Tag: SCDNR

Update on SC’s new electronic harvest reporting requirements

Here’s the real deal on SC’s new electronic deer harvest reporting requirements.

As of the 2024 deer hunting season, hunters in South Carolina are now required to electronically report their deer harvests, as well as place a physical tag on them.

This new requirement has caused some controversy throughout the hunting world, but most hunters understand that it’s simply South Carolina catching up with the rest of the United States in how the wild game population is managed. North Carolina hunters, for instance, have reported their harvests electronically for years.

Among the complaints: Electronic reporting will allow SCDNR to track hunters’ locations. There’s no cell service where I hunt. It’s another gun grab. It’s just one step in forcing us to eat fake meat. They will tax us on the meat we report killing ourselves. It’s another way for the government to control every part of our lives. And on and on. It’s all rubbish.

More rubbish

“Well how come they said we gotta tell them what we are planting in our gardens in the same law?” is another one we’ve heard. More rubbish. Nothing in this law mentions gardens at all.

The true reason for the new electronic reporting requirement is simply to help SCDNR get a more accurate measurement of how many deer are harvested in the state each year, which is one step in helping to manage the population of the state’s deer herd.

Years ago, South Carolina had numerous Big Game Check Stations throughout the state. When you killed a deer, you went to one of those check stations. That was done away with years ago, and for a long time, deer hunters in South Carolina had no tagging or reporting requirements at all. Then in recent years, South Carolina came up with the tagging system, whereby hunters place a physical, paper tag on each deer they kill.

At the beginning of each deer season, hunters are issued a set of tags with their name on them. These are the tags they must use to tag their deer. When you run out of tags, you are not legally allowed to kill any more deer, unless you purchased additional tags.

No data from tags

The problem with physically tagging deer, at least from a game management perspective, is that SCDNR never knew how many tags were actually being used. A survey would go out to a percentage of hunters at the end of the season, and some of those hunters would fill them out. But many never received surveys at all, and many that did never returned them. That left SCDNR guessing at how many deer were actually killed that season.

This is solved by electronic reporting. With each kill reported, the SCDNR gets updated numbers every day of the season. This gives them a highly accurate count of how many deer are killed in a season, and that’s what helps them understand trends in the population. If the harvest numbers noticeably decrease one year (or in a string of years), either throughout the state or in certain counties, SCDNR will know it. And this will be the first step in determining why that happened, and what can be done to fix it.

Likewise, if harvest numbers noticeably increase one year, or in a string of years, SCDNR will know it, and can take steps to understand why, and increase seasonal limits, vary hunting dates, issue more tags for hunters, etc.

It’s quick and easy

Aside from giving SCDNR accurate harvest numbers, electronic reporting is easier for hunters. No need to worry about forgetting or losing your tags, or them getting lost in the mail before you hunt. Now for 2024, hunters will still need to phyiscally tag their deer, so that’s not going to help in the first season. But from what we understand, this is simply to ease hunters into the new way of reporting, and beginning in 2025, South Carolina hunters will do electronic reporting only.

The way electronic reporting works is easy, and if you don’t have cell service at your hunting land, it’s not a problem. You can report your harvest four different ways:

Go online to dnr.sc.gov/scgamecheck.

Text the word “harvest” to 1-833-4SC-GAME (1-833-472-4263)

Call it in at 1-833-4SC-GAME (1-833-472-4263)

Use the GoOutdoorsSC app

And you aren’t required to report the kill immediately. You have until midnight of the day of your harvest, or before you leave it with a processor. When you electronically report your harvest, the system will issue you a verification number. The processor will need that verification number in order to accept your deer.

Time for South Carolina to catch up

We’ve also heard complaints that this system isn’t fair to old people, because they aren’t used to having a phone in their hand 24 hours a day. The few hunters out there who don’t own a cell phone have plenty of time to get to a phone, and chances are, anyone at their processing facility will be happy to lend them their phone to make the toll-free call.

