IOWA BOWHUNTER SPRING/SUMMER 2024

SPONSORS

The gear you need from the brands you trust. Home to brands such as Stealth Cam, Walkers, Cold Steel, Muddy, HME, Wild Game, Ameristep, Tenzing, Avain, Big Game, Flextone, NAP, and many more. www.gsmoutdoors.com Ph. 877-269-8490 email info@gsmorg.com

FEATURES

Sponsor Pages

inside cover, 2-7, 9 inside back

Bowhunter Spring Banquet

17

Bowhunter Page IBA Ballot 2024 DNR News Spring Youth Bowhunter

18-20

21

Editor’s Corner

2 4 6

24-26 27-28

President’s Message Featured 100% Club Do What You Love To Fight What You Hate DNR News Summer IBA Spring Banquet Bonker’s World Spring BONKER’S World Summer

IBA Related Information

29-31, 33, 35-36

8-9

IBA Application for Board of Directors IBA Spring Banquet Awards Application

10-11

32

12 13

34

14-15, 22-23

myaiashop.com

back cover

Fall Festival

16

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EDITORS CORNER NEWSLETTER October is when the next Iowa Bowhunter newsletter is due for distribution, so please get your articles, pictures, stories, and advertisements to me no later than September 15. Thanks for all the photos already sent in and keep up the good work. There’s always room on the Gut Pile page. Also, if you have a good picture for the front cover, feel free to send that to me and mark it to be used for the front cover. Please include a short caption of information with each picture. Pictures are not returned.

TO ALL AREA REPS (AND ALL MEMBERS) Our membership needs to be more informed on what is happening in all areas of the state of Iowa, as well as surrounding states. As an area rep, it is expected of you to supply information about your particular area to the rest of the membership. This is accomplished though articles in the Bowhunter. Please submit an article for each Bowhunter issue (four total) to the Bowhunter editor. Deadlines are shown in the editors corner of each issue. We’ll look forward to your input. If you have questions about your membership please use this address Corey Thorson, Treasurer 1648 Cordova Ave. Pella, IA 50219 641-780-5068 corey.thorson@pellaschools.org Any other questions or problems please contact any board member.

Jessica Graham 9502 Tyler Street New Virginia, IA 50210 515-601-0728 jessicagraham1776@gmail.com

SPONSORS

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SPONSORS

Nipigon River Bear Hunt

nipigonriverbearhunt.com bbearman@shaw.ca Moose, Bear, and Wolf Hunting ~ Fishing ~ Scenery and Wildlife ~ Photo Opportunities

Bob Bearman ~ 807-887-3801 or 807-887-2813 Box 400 ~ Nipigon, ON, Canada ~ POT 2JO

100 years of Sporting Tradition Since 1901, Boyt has provided rugged and dependable equipment, accessories, and clothing for all hunting and shooting enthusiasts. www.boytharnesscompany.com

www.scheels.com The Midwest’s largest selection of sports, sportswear, and footwear. Set your sights on the BEST GEAR this season. ~ Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines - 515-727-4065 ~ Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City - 712-252-1551 ~ Viking Plaza, Cedar Falls - 319-277-3033 ~ Coral Ridge Mall, Iowa City - 319-625-9959

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SUMMER ISSUE

Hello my fellow bowhunters, In my President’s message this time I would really like to stress our membership. At this time, we are sitting right at about 1,300 members. We usually hover right around that 1100-1200 mark so we have raised our membership a little. With over 50,000 bowhunters in the state of Iowa and only 1,300 of those are truly with us and helping to actively Protect, Promote, and Preserve our organization. The question is how do we get all of the Bowhunters in the state of Iowa to join our Association? In all my years on the board I have witnessed a bunch of different actions and trials to try to gain members, most of which had little success. The Iowa Deer Classic seems to help our membership every year to gain new members who have never heard of us before. So please, if you have any ideas on how to grow our membership, please

contact myself or any of the board members. You may also contact your local area representative. With summer well on its way here, the 3-D archery shoots will be popping up all over the state. Make sure to check the 3-D shoot calendar on our Iowa Bowhunters Association website, as well as on other social media pages. Please go out and support our 3-D shoots that are here in the state of Iowa. I hope to see you all out on some archery courses this summer. Remember to shoot straight and above all, have fun and enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends. See you Soon, Chase McDonald Chase McDonald President Iowa Bowhunters Association

SPONSORS

Archery Field & Sports Outdoor & Sporting Goods Company- Archery Range-Paintball Center Our professional staff has years of archery experience as well as certified training to provide the best learning experience possible. www.archeryfield.com 515-265-6500 3725 NE 56th St, Altoona, Iowa BUCK HOLLOW SPORTS Archery Pro Shop ~ www.buckhollowsports.com Large selection of archery supplies, guns, ammo, optics, trail cameras, muzzleloaders, and lots more for all your hunting and sporting needs. Boyd L Mathes ~ 641-628-4586 ~

Hours vary, so please call ahead. 776 190th Ave ~ Pella, IA 50219

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SPONSORS

(Our sponsors support and believe in the IBA, please support our sponsors)

DIAMOND ($10,000 and up) GSM Outdoors

PLATINUM ($5,000 - $9,999)

