(Radio Iowa) The Iowa DNR is making changes to the way licenses are distributed for deer hunting after several years of getting input.
State Deer Biologist Jace Elliott says the change is for resident licenses. “Our new resident deer zone framework is probably the biggest change to our deer harvest framework in Iowa in almost 40 years,” he says. “We’re going away from a statewide general tag system in order to better serve the deer resource in areas where the population is limited and harvest vulnerability is very high.”
The Zone B counties. (DNR map)
The biggest changes impacts northwest Iowa. “So in Zone B, which is going to be eight counties in Northwest Iowa, the default general tag for residents will be antlered buck only. Whereas the other 91 counties throughout the state will pretty much be business as usual, getting that any sex general deer license,” Elliott says. Crawford, Ida, Lyon, O’Brien, Plymouth, Shelby, Sioux and Woodbury are the counties in the B zone.
Elliott says there are a variety of factors that have impacted the deer population in those counties, including disease outbreaks. “We can’t talk about the population declines in Western Iowa without talking about hemorrhagic disease. So we’ve had some pretty bad outbreaks in that part of the state in 2024, 2023. Luckily, last year, we, for the most part, got a break from the disease,” Elliott says. “But the fact of the matter is this part of the state is also sensitive due to having limited habitat. And so low habitat and habitat fragmentation makes those populations more vulnerable to things like disease.”
Elliott says they hope the northwest Iowa restrictions will help build the deer population back in those counties. “However, we can make five years of progress and hemorrhagic disease could come and set us right back. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to be done proactively about that disease. on a landscape scale,” he says. He says the restrictions on hunting are about the only thing they can do to try and help the deer recover.
Elliott says hunters will have to make a decision on which zone they want to hunt in. “Licenses are now going to be zone specific, meaning that zone A licenses can’t be used in zone B and vice versa. Hunters in zone B should also be aware that party hunting, or in other words, tag sharing is no longer allowed for residents or non residents,” he says. “Of course, deer drives and group hunting can still occur, you just have to shoot a deer for which you personally have a license for.”
Elliott says they held more then a dozen meetings over the last three years in Western Iowa to come up with the plan. ” We’ve had hundreds of hunters show up to these meetings. They’ve made their voice heard. They’ve worked with us. And ultimately, these changes we’re making were 95 percent supported by folks who came to those meetings,” Elliott says.
He says thanks to all of those who turned out to the meetings and gave their input to allow the DNR to work together with them to come up with a solution to this problem.
