The final regular deer season ended Jan. 10 when the late season muzzleloader and the archery season closed. Deer hunters had reported taking nearly 113,000 deer at the end of the season which is about 4 percent lower than was reported last year at this time and about 21 percent below the reported harvest in 2006.

While the harvest is lower, the number of deer licenses issued during the regular seasons has stayed about the same since 2006.

“The reduced kill is a result of the reduced deer population,” said Dale Garner, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau. “Deer numbers in many areas are near the established goal. We continue to hear complaints from hunters that they did not see the number of deer that they had in the past and some are voicing their concerns that the herd reduction may have gone too far.”

Hunts for antlerless deer continue until Jan. 29, in select counties and urban areas. Even though licenses may be available, not all areas in these counties need the extra harvest, Garner said. Hunters need to work with the landowner where they hunt to determine if extra does need to be taken.

The DNR will review the harvest and population surveys after the seasons are complete in January and make proposals to reduce the deer kill and stabilize deer numbers. Reductions in the harvest were proposed in 2011 but not adopted.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Iowa Regular Deer Season Ends

Possible changes to hunting methods at Mines of Spain State Recreation Area will be the topic of a public meeting on Jan. 30. The DNR sponsored meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the EB Lyons Interpretive Center in the park.

The DNR would like to discuss and gather input on a proposal to discontinue shotgun hunting in Mines of Spain.  Archery hunting for deer, turkey and all other legal species would continue.

Since 1991, hunting with shotguns has been allowed in the park during specific seasons.  Archery hunting of all legal species is permitted in compliance with all open-season, license and possession limits. Shotgun and archery deer hunting has helped manage and control the deer population of the area.

While the deer population has steadily decreased, park use for other activities has increased, including winter hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, bird watching, photography and other winter activities.  The park hosts more than 250,000 visitors annually.

State park staff will be on hand to explain the proposal, answer questions and receive comments. The interpretive center is located at 8991 Bellevue Heights, just south of Dubuque on Hwy. 52 South.

Written comments will also be accepted. Send comments to: C/O Hunting; Mines of Spain Recreation Area; 8991 Bellevue Hts.; Dubuque, Iowa  52003-9214 or via e-mail at Mines_of_Spain@dnr.iowa.gov.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Hunting at Mines of Spain Recreation Area Topic of Iowa Public Meeting

The January antlerless deer season begins Jan. 11, for 42 counties, mainly in southern Iowa, and is the final deer season of the year. Even though there may be licenses left for a county not all areas in these counties need to have extra does taken. Hunters are encouraged to work with landowners to determine desired local deer population level and adjust their doe harvest accordingly.

Hunters are reminded that they will need to have a 2012 hunting license and habitat fee to participate in the season. The January antlerless season allows hunters to use shotguns, muzzleloaders, handguns and bows.  In the southern two tiers of counties, hunters may also choose a centerfire rifle, .24 caliber or larger. Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Party hunting is allowed during the January antlerless season. The season ends Jan. 29.

One concern voiced by hunters is that bucks that have shed their antlers are taken during this season. Hunters can avoid harvesting a shed antlered buck by passing up a shot at a lone deer and wait for does and fawns traveling together.

Hunters can use the HUSH program to donate any legally harvested deer to the Food Bank of Iowa, where the meat will help Iowans in need.

All deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered.  Accurately reporting the harvest is an important part of Iowa’s deer management program and plays a vital role in managing deer populations and future hunting opportunities.

For hunters with Internet access, the online harvest reporting is the easiest way to register the deer. Hunters can report their deer online at www.iowadnr.gov, by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Final Iowa Deer Season Begins Soon

Des Moines, IA – Deer hunters reported taking nearly 70,000 deer during the recently completed shotgun deer seasons. The kill is about 9 percent lower than what was reported in 2010 and about 30 percent below the reported harvest in 2006. The number of licenses issued for these seasons was about the same as in 2010 and 5 percent lower than in 2006.

“The reduced kill is a result of the reduced deer population,” said Dale Garner, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau. “Deer numbers in many areas are near the department’s objective and we are now encouraging hunters to be more selective with their harvest.

