DNR News Releases

Search for a News Release

Press/Media inquiries: PIO@dnr.iowa.gov

DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: seasonReturn

Iowa’s rabbit, squirrel season opens Sept. 2

• 8/29/2023 2:23:00 PM
• View Count 2778

The good news for Iowa’s cottontail rabbit hunters is that Iowa has an abundant rabbit population, with the south-central part of the state seeing the best overall numbers. The better news for hunters is Iowa’s cottontail rabbit season begins Sept. 2 statewide.

Iowa’s teal-only hunting season opens Sept. 1

• 8/29/2023 2:02:00 PM
• View Count 3117

Iowa’s 16-day teal only hunting season begins statewide Sept. 1, offering hunters an opportunity to enjoy Iowa’s wetlands and shallow lakes during the mild late summer weather.

New rules and laws address raccoons, create year-round open season

• 6/13/2023 1:18:00 PM
• View Count 11878

Changes are coming soon to the way Iowans can hunt and trap raccoons, and how farmers can deal with raccoon depredation issues.

Iowa DNR Fire Program gearing up for national wildfires

• 5/23/2023 1:38:00 PM
• View Count 2030

AMES – While wildland fire season hasn’t been active yet, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fire Program has been busy getting firefighters from Iowa ready to be dispatched to wildfires across the country. 

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

• 5/23/2023 1:20:00 PM
• View Count 2016

The calls have been coming in to field offices and conservation officers for the past few weeks and will only increase as the first few weeks of June marks the peak of the deer fawning season.

Boaters to hit the waters this Memorial Day weekend

• 5/16/2023 1:45:00 PM
• View Count 2428

The unofficial beginning to summer is just days away and that also marks the unofficial beginning of Iowa’s boating season. Boaters across the state are anxious to get out on the lake after the cool and wet spring and are preparing their watercraft for the long holiday weekend.

Summer seasonal positions available in Iowa state parks

• 3/28/2023 11:42:00 AM
• View Count 2848

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Parks Bureau is looking for job applicants for seasonal park officer and employee openings in 24 parks around the state.

Pattern your turkey gun before hitting the woods this spring

• 3/21/2023 11:38:00 AM
• View Count 1783

The Olofson Shooting Range is offering three turkey patterning nights at the range: April 6, 5-7 p.m. April 13, 5-7 p.m. April 20, 5-7 p.m.

Iowa’s popular spring turkey hunting seasons only a few weeks away

• 3/21/2023 11:36:00 AM
• View Count 3794

Thunderous calls from competing Toms trying to out-do one another for the attention from nearby hens, rattles through Iowa’s timber each spring. This annual ritual is witnessed by hunters who attempt to mimic the call of a lonely hen, to attract a frustrated Tom to come search her out.

Iowa DNR cancels public meetings in Ventura, Algona and Okoboji due to weather

• 2/22/2023 12:33:00 PM
• View Count 4404

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is cancelling public meetings planned tonight in Ventura, Algona and Okoboji due to inclement weather. The meetings will not be rescheduled.

DNR annual public meetings recapping hunting, trapping seasons, and possible rule changes begin next week

• 2/17/2023 9:05:00 AM
• View Count 5550

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, discuss possible changes, and address other topics as requested.

Hunters harvest nearly 110,000 deer during 2022-23 season

• 2/7/2023 8:06:00 PM
• View Count 6676

Iowa’s 2022 deer harvest increased seven percent over the 2021 season, due, in part to the new Excess Tag January Antlerless Season approved by the Iowa Legislature last spring.

DNR finalizes public meeting locations to recap hunting, trapping seasons, discuss possible rule changes

• 2/7/2023 8:04:00 PM
• View Count 5734

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, discuss possible changes, and address other topics as requested.

Licenses for excess tag January antlerless season go on sale Jan. 11

• 1/10/2023 4:19:00 PM
• View Count 10663

Deer licenses for the excess tag January antlerless season will go on sale beginning at midnight on Jan. 11, for counties with unsold county antlerless licenses.

Summer seasonal positions open in state parks, forests and preserves

• 12/27/2022 1:02:00 PM
• View Count 8615

The DNR Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau has openings for recreational aides and seasonal patrol officers for the summer 2023 season across the state park system.

