Goose Seasons
Goose
Goose hunting seasons are set in early spring. Nonresident licenses are limited in number and issued through an application process and lottery drawing. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Approved nontoxic shot includes steel shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix, and any combination of tungsten-iron-nickel-tin-copper-bismuth. Coated lead shot does not qualify as nontoxic shot. Tom Roster's Nontoxic Shot Lethality Table © 2016
The Antelope Island area* south of Pierre on Lake Sharpe has the following restrictions:
- No waterfowl decoys or hunting blinds may be left in the area between sunset and 5 a.m.
- No waterfowl decoys may be left unattended between 5 a.m. and sunset
*The area within the water's edge from a north-south line across Lake Sharpe through the dredged channel at the east end of Hipple Lake, downstream to the north-south line across the reservoir 100 yards east of the easternmost emergent vegetation on Antelope Island.
LICENSE INFORMATION
Residents
Must have one of the following:
- Combination license
- Small Game
- Youth Small Game
- 1-Day Small Game
In addition, residents must also have both:
- South Dakota Migratory Bird Certification, and
- Federal Waterfowl Stamp (not required for those under age 16)
Nonresidents
- Licenses for most seasons are limited and issued by lottery drawing. Application deadline is July 10.
- Licenses of limited-day duration require a start date for hunt before a license will be issued; start date may be changed through GFP License Office prior to the start date; applicants without a start date will have license held if successful in drawing, and may provide start date at any time before season, but please allow ample time for mailing license
- See season application information for details.
- Licenses for Unit 00B cover most of the state and are valid for 10 consecutive days
- Licenses for Unit 00A are for the southeastern corner of the state are valid for the length of the waterfowl seasons in that area
- Licenses for Unit 11A are for Bennett County in the southwest and are valid for 10 consecutive days
- Licenses for Unit 00Y in the northeast part of the state are valid for 3 consecutive days
- Licenses for Unit 00X in the central part of the state are valid on private land only for 3 consecutive days
- Early Fall Canada Goose licenses are valid for the length of that season in those counties open to nonresident hunting
- Spring Light Goose licenses are valid for the length of that season
- South Dakota Migratory Bird Certification required (no longer included with waterfowl license)
- Federal Waterfowl Stamp required (not required for those under age 16)
- Youth age 12 (or will turn 12 by Dec. 31) may hunt and have same license requirements as adults
WATERFOWL HUNTING ZONES
Includes brants.
Unit 1
Daily Limit:
15 from September 1-September 30
8 from October 1-December 16
Possession Limit:
Three times the daily limit, taken according to daily limit. The counties of Aurora, Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Butte, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Corson, Davison, Day, Deuel, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, McCook, McPherson, Marshall, Meade, Mellette, Moody, Miner, Oglala Lakota, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Todd, Turner, Walworth and Ziebach, that portion of Dewey County north of Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 8, Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 9, and the section of U.S. Highway 212 east of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 8 junction, that portion of Potter County east of U.S. Highway 83, that portion of Sully County east of U.S. Highway 83, portions of Hyde, Buffalo, Brule, Charles Mix, and Bon Homme counties north and east of a line beginning at the Hughes-Hyde county line on State Highway 34, east to Lees Boulevard, southeast to the State Highway 34, east 7 miles to 350th Avenue, south to Interstate 90 on 350th Avenue, south and east on State Highway 50 to Geddes, east on 285th Street to U.S. Highway 281, north on U.S. Highway 281 to the Charles Mix-Douglas county boundary, that portion of Bon Homme County north of State Highway 50, those portions of Yankton and Clay counties north of County Highway 585 (306th Street) to U.S. Highway 81, then north on U.S. Highway 81 to 303rd Street, then east on 303rd Street to 444th Avenue, then south on 444th Avenue to 305th Street, then east on Bluff Road (305th Street) to County Highway 19, south to State Highway 50 and east to the Clay/Union county line, and that portion of Perkins county west of State Highway 75 and south of State Highway 20, that portion of Lincoln County west of State Highway 17 and south of County Highway 116 (Klondike Road), and that portion of Minnehaha County north of a line beginning at the junction of the South Dakota-Minnesota state line and County Highway 122 (254th Street) west to its junction with County Highway 149 (464th Avenue), that portion west of County Highway 149 (464th Avenue) to Hartford, that portion west of County Highway 151 (463rd Avenue) to State Highway 42, that portion south of State Highway 42 to State Highway 17, and the portion west of State Highway 17 to the Minnehaha-Lincoln county boundary.
Unit 2
Daily Limit:
4
Possession Limit:
Three times the daily limit, taken according to the daily limit. Those areas not included in Unit 1 or Unit 3.
Unit 3
Daily Limit:
4
Possession Limit:
Three times the daily limit, taken according to the daily limit. Those areas not included in Unit 1 or Unit 3.
Resident-Only Bennett County Canada Goose Unit:
Availble with special permit only.
Daily Limit:
4
Individual License Harvest Limit:
Applicants may have a maximum of 5 licenses. See Application Deadline Rules on application for more information.
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
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Daily Limit:
3
Possession Limit:
Three times the daily limit
LIGHT GOOSE - FALL
Includes snows, blues, Ross' and all other geese except Canada, brants and white-fronted geese.
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Daily Limit:
50
Possession Limit:
Unlimited
LIGHT GOOSE - SPRING
A Conservation Order is issued annually for a spring hunt to control an overabundance of light geese. Light geese generally migrate into the eastern one-third of South Dakota in late February to early March.
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Daily Limit:
Unlimited
Possession Limit:
Unlimited
AUGUST GOOSE MANAGEMENT TAKE
This is a resident-only August Management Take for Canada Geese for Meade County south of SD Hwy 34, Pennington County west of the Cheyenne River and the counties of Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Clark, Clay, Codington, Davison, Day, Deuel, Edmunds, Faulk, Hamlin, Hanson, Hutchinson, Grant, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, Marshall, McCook, McPherson, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Turner, Union and Yankton..
License Requirements:
Annual small game or combination license and state migratory bird certification permit. Federal waterfowl stamp is not required.
Daily Limit:
15
Possession Limit:
Unlimited
Season Dates:
August 19-31, 2023
Key Dates
| Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Goose - Unit 1 | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Oct 1, 2021 End: Dec 16, 2024 | |
| Light Goose Season | 2023 | Season Dates Start: Sep 30, 2023 End: Jan 12, 2024 | |
| Canada Goose - Unit 2 | 2023 | Season Dates Start: Nov 6, 2023 End: Feb 18, 2024 | |
| Canada Goose - Unit 3 | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Jan 13, 2024 End: Jan 21, 2024 | |
| Light Goose Conservation Order | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Feb 17, 2024 End: May 15, 2024 | |
| August Management Take | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Aug 17, 2024 End: Aug 31, 2024 | |
| Canada Goose - Unit 1 Early | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Sep 1, 2024 End: Sep 30, 2024 | |
| Youth Waterfowl | 2024 | See respective unit and species for specific dates. Start: Sep 7, 2024 End: Sep 8, 2024 | |
| Light Goose Season | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Sep 28, 2024 End: Jan 10, 2025 | |
| White-fronted Goose Season | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Sep 28, 2024 End: Dec 10, 2024 | |
| Canada Goose - Bennett County | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Oct 19, 2024 End: Dec 22, 2024 | |
| Canada Goose - Unit 2 | 2024 | Season Dates Start: Nov 4, 2024 End: Feb 16, 2025 | |
| Canada Goose - Bennett County, Second Season | Season Dates Start: Jan 11, 2025 End: Jan 19, 2025 |