“We have been hearing complaints from hunters that they are not seeing the number of deer that they had in the past and some are voicing their concerns that the herd reduction may have gone too far,” Garner said. “My advice to those hunters is to work with the landowner to see if the deer population is at a desirable level and adjust the local doe harvest accordingly.”

The DNR will review the harvest and population surveys after the seasons are complete in January and make proposals to reduce the deer kill and stabilize deer numbers. Reductions in the harvest were proposed in 2011 but not adopted.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Iowa Deer Harvest Down

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever announce the hiring of five new Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists in Iowa, upping its total number in the state to 12. Among the five biologists, Buchanan, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Floyd, Howard, Jasper, Lee, Louisa, Marion, Mitchell, Plymouth, Polk, Sioux, Warren, Woodbury, and Van Buren Counties will now fall under Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist coverage. The additional positions come at an especially critical juncture for Iowa, where the state’s pheasant population is at a modern record low.

The new positions are the latest results in Pheasants Forever’s Reload Iowa effort, a statewide initiative to improve 1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state. Pheasants Forever’s 12 Iowa Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists work to provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers—through one-on-one consulting—regarding the benefits of conservation programs (such as the Conservation Reserve Program).

Randy Phelan will be located in the Le Mars Field Office and will cover Plymouth, Cherokee, Sioux and Woodbury Counties. Phelan recently retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where he had a long and productive career. His last position with the NRCS was as an Assistant State Conservationist in Montana. He most recently worked for the Plymouth County Conservation District and Resource Conservation and Development as a Contract Specialist. Phelan can be reached by Email.

Tyler Harms will be located in the Indianola Field Office and will cover Warren, Jasper, Marion and Polk Counties. Tyler is a recent graduate of Iowa State University, where he received both his BS and MS in Wildlife. Before deciding to focus on a career in private lands wildlife management, Tyler spent many summers with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a Water Patrol Officer. Harms can be reached by Email.

Dan Borchardt will be located in the Charles City Field Office and will cover Floyd, Chickasaw, Howard and Mitchell Counties. Borchardt will be transitioning from a Wetland Specialist position with the Bremer County Soil and Water Conservation District. He received his BS in Fish and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University and has considerable experience in fish and wildlife management. Borchardt can be reached by Email.

Chris Hiher will be located in the Manchester Field Office and will cover Delaware, Buchanan and Dubuque Counties. He comes to Pheasants Forever from a similar position with Pheasants Forever in Illinois, where he worked with conservation partners for nearly two years. Chris received his BS in Wildlife from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. Hiher grew up on a dairy farm in Northwest Illinois. He can be reached by Email.

Casey Bergthold will be located in the Donnellson Field Office and will cover Louisa, Des Moines, Van Buren and Lee Counties. Casey is a native of Northeast Missouri and holds a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a MS in Biology from Tennessee Technological University. He spent two years working as a biologist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, after which he relocated to Southeast Iowa in 2010. Since that time, he has worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University as a biological aide. He also served as an Earth Team Volunteer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Fairfield, Iowa. Bergthold can be reached by Email.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist program has, in just 9 years of existence, accounted for more than two million acres of habitat being created or improved for wildlife, and currently staffs more than 90 Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists throughout the country. For more information on the Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist program in Iowa, please contact Ginger Walker, Pheasants Forever’s Prairie Pothole Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Manager, at (712) 229-8275 or Email Ginger. For all other inquiries, please contact Rehan Nana, Public Relations Specialist for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, at (651) 209-4973 or Email Rehan.

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 130,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent, the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Pheasants Forever Adds Five Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Positions in Iowa

No sooner do Iowa’s shotgun season deer hunters hang up their gear, the late muzzleloader hunters head into the woods.

About 32,000 late season muzzleloader hunters don’t have to compete with the crowds of shotgun season, but they do face the prospect of colder weather and more snow during their December 19-January 10 season.

“With fewer hunters, the deer calm down. They key into food sources again; especially in colder weather,” outlines Tom Litchfield, deer research biologist with the Department of Natural Resources. “Hunters can have real good success setting up ‘on stand’ to monitor feeding areas or trails leading to and from them.”

