Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: South Dakota
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

South Dakota About Us


Collage of photos including a mountain lion, a telemetry study, mallard ducks ad a sturgeon.

The U.S. Geological Survey, South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is jointly supported by the U.S. Department of Interior, South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks, South Dakota State University, the Wildlife Management Unit, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The Unit is associated with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at South Dakota State University which is housed in the Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory.

Most of the Unit's research projects are field-oriented and are conducted by graduate students under the supervision of Unit scientists, other university professors, and agency biologists. Most research focuses on fish and wildlife ecology in the Prairie Pothole Region of the upper Midwest, with an emphasis on ecosystem management in agricultural settings.