GFP approves pets in cabins, lodges

No one spoke in favor or against the proposal to allow pets in cabins and lodges during Thursday’s Commission meeting at RedRosa Conference Center in Pierre. The commission also set the pet fee at $10 per reservation.

Scott Simpson, director of Parks and Recreation for Game, Fish and Parks, told commissioners he favored the proposal.

“As this thing matured and we had those conversations and comments, I have become more of an advocate,” Simpson said. “There would be some facilities left pet-free for folks with allergies and personal preferences.”

Pets have never been allowed at the state-owned cabins and lodges developed in the late 1980s. available year round, cabins are rented 100 to 150 nights a year, or about 50 percent of the time.

Al Nedved, deputy director for the department’s Division of Parks and Recreation, recently told the Capital Journal the occurrence of pet ownership and people traveling with pets continues to increase. Talking to partners in the hotel industry, it’s become more and more of an accommodation to allow pets to be in lodging facilities.

According to the American Pet Products Association, 37 percent of pet owners take their animals on trips, compared to 19 percent about 10 years ago.

“We get a lot of hunters in the fall and this gives a chance to look at what makes sense for our travelers,” Simpson said. “It gives us a lot of options. I think it’s the right thing moving forward to allow pets in park facilities.”

Commissioner Stephanie Rissler was pleased with the proposal.

“I think families will be in support of this,” Rissler said.

If there are damages or anything beyond normal cleaning, the department can seek restitution from the renter for those costs.

A standard four- to five-person furnished cabin costs $55 a night and includes heating, air conditioning, electricity, fire grate, picnic table and a porch. It does not have a bathroom, running water, linens or kitchens.

A modern cabin with multiple rooms, including a bathroom, rents for $120 to $150 at Oahe Downstream and $150 at Spring Creek Recreation Area. The number of bedrooms, kitchen facilities and other amenities vary by unit.

Game, Fish and Parks is proposing remodeling group lodges in the Spring Creek Recreation Area. Right now, the lodges featuring four suites and a common area are rented only 25 nights a year.

“That style is not very popular because it forces people who didn’t know each other to intermix and they do not have kitchen facilities,” Nedved told commissioners.

The plan calls for remodeling the lodges into three-bedroom cabins with a kitchen, which would be rented for $205 a night, he said.