The South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Commission on Thursday voted to raise non-resident hunting fees, according to the Argus Leader newspaper of Sioux Falls.

The license-cost hikes will bring in another $1.1 million in 2013, the newspaper said.

Small game, or pheasant, licenses will rise $10 to $120 ($124 with agent fee). The license, as now, will be good for two five-day hunting periods.

Non-resident waterfowl licenses will rise by the same amount, also to $120, for a 10-day period.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat have been, or will be, lost in South Dakota, as grasslands, wetlands and other wild lands there are converted to row crops such as corn and soybeans.

Pheasant hunting in South Dakota this fall generally has been fair, with many opening day hunters reporting one bird to slightly more than that taken per day, on average.

Dennis Anderson, Star Tribune

In areas where habitat has been conserved, results have been much better. Curt Korzan, owner of Grand Slam Pheasant Hunts near Kimball, S.D., for instance, reports hunting on his operation, spreading over thousands of acres cultivated for pheasants, has been excellent.