For many with a muzzleloader, that means being obscure and in place before dawn or well ahead of sunset; as nocturnal whitetails travel between bedding areas and food sources. Most muzzleloaders have better range than a slug-firing shotgun. However, the downside is the single shot afforded. That is where stealth and location become prime considerations for the cold-weather crowd; who usually hunt alone…and who must tag the deer they shoot, rather than working with multiple hunters with ‘party’ tags to step in.

Late season muzzleloader hunters harvested 9,465 deer last year; 36 percent of them antlered bucks. The prospect of patterning a nice buck, intent on regaining body weight after the rut, is one of the attractions of the late season.

Plenty of antlerless tags are still available in northeastern and most southern Iowa counties. Unlike in past years, though, most of them are at or very close to target deer population levels.

“If hunting where deer numbers are noticeably lower–and the landowner feels numbers are down–hunters should be a little more judicious; backing off a bit on harvest of does,” suggests Litchfield. “However, if you hunt in an area with lots of deer yet, then you might still continue harvesting does, as you have the last two or three years.”

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Late Muzzleloader Deer Season Preview for Iowa

Licenses for the January antlerless deer season may be purchased beginning Dec. 15 for select counties. The season is open to all hunters regardless of any other deer licenses they have obtained.

The season is open Jan. 11-29. Hunters may use shotguns, handguns, muzzleloaders and bows, and center-fire rifles are also allowed in the southern two tiers of counties.

Hunters who are concerned about low deer numbers in the areas where they hunt should refrain from taking does in this season. Hunters should work with landowners to find areas where deer numbers are still higher than desired.

Licenses for the nonresident holiday season may also be purchased beginning Dec. 15. This season begins Dec. 24 and runs through Jan. 2. Hunters may use muzzleloaders, handguns or bows. Only antlerless deer may be taken.

These licenses may be purchased by nonresidents who did not obtain any other deer license this year as long as the nonresident antlerless quota for the county is not filled. This season is designed to allow nonresidents to come back and hunt with friends and family over the holidays.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Licenses for Iowa’s January Antlerless Deer Season on Sale Soon

Hunters have reported harvesting nearly 61,000 deer so far this fall which is about 10 percent fewer than last year.

Fewer deer were taken during the opening weekend of the first shotgun season due partly to less than ideal hunting conditions, but concerned hunters are commenting that they are seeing fewer deer across much of the state.

Iowa’s first shotgun season closes on Dec. 7. The DNR expects that 50,000 hunters will take the field for the second shotgun season which runs from December 10 – 18. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

In areas where deer numbers are down, hunters should work with the landowner to see if the deer population is at a desirable level. Hunters should refrain from taking extra does if deer numbers are reduced. In some areas deer numbers are still strong and can take the extra pressure. Hunters are the key to a properly managed Iowa’s deer herd.

Safety First

Blaze orange is required for hunters participating in the shotgun hunts and party hunting is legal. Hunters who hunt in a party should plan their hunt and hunt their plan. They should never shoot if they are unsure of what is beyond the animal they are harvesting. Hunters using blinds during the shotgun seasons are reminded that they are required to display at least 144 square inches of blaze orange that is visible from all directions (see p. 23 of the 2011 Hunting Regulations for more information).

Report Your Harvest

All deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered.  Accurately reporting the harvest is an important part of Iowa’s deer management program and plays a vital role in managing deer populations and future hunting opportunities. It is also required by law and officers will be checking to see if all deer have been reported.

For hunters with Internet access, the online harvest reporting is the easiest way to register the deer. Hunters can report their deer online at www.iowadnr.gov, by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor.

Tagging Antlered Deer

Hunters are reminded that antlered deer must have the transportation tag attached to the antler’s main beam, either at the base or between two points.

Youth Season Tags

Youth season hunters with an unfilled “any-deer” license from the youth deer season who did not harvest a deer are eligible to hunt during one of the two shotgun seasons. However, the youth hunter must follow the weapons restrictions that are in place during the season and be under the direct supervision of a licensed adult. A youth must harvest and tag their own deer.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Iowa’s Second Shotgun Deer Season Opens Dec. 10

Des Moines, IA - State wildlife officials will again be collecting deer tissue samples looking for the presence of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Iowa herd.The Iowa Department of Natural Resources began monitoring for the disease in 2000 and since CWD was found in Wisconsin and Illinois near the Iowa border in 2002, a majority of samples had been collected from counties along the Mississippi River.

