Mere days after the South Dakota Board of Elections said that state law forbids rule-making bodies from considering petitions proposed by members of the public, the Game Fish and Parks Commission adopted rules that originated with a petition proposed by a member of the public.
Last month, the GF&P Commission considered two petitions for rule changes submitted by pheasantrepreneur Sal Roseland of Seneca concerning the tagging of bagged birds and transportation of bagged birds on private shooting preserves. The commission initially approved Roseland’s petitioned rule changes at its June meeting in Madison and put final approval on its July agenda. Meeting in Webster Thursday and Friday this week, the commission fully adopted Roseland’s requested changes:
The Commission adopted additional allowances for the transportation of harvested birds from a private shooting preserve directly to a lodge or cleaning facility not located on permitted acres prior to tagging. This finalization is the result of a public petition [“South Dakota GFP Commission Holds July Meeting,” KFGO Radio, 2026.07.11].
On Wednesday, the Board of Elections rejected two petitions from the League of Women Voters seeking changes to rules relating to voter registration. To support this rejection, lawyers on the board pointed to one statute that defines “person” as “all political subdivisions and agencies of the state” and said that since the League of Women Voters is not a political subdivision or agency of the state, the League is not an “interested person” that can petition for rule changes.
Sal Roseland is not a political subdivision or agency of the state. He certainly knows people in state government—he’s the guy who loaned Governor Larry Rhoden his skidloader to help with storm cleanup in Highmore last month—but he is a private citizen. The Game Fish and Parks Commission obviously sees no problem in considering and approving a rule change petitioned by a private citizen. As a matter of fact, the commission had another citizen petition on this week’s agenda, Petition 260 from Jason Clayton, a former South Dakotan now abiding in Faxon, Oklahoma, who’d like non-residents to be able to hunt mountain lions in the Black Hills.
The Game Fish and Parks Commission has effectively rejected the Board of Elections’ ridiculously narrow reading of state law and instead endorsed the broad, participatory spirit and intent of the state laws concerning public petitions to South Dakota’s rule-making agencies. Private citizens and organizations who want to propose changes to the administrative rules on elections should contact the Board of Elections and say, “Hey, the GF&P Commission is taking public petitions, so what’s your problem?”
Well Mr. Roseland did help clean up Highmore. As a former High moron I salute him.