Infinito Safaris

Matlabas Game Hunters

GOLD ($1,000 - $4,999)

Archery Field & Sports Boyt Harness Company Buck Hollow Sports DK Custom Taxidermy Heritage 1865 Outfitters

Mankazana Safaris Raymond Bowhunters Riverside Casino & Golf Resort Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids Thaddeus Lake Lodge

SILVER ($500 - $999)

C&D Outfitters David Bennett HyVee Distribution Mike Robertson

Racks and Tracks Taxidermy Rockytop Ranch Scheels Tim Quinn

BRONZE (up to $499)

Bluff Creek Archery Clayton County Archers Dakota Ranch Outfitters Dan Krettek Denny Bradley Eyad Yehyawi Fin and Feather Ike Lind Jerry Dowell Jill German Creations JP Plumbing Mid Iowa Archers

Pj1Custom Woodworking Palo Outdoors Pine Lake Archers Pottawattamie Bowhunters Raw Metal Works Roger Bowen Scott Rolffs South Central Bowhunters of Iowa Stellar Sparks Candle Company Tammy’s Handbags and Apparel Taylor Photography Wapello Chiefs

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FEATURED 100% CLUB 100% CLUBS To all 100% clubs During the IBA March board meeting at the Spring Banquet it was discussed how to make things more affordable for our clubs where every single member of the club is an IBA member. With continued discussion at the June board meeting, the board thought this was an excellent idea and would be implemented soon. Here’s how it works. • Beginning January 1, 2023, dues will drop to $15 per member for all 100% club members (2 or 3 year discount does not apply). • Current membership dues of $25 remain for all other IBA members with the existing options of 2 or 3 year discounts.

• IBA treasurer will make sure all dues are accurate, any overpayment will be returned if necessary. • The IBA needs to grow their membership and hopefully this will encourage other non-100% clubs to become one. • Along with reduced membership rates, some other perks the 100% clubs enjoy are - individual newsletter section, 1/2 page ad in the newsletter for your shoot schedule, full page article describing your club (first come first served). Your IBA Board of Directors

Clayton County Archers Elkader, Iowa Hickory Ridge Bowhunters Pella, Iowa Pottawattamie Bowhunters Council Bluffs, Iowa Benton County Archers Luzerne, Iowa Blackhawk Archers Waterloo, Iowa Raymond Bowhunters Raymond, Iowa Pine Lake Archers Eldora, Iowa Wapello Chief Bowmen Ottumwa, Iowa

Atlantic Archers Atlantic, Iowa Mid-Iowa Archers Indianola, Iowa South Central Bowhunters Chariton, Iowa Southwest Iowa Bowhunters Clarinda, IA Echo Valley Archers West Union, IA Mohawk Archers Mason City, IA Riceville Archery Club Riceville, IA Border Brigade Archery Club Webster City, IA

Your IBA board has been contemplating what else we can do for the 100% clubs. Along with reduced member rates, member coupons, IBA Shootout participant, Iowa Games host, and individual newsletter section, we have decided to also include at no cost a shoot schedule for your club (no larger than one half page). Just get your schedule to the editor by the newsletter deadline and it will be included in the next issue of the Iowa Bowhunter.

Outdoors with Outdoors Dan Show 7 - 9 AM: Saturdays on 1350 ESPN Des Moines, Iowa www.outdoorsdan.com For Podcasts or to listen online just click to https://espndesmoines.com/outdoors-with-outdoors-dan/

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SPONSORS

Infinito Safaris and Double Lung Archery, Inc. www.doublelungarcheryinc.com

Join the “Hunt With Double Lung” group every June, or book you own hunt dates. Dave and Charl at Infinito Safaris make your dream hunt happen. LaPorte City, IA 319-342-4550 dave.stueve@gmail.com

MATLABAS GAME HUNTERS

www.matlabas.co.za Matlabas Game Hunters is committed to conservation and our strict management policies keep game populations at healthy numbers. We cater to all bow hunters, whether you shoot traditional, compound, or crossbow. Your adventure will not just simply be a visit to Africa, but Africa will become a part of you forever! Ph - (27) 878080861 or (27) 829000227 email - info@matlabas.co.za

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DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO FIGHT WHAT YOU HATE 4th Annual Target Trafficking 3D Archery Shoot SPONSORSHIP FORM

August 10, 2024 – 8 am - 6 pm August 11, 2024 – 10 am - 4 pm Sunday Worship @ 9am

Wings of Refuge is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Iowa that has a long-term safe home providing opportunities for healing and restoration to survivors of sex trafficking. Most people are aware of sex trafficking and feel helpless in knowing what to do about it. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by this injustice - you can help end sex trafficking by supporting survivors! Exploitation ends and freedom begins when a woman comes to live at Wings of Refuge. We absolutely love the Wings slogan, “Do What You Love to Fight What You Hate” so we are doing what we love (archery), to raise money to fight what we hate (sex trafficing)! There will be a 40 target archery course complete with concessions, contests, auction & raffle throughout the event. We invite you to choose a sponsorship level, make a donation or provide an auction item.

