season.

Likewise the commission refused two years ago to extend the 2008 season through the end of January 2009. Hawley was the only commissioner to support that expansion.

No such recommendations came from the state Wildlife Division staff Friday, and fellow commissioners kidded Hawley a bit as he briefly brought up the late-season five-rooster proposal again.

The only change which has been officially proposed would extend the pheasant season through the first Sunday of January at Sand Lake refuge in northern Brown County. That would make the refuge season consistent with the regular season. Currently the refuge season closes Dec. 31.

Otherwise, grouse and pheasant hunting in 2010 would follow the traditional pattern of recent years.
The grouse season will open Sept. 18 and run through Jan. 2, 2011.

The special youth season for pheasants will run Oct. 2-6.

The special resident-only season for pheasants is set for Oct. 9-11 on public hunting lands.

The main season for pheasant hunting will open on the standard third Saturday of October. Overall the main season is proposed to go Oct. 16 through Jan. 2, 2011.

The Sand Lake extension was the only change proposed for any of the upland game seasons in 2011. The hearing on that change will be at 2 p.m., April 8 at the commission’s next meeting in Huron.