Deer populations have been a hot topic in the past 10 years here in Iowa.  Whitetailed deer were at one time nearly decimated in Iowa.  In 1936 the deer population was estimated to be between 500 and 700 animals in the entire state.  In fact, the first modern hunting season for whitetail deer was not held until 1953 when the deer population was only 10,000 statewide. 

Today Iowa is well known amonst sportsmen and women as the premier state for the trophy whitetail hunting.  Today's estimated deer population runs between 200,000 and 300,000 statewide with less than half the population being harvested each year.  With the number of hunters declining and despite the best efforts of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources the number of deer has climbed to an all time high.  This becomes a concern for many reasons but some of the primary causes for concern are crop damage and automobile accidents with the animals.

Iowa's number one tool for controlling the deer population is obviously deer hunters and each year the state's population is analyzed and a number of harvest tags is derived from the deer census.  Each year the state issues a certain number of doe tags for each county.  Once that number of tags has been purchased for that county no additional tags are sold.  Iowa also allows 6000 non-resident deer hunting tags to be sold by lottery each year.  Many more people than the 6000 apply but not all are successful in being drawn for a tag.  In fact the 2008 drawing had over 11,000 applications.

In Iowa you will hear many people say we have to many deer.  Does this mean we have to many deer?  Nobody knows yet but with so much at stake that the Iowa state legislature has passed a law this year forming the Iowa Deer Study Advisory Committee.  This committee will be formed by each of the following organizations nominating one person to the committee.

• Iowa Association of County Conservation Boards
• Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
• Iowa Farmers Union
• Iowa Conservation Alliance
• Iowa Bow Hunters Association
• Whitetails Unlimited
• Iowa Hospitality Association
• Iowa Restaurant Association
• Iowa Meat Processors Association
• Iowa League of Cities
• The Department of Transportation
• Iowa Woodland Owners Association
• Iowa Insurance Institute
• Iowa Realtors Association
• Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club
• Iowa Environmental Council
• Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association
• Director of the Iowa DNR (Chairperson of the committee)
• Secretary of Agriculture
• Director of Economic Development
• 2 members of the Iowa Senate
• 2 members of the Iowa House

This committee is tasked with the following responsibilities. 

Review, analyze and make recommendations on issues relating to the state's deer population including but not limited to

• The current status of Iowa's deer population, harvest and population management programs
• The economic impact and value of Iowa's deer population
• The cost of damage to crops caused by deer
• The number and cost of motor vehicle accidents caused by deer
• A review of the deer management challenges and programs of other Midwestern states
• An assessment of public opinion concerning the number of deer, and the impact and value of Iowa's deer population

When the Iowa Deer Study Advisory Committee has been formed, completed its research and drafted a report it will then return that information back to the Governor and Legislature with recommendations on Iowa's deer population.  This will all happen very quickly as the final report is due back to the legislature in January 2009.  While it does not seem reasonable to me that solid recommendations can be formulated in that short of a time frame the final paragraph of the bill reads like this

"The advisory committee shall complete its deliberations in December 2008 and submit a final report to the governor and the general assembly summarizing the committee's activities, analyzing the issues studied, and including any other information or recommendations that the committee deems relevant and necessary by January 10, 2009."

That last paragraph states "and including any other information or recommendations that the committee deems relevant and necessary" which leaves open the ability to make nearly any recommendation to the legislature.

I've spend alot of time discussing this issue with my good friend and Wildlife Biologist Cory Behr and formulating my own thoughts about all of these issues.  I live and work in the deer hunting world on a daily basis and I'm well aware of the strong opinions on each side of the issue.  Since the majority issue I deal with is resident v. non resident hunting I'm going to focus on that. 

Non-residents of Iowa want to come hunt deer in Iowa, and Iowa's resident hunters want to protect the valuable resource for fear of loosing it.  Really what I just said was, they don't want them to have the ability to hunt here.  Both factions have fought back and forth over the years and Governor Chet Culver has been the first Governor to take the issue seriously and make everyone sit down at a table, gather facts, and consider the facts about Iowa's deer population.  Its sad that this group will be given only a few months to make some very lasting recommendations.  This study committee has the potential to completely change the face of Iowa's deer hunting forever.  When things have changed there is nearly no chance of of changing them back so I hope their deliberation is careful and considerate of all those involved.

I've been asked many times where I stand and where I come down on the issue.  I sell Iowa hunting land for a living so most assume I'm in favor of allowing more out of state hunters to come to Iowa and hunt, after all they will want to buy the product I have to offer.  My answer remains the same, I want to see the facts and the final report of the committee before I know where my opinion will land.  At this point I don't have enough information to have a thoughtful opinion on the matter, and for that fact I don't think anybody has enough information or the State of Iowa would not have had to form this committee in the first place.

I do welcome the ability to finally have a civilized discussion on the matter and a group that will gather, research and analyze the facts needed to make any recommendations of lasting changes that will be made.  In the end I want the decision to be good for Iowa and our sporting traditions here.  Iowa is a big name in the deer hunting world and I'm proud of the resources we have here.  I'd rather never sell another farm in my life than jeopardize our natural resources, but if its determined that allowing additional non-resident hunting is good for Iowa's natural resources I'll be right there to open the doors for our good neighbors from the other states. 

Even though I've concentrated much on the resident v. non-resident hunting issue in this post it should be noted that is only a small part of the issue or potential recommendations that could be made from this committee.  Other recommendations I see or have discussed with others I will summarize below potential changes that could be made in control of Iowa's deer.

• Making Iowa an "Earn a Buck tag" state where resident hunters are first required to harvest a doe before being allowed to hunt for bucks.
• Increasing the area rifles are an allowable weapon
• Allowing non-resident landowners tag rights equal to a residents rights.  This would allow those that are not residents, but own land in Iowa the ability to get tags each year rather than to participate in the lottery.
• Allowing landowners to sell their landowner tags to non-resident hunters like other states do
• Extending seasons, opening seasons earlier
• Creating private landowner - hunter cooperation programs

Finally, I want to bring some perspective to Iowa's deer numbers.  Iowa is 56,272 square miles which translates into a total land mass of 36,014,080 acres in the entire state.  An acre is almost exactly the size of a football field.  With the estimated population numbers from above of between 200,000 and 300,000 deer in the state, figuring right in the middle at 250,000 deer that means we have 144 acres for every deer.  That means there are are 4.4 deer per square mile which is a square with each side equalling one mile. 

If you have information you feel would be helpful to the study group I'd suggest you contact any of the groups listed above to speak with them or their nomination to the committee.  This has the ability to be a period of drastic change for the Iowa deer hunter and I'd suggest if you have something to say do it now!