☐ Timber/Prairie Loop + 25 tickets ☐ Long Shot/Mid Shot + 15 tickets ☐ XXL 3D Target + 15 tickets

☐ Medium 3D Target ☐ Practice Range ☐ Food Sponsor ☐ Small Target ☐ Event Donation

$10,000 $5,000 $5,000 $1,000

$500 $400 $300 $250

☐ XL 3D Target + 4 tickets

☐ Large 3D Target

$750

$____

Name: ______________________________________________ Company Name: _ _________________________________

Address: _ _____________________________________ City: ______________________ State: _________ Zip: ___________

Phone: _________________________________ Email:_ _______________________________________________________ Thank you for your Sponsorship and Support! SEX TRAFFICKING ENDS WHEN YOU GIVE! More event details at TargetTrafficking.net

Mail sponsor form and check payable to Wings of Refuge to : Target Trafficking 14284 560th Ave.,Story City, IA 50248

For additional information contact: Susan Parker (515) 520-9932 susanparker@sparkersolutions.com Roger Parker (515) 708-0123 rdparker182@yahoo.com

www.wingsofrefuge.net

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DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO FIGHT WHAT YOU HATE (Cont.)

Benefits of Loop Sponsorship: • Banner with your company name & logo at the start of each 20-shot loop • Company name and logo on the front of the scorecard Benefits for all Sponsorship Levels: • Sign on the Course with Your Company Logo & Information • Company Name listed on our website • Company Name listed on the back of the scorecard and our website

• Company Name shared on social media • Opportunity to Have a Table at the Shoot

• Bring your own table, chairs, tent and workers • Set up will be anytime on August 9 between 8:00 am-6:00 pm or 7:00 am-7:30 am on August 10. Please contact us if you need to arrange a different time. • Opportunity to provide promotional items for our SWAG bags - Items with your company logo like pens, koozies, chap stick, etc. – or business cards, pamphlets or brochures. You can send those items to:

Target Trafficking 4284 560th Ave. Story City, IA 50248

And, without question, the greatest benefit to becoming a sponsor is the opportunity you have to impact the life of a woman recovered from sex trafficking.

SPONSORS

Heritage 1865 Outfitters www.heritage1865.com We specialize in upland bird hunts; but also have deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunts available. Travis Ewing ~ 641-344-1120 Russel, IA ~ email-barney@heritage1865.com

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BONKER’S WORLD SUMMER ISSUE

Well, it finally happened, I’m out of the spousal penalty box, and in record time too, it only three months. How was this minor miracle possible you ask? Let me tell you. My wife and I had gone to the Iowa Boys Basketball Tournament in Des Moines. We left home with sweet anticipation of rooting our favorite team on to a state title. What we came home with was a loss in the first round and the COVID. To clarify, my wife started feeling icky the day after we got home. Two days later she was feeling worse. She decided to try one of those free at home COVID test kits you could get through the mail. Being that I’m a retired health care professional I offered to help her with this arduous task. On a normal day my wife would have lovingly rebuffed my offer to help with the test, but the COVID weakens a patient’s ability to make good choices. She looked at me with COVID filled eyes and an “OK” croaked from her lips. First things first, I washed my hands. Why? Because it’s what you do, period. Second thing is I went online and printed off all of the necessary paperwork for her to sign so I would be held harmless in the case of a poor outcome related to the procurement of, the administration of and the procedures necessary to complete the test. Third thing is to get the patient or their

representative to sign something they don’t understand, which in this case was pretty easy, I simply signed it for her before the paper was even out of the printer. Moving on to the fourth thing, I checked the test’s expiration date, the expiration date was 1/1/2024, good to go, but right next to the expiration date were the words “Made In China”. Wait a second, the country that may or may not have caused the whole COVID thing also makes the test to detect it? Hmmmmmm, but that’s all I have to say about that. Fifth thing, I explained the procedure to the patient, “I’m gonna jam this swab up your nose until I can feel brain tissue,” while a true statement, this is not what you tell the patient, but this patient was my wife so I thought I could get away with saying it. Yeah, wrong thought. I gently obtained the sample, no brain, blood or boogers were seen on the swab, the swab was swirled in the reagent tube, the cap was placed on the tube and three drops were applied to the test. I set the stove timer for 15 minutes and got the hell out of there. I jumped in the truck and headed to work to un-break broken stuff. On the way my phone buzzed informing me I had a text message. Being the safe and conscientious driver that I am, I opted not to look at the message until I was in the parking lot at

the shop. I finally made it safely through the demolition derby also known as Iowa City traffic to the relative safety of the shop’s parking lot. Since I was no longer distracted by driving I read the text message. The text was from the patient, it simply stated “I’m positive.” Remembering the test was made in China I felt I better ask her “Positive for what? Are you pregnant?” Her reply to my text is unprintable in The Bowhunter. Over the years the editors have given me a lot of leeway but in this instance the reply, even though it is saved for all of posterity on my phone, shall remain forever unprinted. The shop I work for on a very part-time basis had already been through a couple rounds of the COVID. The last thing they needed was me causing another round, so I went home to take good care, well, as good of care as she would let me, of my wife. I put on my helmet, cinched the seatbelt as tight as I could, said a little prayer and re-entered the demolition derby. In the 40 minutes it takes me to get home from the shop my wife had already consulted with Dr. Google about the medication that is supposed to get a person over the COVID quicker, but she wanted a second opinion, so she called her primary healthcare provider. After the consultation with her primary healthcare provider’s