Electronic reporting has been the norm in dozens of states for decades, and South Carolina hunters often complain about how much better the hunting is in those states than it is in South Carolina. Plus, it’s much easier than driving to a designated check station, and it is a big step in helping the state have a healthier herd of deer.

Wood duck die-offs linked to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

The SCDNR has announced recent wood duck die-offs are from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

The following is a news release from SCDNR:

Within the last two weeks, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have received numerous calls concerning an apparent die-off of wood ducks in waterfowl impoundments and river swamps in Clarendon, Colleton and Williamsburg counties.

Preliminary testing indicates two of these die-off events can be attributed to highly pathogenic Eurasian H5 avian influenza (HPAI). Results are currently pending from additional die-off locations.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was first detected in the United States in January 2022 in two wild ducks harvested by a hunter in Colleton County, South Carolina, and one wild duck in Hyde County, North Carolina. Prior to these findings, HPAI had not been detected in a wild bird in the United States since 2016. Following the detection of HPAI in early 2022, portions of the United States experienced large die-off events of snow geese and eiders.

“Since 2022, the greatest impact on wild birds in South Carolina has been seen in black vultures and bald eagles,” said Molly Kneece, SCDNR state waterfowl biologist. “Up to this point, we had not experienced any noticeable die-offs of waterfowl species in South Carolina. These recently reported wood duck die-offs seem to be localized but do have potential to spread into other counties and to other waterfowl species given the social and migratory behaviors of wood ducks.”

Hunters should be aware that HPAI is present in the environment, and it is also showing up in an APHIS sampling effort of hunter harvested birds. However, it is still safe to pursue and consume wild fowl this season. This type of HPAI virus is considered a low risk to people but it can be a danger to the poultry industry, which is an important part of South Carolina’s agricultural economy.

USDA Veterinary and Wildlife Services recommends hunters and others to take precautions to protect themselves and the domestic birds they may encounter from the virus:

  • Do not harvest or handle wild birds that are obviously sick or found dead without latex gloves.
  • Dress your game birds in the field whenever possible. If you must dress birds at home, clean them in an area in which your poultry and pet birds have no access.
  • Keep a separate pair of shoes to wear only in your game cleaning area. If this is not possible, wear rubber footwear and clean/disinfect your shoes before entering or leaving the area.
  • Do not eat, drink or smoke while cleaning game.
  • Always wear rubber gloves while cleaning game or cleaning bird feeders.
  • Wash hands with soap and water immediately after handling game or cleaning bird feeders. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol wipes.
  • Use dedicated tools for cleaning game, whether in the field or at home. Do not use those tools around your poultry or pet birds.
  • Wash all tools and work surfaces with soap and water and then disinfect them.
  • Avoid cross-contamination. Keep uncooked game in a separate container, away from cooked or ready-to-eat foods.
  • Cook game meat thoroughly; poultry should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill disease organisms and parasites.
  • Double bag the offal and feathers. Tie the inner bag; be sure to take off your rubber gloves and leave them in the outer bag before tying it closed.
  • Place the bag in a trash can that poultry and pet birds cannot access. This trash can should also be secure against access by children, pets or other animals.

Julie Helm, a veterinarian and poultry specialist with Clemson Livestock Poultry Health, advises South Carolinians to protect small poultry flocks with two simple statements: “Keep it AWAY and Keep it CLEAN.”

Keep it AWAY: Keep your poultry and pets away from wild ducks and geese and their environment — ponds, lakes and swampy areas. Take care not to track the wild waterfowl virus back to your flock if you are hunting or hiking in the wild waterfowl environment. Buy new birds from a reputable source. Keep new birds or returning show birds separated from your established home flocks for 30 days. Keep pests (rodents, raccoons, opossums, rabbits) out of bird pens. Keep visitors out of your bird areas; what may they be carrying on their feet, clothing or vehicles.

