The Legislature finds:

(1) The South Dakota Supreme Court, in Parks v. Cooper, 2004 SD 27 and Duerre v. Hepler, 2017 SD 8, held that the Legislature has the obligation to determine the extent of public use of water overlying private property for recreational purposes; and

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 41-23-1

  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Property: includes property, real and personal. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
  • Recreational use: except as otherwise provided by law, use for outdoor sporting and leisure activities, including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, swimming, floating, boating, and trapping. See South Dakota Codified Laws 41-23-2

(2) Because the state holds the waters in trust for the benefit of the public, the Legislature must balance the interests of recreational users and the rights of private property owners to provide a constitutionally sound and manageable basis for establishing public recreational use of water overlying private property in accordance with this chapter.

Source: SL 2017 (SS), ch 1, § 1, eff. June 12, 2017.