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BONKER’S WORLD SUMMER ISSUE (Cont.)

office, she elected to forgo the medication and just tough it out. I think it was on the seventh day of toughing it out that she was beginning to question her decision. What I don’t know though, since I was staying home with her was it the COVID or was it being stuck at home with me for that long that was making it seem worse. Finally on the morning of the eighth day she felt better. Unfortunately, her eighth day turned out to be my first day of the COVID experience. And no, there was no reciprocal agreement for her to administer my test. Lord knows she probes around in my brain enough as it is. I didn’t mess around, no consultation with Dr. Google, I went straight to my primary

healthcare provider, and contrary to popular opinion it isn’t a bourbon distillery in Loretto Kentucky. I started taking my Packedbylowbid the next morning. My course of the COVID, including losing my sense of smell, was much shorter than my wife’s probably because she takes much better care of me than I do of her, but the best part was the guilt of her giving me the COVID opened the door of the spousal penalty box and I am once again free to skate on the ice of marriage, thin as it may be. Ahhhh, the sweet, sweet smell of freedom! Kinda smells like bacon. You may be asking yourself why it took eight days for me to develop signs and symptoms

of the COVID. We were very meticulous about everything until one night I was particularly exhausted from my caretaking responsibilities, too exhausted in fact, to use my electric toothbrush so I grabbed my manual toothbrush from the cup it commingles with my wife’s everyday use toothbrush. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. As I write this, I’m 99% over the COVID and my turkey season starts in 18 days. My personal guide says despite a lingering winter there will be plenty of turkeys that will once again point and laugh at my feeble attempts at calling and plenty of “friends” at the cabin who will once again point and laugh at my feeble attempts to play euchre.

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DNR NEWS SUMMER ISSUE

are only reviewing and consolidating rules as directed by executive order 10 and not allowed to create new rules. So to be clear you CAN use and leave trail cameras out on private property and will be allowed this year to use them on public lands as well. However, this leads to the second controversy of the banning of cellular trail cameras in the state. Cellular cameras are legal to use in the state but not “in the aid of the hunt.” Since two-way communication has been illegal for some time cellular cameras and phones are not allowed to directly guide or aid in the hunting of game. This does not mean you cannot scout with them, but you cannot use them on public or private property to detect game or guide hunters while actively hunting. The final controversy of the trifecta is the usage of nonresident doe tags in party hunting. The law is very specific that nonresidents cannot place any tag on any deer they did not shoot themselves that does not have their name on it. That means that a nonresident can only harvest a deer with the tag issued to them. This is different than for residents that are allowed to “party hunt’ share tags during shotgun one and shotgun two seasons. I hope this clears up some of the internet confusion. If you are still unclear or have questions about these issues please call me or your local conservation officer and lets have a conversation before the season starts. I would like to also add that local staff and the state deer biologist are/have held a series of meeting in western Iowa to discuss deer numbers. With the added flooding this year I am sure the conversations will be beneficial. As we have discussed in the past not all deer habitat is equal and not all deer populations are the same across the state. This is why the Iowa DNR works so hard to get local input from Iowans about the deer herd. Also before I end this article please remember two more things as good steward of the deer herd. 1) Try and introduce someone to the sport by providing good ethical guidance and 2) please share your harvest with a friend or neighbor who may be in need. The deer herd is for all Iowans and when we share it helps everyone. I always enjoy talking about Iowa’s forest wildlife species. I am available for your questions anytime. Contact me at james.coffey@dnr.iowa.gov or send your questions to the IBA editor and I will do my best to answer them.

Jim Coffey- Forest Wildlife Biologist This quarters article will be of a different nature. I often talk about the biology of Iowa’s wildlife (mostly deer for obvious reasons), but today we will delve a little deeper into the other side of managing a public resource, regulations. This topic appears to be extremely timely since the internet is abuzz with how the DNR is secretively changing the rules. If you have been caught up in this controversy I apologize on behalf of the DNR and the internet. Let’s take a step back to how this all started. A little document was signed by the governor in January of 2023 called Executive Order 10. This document directed all state agencies to review the current regulations (administrative rules), and reduce contradictory wording and redundancy from the Iowa code (Law). Each state agency was given three years to review current rules for compliance of this order. The Iowa DNR broke its rules down into a three-year timeline as allowed by the order. We took the approach of eating an elephant one bite at a time to make it more manageable. As each chapter of the rules was reviewed it would go back through the regular rule making process and end up with a final vote at a natural resource commission session. The group is an appointed commission of private Iowa citizens that oversee the business of the DNR. That is the background. So specifically to the world wide web controversy. During the review of the rules, as ordered by the governor, it was determined that the only equipment that could be left on public land overnight were tree stands. Tree stands are specifically allowed in the rules to be left out seven days prior to the start of deer hunting season until seven days after the season ends on public lands. This was interpreted to mean no other equipment could be left on public lands. This would mean trail cameras could not be left overnight. Since this determination has created so much controversy it was interpreted that the DNR changed the rule. This is not the case the rule did not change. With the controversy came conversation and it has been decided to not enforce this rule differently this year than in the past until we can get a determination from the attorney general’s office as to how the rule should be enforced or should the language of the rule be clarified. This will take some time since we

