IOWA BOWHUNTER FALL 2023/WINTER 2024

DNR NEWS Fall 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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