Meet Jace Elliott - DNR State Deer Biologist

Jace received a B.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, as well as a M.S. in Wildlife Sciences from Auburn University where he conducted deer research within the AU Deer Laboratory. After graduation, Jace became the Deer Research Specialist for the Iowa DNR, which shortly led to accepting his current role of State Deer Biologist.

As the deer program leader, Jace oversees the management and research of Iowa's white-tailed deer. Some of his primary responsibilities include coordinating deer surveys to estimate population trends, annually reviewing and recommending changes to deer regulations, as well as developing new research projects and scientific publications. He enjoys working closely with Iowa’s most economically and culturally important wildlife species. Jace strives to make Iowa the nation’s model deer program for population management and stakeholder engagement.

Data Set, Graph, Learning Tools

This Iowa map shows the number of bucks harvested per square mile per county shaded as >0.5; 0.5-1.0; 1.0-1.5; 1.5-2.0; and >2.0.
This Iowa map shows the contiguous areas of forest in Iowa classified by less than 50 acres; 5000-10,000 acres; 500-1000 acres; 1000-5000 acres; 100-500 acres; 10,000-50,000 acres and ecoregions.

The above maps demonstrate the relationship between deer abundance and habitat availability. Bucks may be harvested on general any-sex tags, which may be acquired by any license buying hunter in Iowa. The number of bucks harvested reflects the number of bucks present on the landscape, making buck harvest a great index of population abundance. Deer abundance is a product of habitat quality and availability, and historic harvest patterns. While white-tailed deer are habitat generalists, meaning they can thrive in a variety of land cover types, forests support the highest deer populations in Iowa.

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For more information or questions, please contact [email protected]