PIERRE - A tiff between a Colorado television production company and the South Dakota Office of Tourism spilled over into a hearing of the Joint Appropriations Committee.

The disagreement was over pheasant-hunting shows.

On Monday, several members of the committee questioned Office of Tourism director Billie Jo Waara about e-mails they had received, indirectly, from Chris Dorsey, president of Orion Multimedia.

Orion produces hunting and fishing documentaries for outdoor cable channels. Dorsey said Tuesday that his company produces 290 shows a year. "We're the largest producer of outdoor programming in America," he said.

Dorsey was angry about the way tourism officials turned down his proposal to promote South Dakota hunting at the end of documentaries about pheasant hunting.

Previously, the Office of Tourism had helped the company make contacts in South Dakota, and Waara told lawmakers that the state also paid some of the company's expenses - including airfare, lodging and meals.

Dorsey said that last year, his company evaluated the cost of producing television shows in South Dakota and the benefit he believes South Dakota gets.

Orion offered two different proposals. Each would cost $25,000. Orion would have added a seven-second promotional message at the end of documentaries.

Waara said she turned down the request because the benefit to the state did not justify the expenditure. Waara also emphasized she hoped to work with Orion again.

Dorsey said South Dakota has promoted pheasant hunting well. "No state has better lodge infrastructure," he said. But other states pay bigger portions of the cost of production. "Kansas is right next door to us," Dorsey said. "I've got to make a business decision."

Dorsey e-mailed lodge owners in South Dakota, describing his complaint and warning it would be more difficult to work in South Dakota. He said someone apparently forwarded his e-mail to lawmakers.

"He is upset," Waara told lawmakers.

The Office of Tourism spends about $200,000 to $250,000 a year promoting outdoor fall activities in the state, including pheasant hunting.

South Dakota outdoor writer and producer Tony Dean, who has made many documentaries about hunting in the state, said he had never been paid, though the Office of Tourism had been a sponsor of his program.

Dean questioned whether the state should spend anything to promote pheasant hunting in South Dakota. "That's the one thing we DON'T have to promote in South Dakota," he said. "I bet I field 500 requests on my Web site in August alone."

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com