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IBA SPRING BANQUET March 22nd, 2025 Save the Date

Keynote Speaker: Randy Cooling

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BONKER’S WORLD SPRING ISSUE

Today is a soup kinda day. It’s the first cold snap of the fall. Yesterday it was sunny and warm. Today it is cold, cloudy, rainy and windy. I should be thinking about sitting in a tree stand this afternoon, but by the time the white chicken chili soup works its way through my system it would be prime time. Even though the stand is a yardy (in my back yard) and the deer are used to some amount of human scent, they wouldn’t be used to the “scent” I’d be putting out. So what better thing to do on a soup afternoon than share more absolutely true and believable stories of Bonkers’ latest escapades. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this in the past, but just in case I, errrr, ahhhh, I mean YOU have forgotten; I’m not a good euchre player. A year ago it was suggested that Koko the talking gorilla would be a better euchre player than me, and my partner could do better with Koko. The thought struck me that getting a gorilla suit and wearing it at the cabin would be a great practical joke. Just in case you didn’t know this already, Amazon is a great place to find obscure stuff. There were plenty of gorilla suits to chose from. I picked the one I thought represented the spirit of Koko the best, the gorilla suit looked passive in appearance but aggressive in temperament. Just the right amount of passive aggressiveness needed for a top flight euchre player.

The question was, when do I put Koko on to achieve maximum surprise and effect? In a one room cabin it’s kinda hard to surprise anybody by putting Koko on if they are already there. I wouldn’t be able to put Koko on far enough away from the cabin not to be detected too early and ruin the “walking through the door” surprise, not to mention it’s really hard to walk in those feet and seeing through those eye holes. I would have tripped on the stairs for sure. I decided the best chance the joke had of succeeding was to leave the blind early and get to the cabin before they did. I hadn’t seen a turkey all day so leaving the blind early was an easy thing, especially when I had a clear and concise plan of action that included a cold beverage when I got to the cabin. The tricky part was to get there before they did, but not by too much. It was hot and Koko would make it worse. After climbing the Clayton County Alps, it was up hill both ways, I got to the cabin. The cabin was hotter inside than it was outside and man it was hot outside. I peeled my sweat soaked cammo off as I enjoyed a deep draught from a cold can of liquid refreshment that had never tasted so good. I donned Koko. The costume itself has ankle high feet, elbow length gloves and a head with a long neck, all of Koko’s pieces were covered in faux gorilla fur. I needed to wear jeans to cover me from the waist down, a long

www.iowabowhunters.org to hold Koko’s head in such a way that it necessitated Koko’s looking through the faux fur. Koko struggled and struggled to see and find the straws, but Koko could only find an old timey Bic sleeve shirt to cover me from the waist up and a Hawaiian shirt just for the final panache. Yeah, all that made it hotter still. It was time to sit in the cabin and wait. At least I had my can of not-as-cold-as-it-was-earlier beverage. I decided to take a sip. OK, first flaw in my clear and concise plan, I can’t sip, drink, chug, guzzle, slurp or enjoy my getting-warmer-by-the-minute beverage with the Koko head on and what if I take it off and I hear them walking up the stairs? It takes a minute just to get the Koko head back on then the long sleeved shirt over my sweat and then the Hawaiian shirt. A straw! I could use a straw! Looking back I think the heat was starting to effect me, or maybe it was the thin air of the Clayton County Alps, or the possibility exists it was a combination of the two, but I was sure my personal guide had a stash of old timey politically incorrect plastic straws in his cabin, none of those “green” paper straws for him, I just needed to find them. Second flaw in my clear and concise plan, I can’t see though the eye holes without holding the Koko head up with a Koko hand and a secondary flaw of the second flaw in my clear and concise plan was the faux fur on Koko’s hand. I couldn’t see through it but I had

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BONKER’S WORLD SPRING ISSUE (Cont.)

stick pen. Koko reasoned that if Koko took the pen apart it would make a dandy straw. Koko used the straw to taste the beverage. It was too hot so Koko got a cold beverage out of the cooler. Koko like! Koko also reasoned it was best to stay inside instead of going out on the porch where it was ever so much cooler, because it could expose Koko early and decrease the effectiveness of the surprise, plus Koko never wondered far from Koko’s beverage source. While Koko waited Koko made many trips to the cooler for beverages and practiced Koko’s euchre words: “two no,” “two no trump,” “inkle,” “three aces,” “drop the hammer,” “Bonkers, you are an idiot” “throw the hook Bonkers, throw the hook,” “Bonkers don’t lead the ace, the jack is higher,” “Bonkers, lay off the Makers”, “Bad Bonkers. Bad, bad Bonkers.” Finally Koko heard footsteps coming up the trail. Now was the time for Koko’s big surprise. But the footsteps slowed and stopped. Koko thought for a moment, “Koko stay or Koko go outside?” Then there were more sets of footsteps coming up the path and Koko felt fear, what if bad men come to take Koko back to lab? Koko no go back, Koko like freedom! Koko like using plastic straws, paper straws no good for Koko! The footsteps came up the stairs, Koko jumped for the door, Koko reasoned freedom was better

