PIERRE, S.D.—Two of the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department’s most popular publications are now available to the public.

The 2008 Hunting Handbook and the 2008 Hunting Atlas are available at GFP regional offices as well as from license agents. The books may also be accessed in PDF form on the GFP Web site at www.sdgfp.info or requested from the GFP information office at (605) 773-3485.

“Having those two publications on the Web site makes them easy to reference,” said GFP Communications Manager Chuck Schlueter, “but having hard copies along in the field is important, too.”

The Hunting Handbook offers details about the state’s hunting seasons as well as information about licensing and hunting regulations. The Hunting Atlas contains maps and information about the state’s Walk-In Areas, Game Production Areas, Waterfowl Production Areas, and select areas that belong to School and Public Lands and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Something new this year is the addition of waterfowl refuges.

Users need to be aware of two Black Hills area maps in the Hunting Atlas that depict bluish colored areas that are not public land. On Map Sheet 4 south and west of Lead, two areas of dark blue are not public hunting areas and should not be on the map. One larger section is at the intersection of U.S. Highways 14 and 85 and a smaller area is just east of there.

On Map Sheet 12 there are two small areas of dark blue on S.D. Highway 79 just south of Rapid City that are not public hunting areas and should not be on the map. One is at the intersection of S.D. Highway 79 and U.S. Highway 16B. The other area incorrectly shaded blue is to the south and just north of Spring Creek Road.

“We want to make sure that the users of these map sheets in the Black Hills are aware that these dark blue areas should not be on the maps and do not represent public hunting areas,” Schlueter said. “We are working closely with the printing contractor to find out the cause of this problem to ensure that it does not occur in the future.” The online versions of these maps correctly depict Map Sheets 4 and 12.