Nov. 5, 2020

By Andrea Van Essen, for SiouxFalls.Business

As COVID-19 was restricting activity in other states in early spring, South Dakota’s hunting industry was already preparing a strategy to increase visitors here in the fall.

Attracting hunters, particularly those from out of state, has long been a priority from an economic standpoint. In recent years, participation numbers have been dropping, not just in South Dakota but nationwide.

“On a national level, we’re seeing those participation rates for hunting are declining,” said Kirk Hulstein, the industry outreach, development and research director for the South Dakota Department of Tourism

“It’s kind of a generational thing, a behavioral thing, younger people having too many demands on their time — a lot of different factors go into it, but we want to slow that decline if not turn it around.”

Photo by Sam Stukel

As part of that effort, the department partnered with South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks at the beginning of the year to develop a marketing initiative that would attract both resident and non-resident hunters. Together, they came up with a slogan and campaign, Hunt the Greatest, that highlights the superiority of South Dakota’s pheasant habitat.

“We know that we stand far and above any other state when it comes to pheasant hunting,” Hulstein said. “The results speak for themselves — there is no better place than South Dakota to hunt pheasants.”

And while a global pandemic was no one’s idea of a marketing tactic, some have speculated that months of social distancing and being cooped up at home drummed up a convenient, renewed interest in outdoor activities like hunting.

“Part of what is so appealing about South Dakota is that first of all, we’re open for business, we’ve remained open, but given our outdoor, wide-open spaces, it makes people feel safe and secure here,” said Wanda Goodman, deputy secretary for the Tourism Department. “They can get in their car, drive here, be in control and still enjoy our wide-open spaces and be able to remain distant from one another. South Dakota’s outdoors provide that natural ability to remain distant and stay safe.”

Hunting lodges welcome out-of-state guests and return customers

Between the national decline in hunting numbers and the pandemic, many of South Dakota’s pheasant-hunting guides and lodges have benefited from reliable customer bases that return year after year — and in some cases, decade after decade.

Grand Slam Pheasant Hunts out of Kimball has been in business since 1983 and welcomes 350 to 400 hunters each year.

Owners Curt and Lorie Korzan, along with their sons, Cody and Corbin, operate a full-service experience featuring a spacious lodge, three home-cooked meals a day and, of course, guided pheasant hunting for both individual and corporate groups. The lodge is fully booked this season, with many of the hunters being long-term repeat customers.

“Our oldest group has been with us for 35 years, and usually when they’re done with the hunt, they set their dates right away for next year,” Curt Korzan said.

The business is split equally between corporate groups and individuals. Though corporate bookings have declined across the industry because of COVID-19 concerns, Korzan had only two cancellations this season, which he was able to fill right away from a wait list.

He says the business hasn’t seen any negative effects from the pandemic, and, in fact, he thinks it caused participation to go up. The majority of his clients come from the southern and southeastern parts of the country, many hailing from large cities and metropolitan areas.

“As a matter of fact, some people have been adding numbers to their groups, and we’ve had some new customers,” he said. “People are wanting to get out of these big cities. They’re sick and tired of being tied up, and they just want to get out.”

Overall, Korzan has been able to operate as normal without any major changes. He said some visitors have been testing for COVID-19 before they arrive, and so far, there haven’t been any issues.

“Our lodge is big enough that people can distance far enough from each other, and when you’re out in the field, you’re never by each other,” he said.

He said he hopes that the increase in numbers this year will encourage participation moving forward as well.

“One thing I’ve noticed this year is more father-and-son groups, which is tremendous because the hunters are aging, and to see a lot of fathers and sons, it’s a new generation coming up to hunt, which is what we need,” Korzan said.

Halverson Hunts out of Kennebec has been in operation since 1985. Owner Steve Halverson said he runs an average of 400 repeat customers each year. Most of his groups have been visiting for at least 20 years, and it’s not often that a cancellation or an opening occurs. He also estimates that 90 percent to 95 percent of his clients come from out of state.