than going back to the lab, so Koko ran out the door knocking down Koko’s would be captors in the process. Koko vaulted over the railing and ran, up hill, but not very far before Koko felt a twinge in Koko’s bottom. Koko was able to take two more steps before Koko’s world went black. Koko slowly gained consciousness. Koko looked around and was relived to find familiar surroundings. Then three faces peered down at him. “Koko no go back. Koko no go back.” One of the faces said “Bonkers, I think you pulled a hammy.” Another face said “Bonkers, you drank all the beverages.” The third face said “Bonkers, you are an idiot.” I did indeed wear Koko that evening playing euchre. I honestly can’t remember who won, but I have an inkling it wasn’t Koko, nor his partner. The next day I was in the blind by mid morning, and exactly when “mid morning” occurs depends on who is defining it. There are some that would say “mid morning” is 0600, halfway between midnight and noon. I say mid morning starts at 1000. My point is I sat in the sensory sucking blind from mid morning until 1600 (4 pm for the time challenged) and I didn’t see a thing. I figured I had one more hour of sanity left so I went back to my book and started another chapter in a Donald Harstad novel.

made me look up to scan the area, and what did I see? Turkeys. Three toms were looking over my jake and hen. The toms were about 20 yards out and doing the slow heads up walk toward my decoys. I had a good look at all three and they were identical in size so I decided the first one to cross directly in front of me would get blasted. I stuck the gun out of the blind and pulled the trigger. The result was a dead turkey at 12 yards. I thought that would have been the end of the show, but his two buddies went to town on my jake and hen. I watched the spectacle for several minutes and got some of it on my phone. I wanted to be done for the day so I stumbled out of the blind just to scare them off. Even then they stood and stared before I shooed them away. I gathered my prize and walked back up the same mountain I had walked up to get to the blind. Of course once I caught my breath and the chest pains subsided it was picture time so I put on Koko to preserve the moment for all posterity. About three months after turkey season it was time to head to Canada. When I arrived at my personal guide’s place I expected to see Fearless in the driveway all hooked up and ready to go. But there was a different van hooked to the trailer. My personal guide met me in his driveway. He could tell

cont. on page 22

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IBA BALLOT 2024 This ballot is intended to be used by members who are unable to attend the Fall Festival. This is a ballot for new board members and existing board members with expired terms. There will be ballots available as usual at the Fall Festival. All ballots, both mailed and cast on site, will be counted at the Board of Di rectors meeting in September.

Vote for up to 9 candidates: Corey Thorson - re-election Randy Taylor - re-election Jim Colwell - new Nathan Graham - new Larry Newendorp - new Dave Hoffman - new Loren Wakeman - new C hris Erikson - new Phillip Garlich - new

-------- Write in_________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VOTE PLEASE EMAIL VOTE MUST BE EMAILED NO LATER THAN AUGUST 1.

Thank you for participating.

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BONKER’S WORLD SPRING ISSUE (Cont. from page 15)

by the look on my face that I had questions or I had eaten gas station sushi. I said “Just because Fearless was under powered, drove like crap and had iffy air-conditioning doesn’t mean it needed to be replaced.” My personal guide being a man of few words simply said “Yes it does.” “But Fearless was so comfy.” “So is this one.” “But Fearless was so pretty.” “You’ll get over it.” At 0300 the next morning I literally slid into the front seat and almost out of it. I think my personal guide’s use of ArmorAll could have been a bit more judicious. As soon as I was able to slide back in place I buckled up, more just to keep from sliding out of the seat than for safety. Then we were off. Off not very far off though, we stopped a mile of so up the road to pick up my personal guide’s neighbor. That first mile was OK, but too short to form an opinion and come up with a name for the van, but I still had 13 hours to make up my mind, both on a name and if this van was an acceptable replacement for Fearless. For the next few hours the miles rolled smoothly under the tires. The van was pretty comfy, the seats soft yet supportive, the electronics included two CD players, a DVD player and a VCR. It was still too early to say about the AC because it was still cool outside. I wouldn’t be able to evaluate the power until it was my turn to drive.

Another hour or so down the road it was our first gas stop. I took over the piloting duties. I always drive from just north of Minneapolis to International Falls. This distance will give me a good idea of the van’s power and how it drives. Fearless was indeed a little weak on power and “a little” is being generous. I sat in the drivers seat. This time I was ready for the slippery seat. I buckled in, adjusted the seat, mirrors and climate control. We were once again headed to Canada. I turned onto the on ramp and started accelerating to merge into heavy traffic. I saw an opening and gave the gas pedal a full stomp. With horns blaring and fists waving the van leapt into the small opening. OK, the new van seems to have plenty of get up and go. The van handled the interstate well. It kept up with and even passed some traffic. It rode smooth and I even forgot that the trailer was there. The car I had just passed accelerated to pull even with the van. The passenger was hanging out of his window and the driver’s arm was extended well above his roof, both were giving me the single finger salute. My passengers saw them and wondered what had caused their behavior. I suggested maybe they just didn’t like Iowans, but the truth probably was I may have cut back into the lane, in their opinion, a little too soon. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear, especially