Recent confirmed cases of CWD in a wild deer near Pine Island, Minn., and captive deer in Linn County, Mo., has the DNR increasing the number of samples from Howard, Mitchell, and Winneshiek counties in the north and Appanoose and Wayne counties in the south.

“Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in every state bordering Iowa but so far, we have not had a sample come back positive,” said Dale Garner, chief of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau.

Wildlife staffers have been collecting samples since September, but most of the samples come during the shotgun seasons when most of the deer are harvested. Garner said 94 percent of the tissue samples were from hunter harvested deer that were volunteered at check stations, hanging sheds and meat lockers. Samples are collected from every county, with a statewide goal of 4,500.

“Hunters have been our partners in this monitoring effort and we appreciate their willingness to work with us,” he said. Samples are sent to a USDA certified lab for testing.

What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic Wasting Disease is a brain disease that can infect deer, elk, and moose and is classed as a spongiform encephalopathy.  An abnormal protein agent, called a prion, causes normal proteins of the brain to take on a different shape and form microscopic holes in the brains of infected animals.  The disease is always fatal, although it may remain dormant within an infected animal for long periods of time.

In the later stages of the disease, animals will appear severely emaciated, lethargic, and display repetitive behaviors.  Excessive thirst and salivation, tremors, extreme behavioral changes, and drooping head and ears are also often displayed.

Anyone observing a deer displaying these symptoms should immediately contact the Iowa DNR.To date, there is no evidence that humans can contract CWD by eating venison.  However, the National Institute of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that hunters (especially hunters hunting in areas where CWD is known to occur) do not eat the brain, eyeballs, or spinal cord of deer, that hunters wear protective gloves while field dressing game, and bone out meat for consumption.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Iowa DNR Collecting Tissue Samples During Shotgun Deer Seasons

Des Moines, IA- The Iowa DNR expects that nearly 90,000 hunters will be heading to the woods and fields during Saturday’s opening day for first shotgun season. Iowa’s shotgun deer seasons are the most popular among hunters and account for more than half of all deer harvested.  Although hunters will still have good hunting opportunities they can expect to find fewer deer across much of the state. They may need to hunt a little longer this year to be successful. “Deer numbers in many areas are near the department’s objective and we are now encouraging hunters to be more selective with their harvest,” said Dale Garner, the DNR’s wildlife bureau chief.

“We have been hearing complaints from hunters that they are not seeing the number of deer that they had in the past and some are voicing their concerns that the herd reduction may have gone too far,” he said.  “My advice to those hunters is to work with the landowner to see if the deer population is at a desirable level and adjust the local doe harvest accordingly.”With the crop harvest being completed, good habitat conditions and a favorable weather forecast hunting conditions should be excellent in most of the state. However, in western Iowa, hunters may find that the summer-long Missouri River flooding has changed the deer distributions so they may need to adjust where they hunt.

 Safety First

• Blaze orange is required for hunters participating in the shotgun hunts and party hunting is legal. Hunters using blinds during the shotgun seasons are reminded that they are required to display at least 144 square inches of blaze orange that is visible from all directions (see p. 23 of the 2011 Hunting Regulations for more information).

Report Your Harvest

• All deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered.  Accurately reporting the harvest is an important part of Iowa’s deer management program and plays a vital role in managing deer populations and future hunting opportunities.

• For hunters with Internet access, the online harvest reporting is the easiest way to register the deer. Hunters can report their deer online at www.iowadnr.gov, by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor.

Tagging Antlered Deer

• Hunters are reminded that antlered deer must have the transportation tag attached to the antler’s main beam, either at the base or between two points.

Season

• First shotgun season is Dec. 3-7. Second shotgun season is Dec. 10-18. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

Youth Season Tags

• Youth season hunters with an unfilled “any-deer” license from the youth deer season who did not harvest a deer are eligible to hunt during one of the two shotgun seasons. However, the youth hunter must follow the weapons restrictions that are in place during the season and be under the direct supervision of a licensed adult. A youth must harvest and tag their own deer.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Iowa’s First Shotgun Deer Season Begins Saturday