Keep it CLEAN: Clean cages and coops. Clean any equipment first before it comes onto your property. Wear designated farm shoes and clothing to care for your birds. Wash your hands before and after working with your birds. Change birds’ food and water daily. Wash your vehicles and trailers after visiting other poultry facilities and before you come home — go through a car wash.

DHEC strongly urges anyone who handles birds — including hunters and poultry farmers — to follow the recommended precautions for protecting themselves from possible exposure and to talk with a doctor if they have any health concerns regarding a possible exposure.

South Carolina hunters and landowners can help SCNDR and APHIS monitor this potential HPAI event by reporting sightings of dead wood ducks or other waterfowl to SCDNR (800-922-5431 or webmaster@dnr.sc.gov, Subject Line: HPAI). Of notable interest will be the location of the die-off, number of individuals affected, species, and habitat type. HPAI testing will be done on a case-by-case basis, but it will be very helpful to know where any waterfowl die-offs are occurring and to what extent.

After reporting any waterfowl die-off events to SCDNR, landowners and habitat managers can gather any dead waterfowl they find and bury those carcasses on site. This important step can help reduce the spread of HPAI to scavenging mammals and birds of prey. All equipment, tools, clothing, and boots should be disinfected with a solution of 1/3 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water.

For more information on HPAI or to monitor confirmed detections in wild birds and commercial or backyard flocks follow: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai

Contact: SCDNR, Greg Lucas, LucasG@dnr.sc.gov, (864) 380-5201

Some SC WMAs will open for Sunday hunting

Some WMAs in SC will be open for Sunday hunting beginning Oct. 15, 2023.

South Carolina deer hunters, as well as small game hunters, will be happy to see that several of the Palmetto State’s WMAs and two National Forests will begin opening for Sunday hunting as of Oct. 15, 2023.

According to SCDNR, hunting will be allowed on Sundays between Oct. 15 and Jan. 31 for those species in season on the following WMAs:

Edisto River WMA

Webb WMA

Palachucola WMA

Hamilton Ridge WMA

Liberty Hill WMA

Belfast WMA

Woodbury WMA

Sumter National Forest

Francis Marion National Forest

Each WMA has its own set of rules, and some are open to deer hunting only through the Public Lottery Hunts Program. Be sure to get the specifics at dnr.sc.gov

Another alleged poacher busted by SCDNR

The SCDNR busted another suspected turkey poacher this week. The case happened in Union County, SC.

According to the South Carolina Game Wardens, Region 1 CO Horlacher and PFC Gardner found some turkey bait, along with two dead turkeys. The birds, which were not tagged, had been discarded.

LCPL Burnett joined the two other wardens and they contacted the owner of the property in question. As they proceeded to investigate, they found more violations had occurred during the 2023 turkey hunting season. They charged the alleged poacher with numerous violations, including harvesting more than the wild turkey daily bag limit, hunting turkeys in a baited area, failure to tag turkey at point of kill, and failure to report turkey harvest. 

The suspect will have his day in court soon, but for now, he’s an “alleged poacher.”

Alleged SC turkey poacher busted

SCDNR officials busted a turkey hunter in Saluda County for numerous violations.

After receiving a tip of a possible trespassing to hunt violation in Saluda County, SCDNR Region 3 Officer Alveshire and PFC Miller located and checked the hunter in question.

They learned that the land the hunter had permission to hunt the land he was on when they located him. But after calling in PFC Moon and K-9 Blade, they were able to determine the path the hunter had walked, which showed he had been trespassing previously.

The game wardens continued their investigation, finding numerous other violations.

They found the remains of two turkeys the poacher had killed in recent days. Neither turkey was tagged, and he failed to report either turkey. They also found a substance which appeared to be fentanyl.

SCDNR confiscated the poacher’s firearm and hunting gear, and booked him into the Saluda County Detention Center.