when you can’t see the short trailer in the mirrors. We came to the end of the four lane. Now I was going to see how much power the van really had. As usual in Minnesota I got behind someone who didn’t know that pushing on the skinny pedal enabled their vehicle to go faster. I finally came to a flat and straight piece of highway. Was it long enough for me to get around him? I could see an on coming car in the distance, but I once again stomped on the gas. I felt the tension in the van rise as I pulled out to pass. The van down shifted and picked up speed, the opposing car flashed his lights at me, I flashed mine at him. The van continued to pick up speed, the tension in the van picked up speed as well. The back of the van was even with the slow roller and was still gaining speed. I thought I heard someone in the back reciting a Hail Mary. My personal guide who was trying to take a nap woke up. The van had up shifted and was almost maxed out for speed. I saw the nose of the oncoming car dive indicating he was braking hard. The trailer, that I couldn’t, cleared the nose of the turtle driver and I returned to my own lane with plenty of room, in my opinion, to spare. We met the on coming car and they too must not have liked Iowas and were giving us the Minnesota welcome. There was a collective sigh of relief

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in the van followed by loud admonishments not to drive like a poopy head. The good news was the van stayed nice and cool inside despite my best efforts to heat things up. We made it to International Falls without any further, what my passengers would call “incidents,” or Minnesota welcome waves. I pulled into the usual fill up spot and slid out of the drivers seat. I noticed my passengers kissing the ground and looking a little green around the gills. Well, you no longer need to be fearless to drive the van, just fearless to ride in the van while I am driving. It was comfy, it was mostly quiet except for the unheard comments about my driving skills, it was cool on a hot day and it was acceptable. So the new van shall henceforth and forever be known as Fearless V2.0. Crossing the border was easy, we made our usual stops at the Beer Store and the bait shop. Then the last five hours of the drive were uneventful. We dropped our stuff off at the fly in base, checked into the motel and met in the restaurant for our usual double chubby cheese burgers. It was good to be back up north. We had six people on this trip. To say the fishing was fantastic would have been an understatement. Wherever we stopped we caught fish.

Of course some places were better than others, but there wasn’t a bad spot on the lake. There wasn’t any bear sign, there weren’t any forest fires in the immediate area and the mosquitoes were manageable. As usual our stay was much too short ,but we had a second trip planned for the end of August. The end of August found me once again in my personal guide’s driveway loading my gear into the trailer that Fearless V2.0 would pull north. My personal guide admonished me once again not to drive like I did on the way up a few weeks earlier. When it was my turn to drive I behaved myself secure in the knowledge that the power was there if I needed it. We went to the same lake as the first trip, which may have become our forever lake. There were only four of us this time. “Bill,” I called him Bill because I couldn’t remember his real name, was a first timer. As usual the first timer had the best luck. The water had dropped just about three feet from the first trip making the fishing a little tougher except for Bill. The fishing may have been slow for three of us, but Bill was stacking them up. Well, compared to the first trip anything would have been considered slow, but Bill was hauling them in like we were a few weeks earlier. I did catch a bright blue walleye. We had caught them before in this lake but not nearly as full

body blue. The others may have had a tail or top fin that was blueish, but this one was bright blue. What makes them blue? Beats me, but I know they aren’t blue because they are cold. It was hot up there this time, not everyday, but some of the days were in the high 80’s. For that far north at that time of year, that’s hot. Now it’s time to get ready for deer camp. Will Koko make an appearance? Only Koko knows for sure and Koko isn’t talking. So be safe, be successful and above all; be happy that you are hunting.

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DNR NEWS SPRING ISSUE

opportunities that tend to have a higher experience satisfaction rating. The DNR is taking in as much information as we can collect to manage a deer herd that maintains its heath, provides good access and provides good experiences. Next time you are thinking about going hunting move it to the top of your list and go, because when you do go hunting you may be providing someone else an opportunity as well. We did have one question this quarter about the relationship between coyotes and deer and more specifically populations. I’ll try and answer this dynamic question in as few words as possible. Population estimates for both animals are extremely difficult to calculate and usually do not provide the data people think they should. The Iowa DNR rather looks at populations trends, meaning does the population seem to be going up or down or is stable. We then try and balance this trend out with what the public wants on the landscape. Obviously all parts of the state are not equal in trends and expectations of either animal. We use a couple of techniques for monitoring the trends of both animals. We use spring spotlight surveys and of course the fall bowhunter survey as primary ways to collect numerical data. Deer especially in southern Iowa and many other counties are stable to increasing. The increased doe tags are an indication of those counties where we would like to see the population moving towards a downward or stabilizing trend. Coyotes as well have been trending up in some areas and down in others. This bowhunter survey data can be found at the following link (https:// www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/ trends/observation_2022.pdf) or just type Iowa bowhunter survey in your search browser. You’ll see the trends of all the species recorded in this survey broken down into nine agricultural regions. Remember this is one survey and it does have flaws like all surveys do, but we look at trends not one year’s worth of data. In terms of coyote and deer biology, there have been many recent studies showing the impacts that coyotes can have on local deer numbers. I remind you of my