DNR to discuss bobcat recovery and management Jan. 18 at EB Lyons Nature Center

• 12/21/2022 2:45:00 PM
• View Count 8802

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be discussing bobcat management at 7 p.m., Jan. 18, at the EB Lyons Nature Center, in Dubuque. The meeting is open to the public.

DNR offers tips for sustainable gifting

• 12/15/2022 1:37:00 PM
• View Count 8487

DES MOINES – The holiday season is a time for spending with family and friends and giving and receiving gifts. This is also the most waste-generated time of the year.

Summer seasonal positions open at fisheries offices

• 12/13/2022 12:40:00 PM
• View Count 8919

The Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau has openings for seasonal fisheries aides for the summer 2023 season at fisheries offices across Iowa.

Fall trout spawn in full swing

• 11/15/2022 11:49:00 AM
• View Count 4931

Hundreds of yellow ovals offset the brown and green coloration of each female brown trout ready to spawn at the Manchester Fish Hatchery. The splashes of color are signs that trout spawning season is in full swing.

Safety first, during the shotgun seasons

• 11/15/2022 11:42:00 AM
• View Count 3898

The long wait is almost over. For an expected 100,000 deer hunters, the shotgun deer seasons are right around the corner and before they head to the timber, it’s important that everyone go through their gear to make sure everything still fits and still works and takes time to review their hunting safety plan.

Iowa’s pheasant opener was busy, with lots of hunter success

• 11/1/2022 1:43:00 PM
• View Count 3980

Hunters are home, the dogs are resting and Iowa’s opening weekend of pheasant season is in the rearview mirror. Reports from across the state varied from excellent up north to good in central and southwest Iowa, with the consensus that hunting will continue to improve once all the corn is harvested.

Iowa DNR hiring seasonal water patrol officers

• 10/11/2022 12:09:00 PM
• View Count 6388

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking applicants to fill the position of seasonal water patrol officer at several lakes and rivers across the state.

Iowa’s pheasant season is expected to be a repeat of 2021

• 10/11/2022 11:53:00 AM
• View Count 8323

Iowa’s 2022 pheasant season is expected to be another good one when more than 60,000 plus blaze orange clad hunters take to the fields on Oct. 29. And based on the results of the August pheasant survey, hunters can afford to be optimistic.

Iowa’s archery deer hunting season begins Oct. 1

• 9/27/2022 1:57:00 PM
• View Count 4002

An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway Oct. 1. With some careful planning and scouting, hunters can capitalize on the predictable behavior of deer in the early fall. 

Iowa DNR Fire Program gearing up for national wildfires

• 5/24/2022 3:47:00 PM
• View Count 2417

AMES – As wildfires start to rage in parts of the west, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fire Program has been busy getting firefighters from Iowa ready to be dispatched to wildfires across the country. 

Boaters to hit the waters this Memorial Day weekend

• 5/17/2022 3:20:00 PM
• View Count 1292

The unofficial beginning to summer is just days away and that also marks the unofficial beginning of Iowa’s boating season. Boaters across the state are anxious to get out on the lake after the cool and wet spring and are preparing their watercraft for the long holiday weekend.

Take time to clean and inspect lifejackets ahead of boating season

• 3/8/2022 1:43:00 PM
• View Count 922

Surprising as it may seem, March is not a busy boating month in Iowa. But it is a good time to clean and inspect important boating equipment – lifejackets – so its ready to go when the snow and ice finally disappear.

Outdoor Notes

• 12/28/2021 1:15:00 PM
• View Count 1145

Hunting seasons will begin closing in early January. Pheasant, archery turkey and deer seasons, and late muzzleloader deer season close on Jan. 10.

Summer seasonal positions open at fisheries offices

• 12/28/2021 1:13:00 PM
• View Count 1425

The Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau has openings for seasonal fisheries aides for the summer 2022 season at fisheries offices across Iowa.

Summer seasonal positions open in state parks, forests and preserves

• 12/21/2021 3:56:00 PM
• View Count 2445

The DNR Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau has openings for recreational aides and seasonal patrol officers for the summer 2022 season across the state park system.

January antlerless deer season to be held in five Iowa counties

• 12/20/2021 9:16:00 AM
• View Count 10586

Iowa hunters have the opportunity to hunt deer in Allamakee, Appanoose, Decatur, Wayne and Winneshiek counties beginning Jan. 11, 2022, after the threshold was met to hold the January antlerless season.