“When it came to COVID, we had some concerns, but we took precautions, maybe more than we needed, but we’re doing that for peace of mind,” Halverson said. “With that many people coming this fall, we need to keep our guides and our customers healthy. We’re doing everything we can.”

Because the hunting operation doesn’t offer overnight lodging, Halverson said exposure between guests and staff is limited. Still, when hunters arrive, they’re given a custom Halverson Hunts gaiter to use as a face covering. The gaiter is required in any situation where the hunters cannot spread out, including in the lodge and on the buses or other forms of transportation.

When they’re out in the field, however, Halverson said he encourages hunters to pull the gaiters down and enjoy the fresh air.

Additionally, groups of hunters are staggered to avoid overlapping, and larger groups are broken up into smaller numbers to limit exposure. Hand sanitizer is readily available, and sanitizer mists are used on heavily trafficked areas at the end of each day.

“We’re just taking some extra steps to make sure everybody returns home as COVID-free as possible and that they have a good experience,” Halverson said. “We’ve always been a safety-first operation with guns and everything, so we’re just rolling that over into COVID as well.”

Stefan Speligene has been traveling from the Nashville area to go out with Halverson Hunts for the past 17 years.

When it came down to it, he said his group felt comfortable making the trip to South Dakota this year because of the precautions Halverson put in place.

“The biggest deal for us was that he could have said, ‘Ah, it’s not a big deal; don’t worry about it,’ but he didn’t,” Speligene said. “He knew everyone’s level of concern was going to be different, and he basically made plans and preparations to calm everyone’s fears and concerns.”

Speligene also emphasizes the hospitality shown to hunters by both Halverson and the state as a whole.

“He’s such a good host, the hospitality is always great, and every year he does something to improve our experience,” Speligene said.

“And I always say, I’ve never seen a state or a town welcome outsiders like this and do it in a way that truly feels good. Every bar, every restaurant, the signs that say, ‘Welcome hunters,’ that’s some gratitude you don’t see all over. We hunt in a lot of different places, and it’s a cool spirit; you don’t feel like an outsider.”

Critical economic boost for rural communities

Gratitude for hunters is sincere because they represent an important economic driver for rural communities in particular.

“When you look at the economic picture that pheasant hunting paints in South Dakota, it’s really a significant piece of the state’s economy in the fall season,” said Goodman,at the state Tourism Department.

GFP statistics show that in 2019 there were nearly 115,000 resident and non-resident licenses issued and over $200 million spent by pheasant hunters. According to Goodman, that spending supports more than 4,000 jobs and $20 million in tax revenue statewide.

The numbers are significant on their own, but it’s especially important to remember where those dollars are going.

“One of the most important things to remember is that the money being spent here is largely taking place in smaller, rural communities that really depend on the seasonal activities,” Goodman said. “Whether hunters are buying shells at the local hardware store, eating at the cafe or staying at local hotels and motels, without that activity the economies of our small towns would look drastically different.”

Tom Kirschenmann is the director of wildlife for South Dakota GFP, and he echoes the importance of maintaining the pheasan- hunting tradition. 2018 marked the 100th consecutive pheasant-hunting season in the state’s history, and it’s a tradition the Tourism Department and GFP hope to continue for years to come, pandemic or not.

“We’re the premier pheasant-hunting destination of the world, and we want to get that out to residents and non-residents alike,” he said. “It’s about getting people in the outdoors, getting families in the outdoors and continuing the hunting heritage we’ve all enjoyed so much in South Dakota.”

As the season continues, the Tourism Department and GFP, along with an array of partners statewide, will continue to promote the South Dakota experience to hunters while ensuring everyone has the resources necessary to operate with health and safety in mind.

“With everything that’s happening with COVID-19, there are probably many different ways that we’re going to be able to look at this season,” Kirschenmann said.

Photo by Sam Stukel

“What we do know is that whether we’re looking at fishing, camping or just being outdoors, we’ve seen an incredible amount of people taking advantage of being in a place where they can feel safe and social distance outdoors. With South Dakota open for business, we certainly see that as a factor with pheasant hunting too. At the end of the day, I think most of our hunters are going to look at that outdoor recreation opportunity as a positive one.”