SCDNR press release on Tyler Doyle search

The following is a press release issued by SCDNR on Feb. 13, 2023:

S.C. Department of Natural Resources continues its ongoing search for Tyler Doyle and reiterated its position that the case is a hunting/boating accident.

SCDNR’s investigation indicated that at about 4 p.m. on Jan. 26, Tyler and a friend were duck hunting in a 16-foot jon boat at the Little River jetties. The jetties are rock structures near the South Carolina/North Carolina line that extend from shore out into Little River Inlet and help boats navigate the swirling tides and currents.

A small-craft advisory was in effect that afternoon, meaning seas were rough and not conducive for smaller vessel operation. Tyler initially dropped the friend off on the north jetty and then moved away in the boat to scout and put out some duck decoys. They stayed in contact on the phone, although the friend said he lost sight of Tyler as he went around the south jetty. Shortly afterwards Tyler called his friend stating the boat was having mechanical issues and he couldn’t keep the motor running and the boat was taking on water.

Another boat was flagged down by Tyler’s friend and attempted to get to Tyler but had to return because of rough sea conditions.

A 911 call initiated a multi-agency search including SCDNR, North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue and the Coast Guard. An Horry County Fire Rescue boat was on scene within nine minutes of being dispatched. Tyler’s friend was rescued from the Little River jetties and they were able to locate Tyler’s boat, which was submerged with the bow up and motor down, with only a foot of the boat showing above water. Rescuers noted the water temperature was 50 degrees, and the air temperature was 39 degrees.

SCDNR’s lead investigator for this case, Ronnie Floyd, confirmed numerous calls were made by Tyler and his friend to 911, as well as family and friends seeking assistance. Location data from Tyler’s Life360, a location-sharing app, which was provided to investigators by Tyler’s family corroborates the independent carrier location data obtained from Tyler’s phone carrier.

SCDNR investigators say the phone records, coupled with the data location information, witness interviews, a boat inspection and recovered items currently indicate this to be a hunting/boating accident and no foul play is suspected at this time.

Rumors regarding pending criminal charges against Tyler are unfounded.

Weather conditions that day, coupled with boating mechanical issues, appear to be the predominant contributing factors.

S.C. Department of Natural Resources remains committed to continuing the search as conditions allow. The agency currently has assistance from Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, N.C.

Wildlife Resources Commission and help from the nonprofit search-and-rescue organization Wings of Hope. SCDNR wants to thank all agencies that have assisted.

“We mourn right alongside Tyler’s family and our officers have been with them throughout this process,” said SCDNR Investigator Ronnie Floyd. “We want to bring them closure, and that’s why we are working every day to try and find him.”

SCDNR is providing regular updates on Twitter @SCDNR.

Get the Go Outdoors South Carolina app

South Carolina anglers and hunters will love this new app from SCDNR!

Anglers and hunters in the Palmetto State need to have the appropriate licenses for whatever fishing or hunting they’re doing. Purchasing them used to be a hassle. You had to find a store that sold them, then fill out the paperwork (by hand, like cavemen!), then haul that little folded up scrap of paper in your wallet, just hoping to never lose or ruin it.

Then came online purchasing. That was much easier, but you still had to wait on the license to come in the mail. After a while, they allowed you to print the license from your home printer, as long as you had one. 

But now, it’s even easier. SCDNR now has the Go Outdoors South Carolina App, which you can download to your phone. The app allows you to view your current hunting and fishing license, apply for lottery hunts, register and renew your watercraft, report turkey harvests through SC Game Check, upgrade to a hard license (sort of like a credit card), and purchase SCDNR gear.

But that’s not all. The app also has a “Digital Backpack” that has loads of information, like tide charts, sunrise/sunset times, feeding times, and the Hunter’s Toolbox, which shows real-time harvest data for the state. You can also find all the regulations, boat ramps, and a whole host of other information.

Whether you’re an Apple or Android user, hit up your play store and download the Go Outdoors South Carolina app today.