Safety first, during the shotgun seasons

• 11/16/2021 1:49:00 PM
• View Count 2240

The long wait is almost over. For an expected 55-60,000 deer hunters, the shotgun deer seasons are right around the corner and before they head to the timber, it’s important that everyone go through their gear to make sure everything still fits and still works and takes time to review their hunting safety plan.

For Iowa’s deer hunters, the wait is nearly over, shotgun deer seasons begin Dec. 4

• 11/16/2021 1:46:00 PM
• View Count 4095

The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons begins Dec. 4, when an expected 55-60,000 blaze orange clad hunters head to the timber for the annual late fall tradition.

Drivers stay alert for deer movement

• 10/19/2021 7:07:00 PM
• View Count 2044

Drivers are advised to stay alert as they travel Iowa’s roadsides over the coming weeks. Autumn deer behavior, crop harvest and peak travel times for motorists combine to hike the risk of vehicle-deer collisions in Iowa.

Iowa's hunters prepping for another good pheasant season

• 10/12/2021 1:42:00 PM
• View Count 2776

With the annual fall crop harvest running ahead of schedule, Iowa’s 2021 pheasant season is expected to be another good one when 55,000 plus blaze orange clad hunters take to the fields on Oct. 30. 

Waterfowl season dates corrected

• 8/31/2021 11:51:00 AM
• View Count 3228

An error during a routine update of the Iowa Hunting Regulations mistakenly posted the 2020-21 waterfowl season dates to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources website late last week. The issue has been corrected.

Iowa’s rabbit, squirrel season opens Sept. 4

• 8/31/2021 11:46:00 AM
• View Count 2217

The good news for Iowa’s cottontail rabbit hunters is that Iowa has an abundant rabbit population, with the southern and east central part of the state seeing the best overall numbers. The better news for hunters is Iowa’s cottontail rabbit season begins Sept. 4 statewide.

Iowa’s teal hunting season opens Sept. 1

• 8/17/2021 11:41:00 AM
• View Count 2521

Iowa’s 16-day teal only hunting season begins statewide Sept. 1, offering hunters an opportunity to enjoy Iowa’s wetlands and shallow lakes during the mild late summer weather.

Iowa’s dove hunting season begins Sept. 1

• 8/17/2021 11:37:00 AM
• View Count 2886

Iowa’s sunflower and wheat fields will be popular places on Sept. 1, when thousands of hunters slip into the standing flowers and field edges in the early morning darkness for the opening day of dove hunting season.

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

• 6/8/2021 1:29:00 PM
• View Count 2045

The calls have been coming in to field offices and conservation officers for the past few weeks and will only increase as the first few weeks of June marks the peak of the deer fawning season.

Iowa’s 2021 spring turkey season is a few weeks away – how will it measure up to 2020?

• 3/23/2021 1:15:00 PM
• View Count 13968

While matching 2020’s record breaking hunter participation and harvest is not likely to happen, Iowa’s 2021 spring turkey season will have plenty of opportunities for those ready to be back in the timber.

Iowa DNR provides seasons review and proposed rule changes video online, accepting public comments

• 3/2/2021 2:46:00 PM
• View Count 2092

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has posted online the presentation portion of its Feb. 23 public meeting where staff reviewed the recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, and proposed changes to the hunting regulations.

Missouri and Big Sioux rivers paddlefish fishing season opens Feb. 1

• 1/20/2021 6:43:00 AM
• View Count 2123

The paddlefish snagging season on the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers opens Feb. 1 and goes through April 30 (sunrise to sunset).

Hunting seasons begin closing soon

• 12/29/2020 11:35:00 AM
• View Count 2566

Hunting seasons will begin closing soon, starting with pheasant, archery turkey and deer seasons, and late muzzleloader deer season on Jan. 10. The staggered goose seasons begin closing in the north zone first on Jan. 9, followed by the south zone on Jan. 16, and the Missouri River zone on Jan. 23.

Think boating this holiday season

• 12/8/2020 7:23:00 PM
• View Count 1909

Avoid the crowds and the “item out of stock” message this holiday season and get something every boater can use – new U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable lifejackets.

Page 1 of 3 FirstPrevious [1]23 NextLast