Minnehaha County, SD Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Minnehaha County is at the epicenter of South Dakota's emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) infestation. EAB was first detected in Sioux Falls in 2018. Under SDCL Chapter 38-22 (Weed and Pest Control) and the SD DANR EAB quarantine, Minnehaha County is a quarantined area: ash logs, ash nursery stock, ash chips greater than one inch, and all hardwood firewood may not be moved out of the quarantine zone without a compliance agreement. This is enforced by SD DANR (danr.sd.gov) and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Penalty for moving regulated material out of quarantine: federal civil penalty up to $250,000 per individual / $500,000 per business under the Plant Protection Act. For endangered or threatened species (no native South Dakota tree is currently federally listed as endangered, but the western prairie fringed orchid and several other Minnehaha-County native plants are state-listed), SDCL §34A-8-10 requires a SD Game, Fish & Parks permit before removal, capture, or destruction — including incidental damage from land development. Violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor under SDCL §34A-8-12. The county itself enforces neither the EAB quarantine nor the endangered-species statute — both are state agency (DANR / GFP) and federal (USDA APHIS / U.S. Fish & Wildlife) jurisdictions. The Minnehaha County Animal Control Ordinance is breed-neutral per SDCL §40-34-16 but does not address plants. Cottonwoods (Populus deltoides), bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) — the dominant native trees of the lower James and Big Sioux River corridors in Minnehaha County — receive no special species protection on private land.