Spring 2026

DNR Well, we are in the midst of the spring turn over. Geese are flying north, turkeys are gobbling and deer are shedding the 2025 antlers. Next thing you know I’ll behind on my lawn mower service and garden planting. What this all really means is that the wheel keeps spinning. It has been an eventful few months for the DNR. The 2025 deer season ended with good harvest numbers, (check your local area) but also continues to add additional questions to the future of deer in Iowa. We will tackle a couple of topics in this article. It is always good to hear what people are seeing and what they are thinking about when it comes to Iowa’s wildlife. The DNR just wrapped up its annual hunter listening sessions from around the State. If you had a chance to participate, Thank you. If you could not participate please reach out and let us know your opinions on how rules are impacting the way you hunt your favorite species. What we have learned from past meetings is that Iowan’s are heavily in favor of the removal of trail cameras from public land. This is very likely a rule change that will be addressed this year and potentially in place by this upcoming fall season. Rule changes take time and there is a process, we will do our best to keep you informed. The second big thing to be aware of is the rezoning of Iowa’s deer season. If this is news to you then listen up. Through a series of meetings across western Iowa over the last two year’s the public has expressed a deep concern for the low deer numbers in that part of the State. This fall a new deer zone will be created “Zone” B that will have different rules than in the past. Instead of one general deer zone for the whole State we will have 2 zones ( A and B). Zone A will see little change, other than some western counties will have the

first season gun restricted to bucks only. Zone B will however be buck only for all seasons, with a few exceptions for youth, disabled and landowners. Sounds radical to some, but this is no different than how we used to manage deer back in the 70’s and early 80’s. I know I am aging myself and hence when I started the article we were talking about the wheel spinning or making a full circle (if you catch my analogy). With this rule change we would expect to see the deer population start to rebound in the western counties in the next few years. Remember this is like turning a ship, slow and paced gets us to our destination. We are also continuing to track the spread of chronic wasting disease. Through the 2025-2026 season we have detected CWD in 40 of Iowa’s 99 counties. If you are interested in more details I would refer you to the DNR webpage for updated maps. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease reports were very low across the State this year. That information can also be located on the DNR deer health webpage. The take home message is we are all in this circle together to manage the resources we all cherish. Do your best to keep us informed and we will do the same for you.Let’s have great conversations about the future of Iowa’s deer plan and keep this circle rolling for a long time. 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.

Percent Change in 5 Year Average Buck Harvest Percent Change < -20%

-20% to -10% -10% to -5% -5% to +5% +5% to +10% > +10%

IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

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