Jim Coffey- Forest Wildlife Biologist Well I have waited to the last minute to write the DNR update for the IBA. Imagine how I feel having had a month to get this done. I always have good intentions of being done ahead of time, but something always seems to be more pressing or life just gets in the way. We have several topics to discuss this quarter but I am going to take advantage of my procrastination to let you in on a little secret (WE ALL PROCRASTINATE). Some people have lists that keep them on track others are just go getters and seem to always be ahead of the game, but in general good intentions usually still result in “just in time” delivery. Let’s put this into perspective in the deer hunting world. Many of you have been tuning bows, target shooting, setting up stands and some of you may have even gone out on the first day of the season. I’ll bet some of you wanted to go out but something came up, any excuse (even 90 degree weather), but eventually you will try to get a few days in the stand. One common concern the Iowa DNR perennially hears is about the lack of access or no place to hunt. The DNR has little control over access to private lands and we do our best to provide a good hunt to people on public lands but one thing we can do is to implement regulations to help with the access. We know that in general access to land means access to deer and access to deer means increased harvest (hopefully does in the right areas). There is more and more push from certain hunting communities to make tags “good until filled,” but what we forget about is the human side of this argument. People are known procrastinators. If we are always “going to go next weekend” this means someone else may not have a chance to go at all. Sometimes regulations need to be looked at beyond the individual person, and beyond the general biology of the animal. What State agencies have learned over the years is multiple shorter seasons tend to increase harvest. This technique puts some urgency into filling that tag and gives hunters less time to procrastinate. When hunters are done with their season it opens land up to another hunter and provides additional

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old saying - we do what is easy and accessible and in this case coyotes eat what is easy and accessible. The majority of coyote diet is mice, has been and always will be. If fact some studies show up to 90 of the diet is small rodents. What studies also show is that when fawns are on the ground for the first days of their lives they can be “easy and accessible.” This is the main reason why does leave their fawns unattended. This is an evolutionary response to protection of the young deer. What deer biologist also know is that healthy deer populations tend to have their fawns all about the same time. This technique floods the system and coyotes cannot take advantage of these vulnerable fawns for a very long period of time. When deer seasons and population become askew the fawning season is draw out over a longer time frame and makes more fawns available to coyotes. Once the fawning season is over the coyotes will shift quickly back to rodents because they are easy and accessible. Coyotes can also have an impact on stressed deer during the winter time. Deep snows are crusted snows may hinder movement of deer while coyotes are

still able to hunt successfully and take advantage of this limited opportunity. Hope that answers the question and please send me another. EHD - The Iowa DNR annually looks at the range and distribution of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in Iowa and around the Midwest. With the extreme drought we have all been experiencing this year people have been calling the office wondering how bad it was going to be. It appears that the drought and hot weather did not show a marked increase in most parts of the State. This may be because the drought happened early and many of the midges breeding areas were too dry. We did see an uptick in reports later in September. To date we have had about 230 suspect reported cases and a few confirmed cases (we do not test every animal submitted). Most counties reported only a small number of cases, however it does appear that southeast Iowa seems to be the area with the highest outbreak. EHD tends to show up in one area of the state at a time and it can be several years before it will show up in that area again due to some immunity build up in the whitetails.

Suspect HD Reports - 2023

Worth

Lyon

Osceola Dickinson Emmet

Kossuth Winnebago

Mitchell

Howard Winneshiek Allamakee

1

Sioux

O’Brien

Clay

Palo Alto

Hancock Cerro Gordo

1,876 Total Reports (11/24)

Floyd

Chickasaw

6

4

Fayette

Clayton

1 130

Plymouth

Cherokee Buena Vista Pocahontas Humboldt

Wright

Franklin

Butler

Bremer

2

3

6

6

2

Buchanan Delaware Dubuque

Black Hawk

Webster

Woodbury

Ida

Sac

Calhoun

Hamilton Hardin

Grundy

3

3

6

1

8

7

1

7

13

1

Benton

Linn

Jones

Jackson

Tama

9

Monona

Crawford

Carroll

Greene

Boone

Story

Marshall

7

4

9

7

15

3

1

5

6

2

Clinton

4

Cedar

Poweshiek

Iowa 69

Johnson

Harrison

Shelby Audubon Guthrie 4 34 50

Dallas

Polk

Jasper

13

9

24

44

2

22

3

Scott

1

Muscatine

10

Mahaska

Keokuk Washington

Pottawattamie

Cass 31

Adair

Madison Warren

Marion

11

13

47

24

9

55

129

2

Louisa

52

HD Reports 0 1-15

Mills

Montgomery Adams

Union

Clarke

Lucas

Monroe

Wapello Je erson

Henry

1

48

21

35

29

20

48

36

68 163

Des Moines

20

Freemont

Page

Taylor

Ringgold

Decatur

Wayne Appanoose

Davis

Van Buren

Lee

24 120 182

30

54

5

6

1

5

16-30 31-60 61+

22

The county mortality reports help serve as an index to outbreak intensity & do not represent a total mortality estimate.

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