November 13, 2009

1. November Antlerless Deer Season Licenses on Sale Nov. 14
2. Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants Awarded to Rural Fire Departments
3. Green Valley State Park to Close During Special Deer Hunt
4. Trout Heading to Lake Petoka on Nov. 24

November Antlerless Deer Season Licenses on Sale Nov. 14

DES MOINES - Licenses for Iowa's three-day November antlerless deer season go on sale Nov. 14, in participating counties where the antlerless only licenses have not sold out. The November antlerless season is Nov. 27, 28 and 29 and is open to Iowa residents only.

Licenses will remain on sale until either the quota fills or the season ends. Hunters who want to participate in the season should note that these licenses are valid on private land only, which is a change from previous years.

"Hunters have done a great job of harvesting does, and we now need to place a little more emphasis on private land. Changing these November antlerless season licenses to private land only will help with that effort," said Tom Litchfield, state deer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. In 2008, hunters purchased about 12,500 licenses for this season and harvested 3,858 antlerless deer.

Counties with antlerless licenses remaining that are eligible for the November antlerless season include Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Cass, Clarke, Clayton, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Des Moines, Fayette, Fremont, Guthrie, Harrison, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Mills, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Winneshiek and Woodbury.

All deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered. Hunters can report the deer through the DNR website www.iowadnr.gov, which is the preferred method, or by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor. The harvest reporting system is an important part of the deer herd management program in Iowa.

Hunters must wear blaze orange during this hunt and party hunting is legal. Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

back to top

Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants Awarded to Rural Fire Departments

AMES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry Bureau, in cooperation with US Forest Service - State and Private Forestry, has awarded $232,389 in 50 percent cost-share grants to 102 rural Iowa fire departments to help protect Iowan's and their property from wildfires. The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression equipment, personal protective equipment, and communications equipment.

Gail Kantak, fire supervisor with the Iowa DNR's Forestry Bureau, said the following fire departments were notified that their 2009 Volunteer Fire Assistance grant requests have been approved:

Adel, Alta, Amana, Anamosa, Ashton, Battle Creek, Belmond, Birmingham, Bode, Brighton, Buffalo Center, Charles City, Conrad, Corwith, Cresco, Creston, Cushing, Decorah, Denver, Donnellson, Dow City, Dows, Duncombe, Elberon, Epworth, Fayette and Floyd.

Also Garnavillo, Greeley, Grinnell, Griswold, Guthrie Center, Guttenberg, Hanlontown, Harpers Ferry, Hartford, Houghton, Humeston, Ionia, Ireton, Jewell, Keota, Keswick, Lamotte, Lansing, Laurens, Lime Springs, Lohrville, Lone Rock, Manchester, Manning, Mapleton, McClelland, Melbourne, Mondamin, Montpelier, Morley, Morning Sun and Moulton.

Also Nashua, New Hartford, Newhall, Nichols, Nora Springs, North English, Northwood, Oakland, Ossian, Otho, Oxford Junction, Pacific Junction, Peterson, Postville, Protivin, Quimby, Randolph, Readlyn, Riceville, Rockford, Rockwell City and Russell.

Also Saint Olaf, Sigourney, Solon, Spirit Lake, Stanhope, Stout, Stratford, Strawberry Point, Stuart, Superior, Swea City, Tama, Tiffin, Ventura, Villisca, Wallingford, Wapello, Waukon, West Branch, West Union and Woodward.

Kantak said it is important for all fire departments to submit wildland fire reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland fire reporting forms are available at www.iowadnr.com/forestry/fire.html. Departments actively returning these reports receive priority points when the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.

back to top

Green Valley State Park to Close During Special Deer Hunt

CRESTON - Green Valley State Park will be closed to the general public November 21, 22 and 23, in order to hold a special park deer hunt. The sixth annual hunt is designed to allow 30 hunters to harvest up to 60 does, using only muzzleloaders.

All hunters have registered and will receive two antlerless tags each, redeemable only during the special hunt at the designated areas and specified dates.

To ensure a safe event, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will have extra staff on hand to patrol the park boundaries. For safety reasons, the park will close on Nov. 21 and reopen on Nov. 24.

"The hunt helps to keep the park's deer population under control. We have had five successful hunts and we are hoping this year's hunt will be just as good," said Park Ranger Alan Carr. "All hunters have attended a special safety meeting for this hunt and we are expecting it to go just as well as in the past. We hope to harvest as close to 60 female deer as we can and do it in a safe and efficient manner.

"This has shown to be a great management tool for state parks to maintain a balance in the deer herd. People want to see deer when they come to park, but we can't have so many deer that they destroy their habitat and create a lot of crop damage for neighboring landowners," Carr said.

The hunt will likely remain an annual event. Research shows that if these hunts stop, the deer population tends to increase rather quickly. The number of deer that are targeted for removal may change depending on the research. The final decision is made by the depredation biologist.

back to top

Trout Heading to Lake Petoka on Nov. 24

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will stock 1,500 catchable sized rainbow trout in Lake Petoka around noon on Nov. 24. The trout are coming from the Decorah Trout Hatchery.

Lake Petoka sits along Hwy. 65 in Bondurant and will receive trout this year while DMACC Lake undergoes a lake improvement project. The trout stocking will return to DMACC in the fall of 2010.

A trout privilege is required to fish for or possess trout. However, if an angler is under 16 yrs old they may fish for and possess trout without a trout privilege if they fish with a properly licensed adult who has paid the trout fee and together they are limited to one daily bag limit of five trout. Children under 16 have the option of purchasing their own trout privilege, which allows them to keep their own daily bag limit of five.

back to top

Current Iowa Fishing Report

back to top