From the desk of Representative Betty De Boef

Each year in April, members of the Iowa House are honored by a visit from the Pella Tulip Queen and her court.  They come to promote the Pella’s annual tulip festival which will take place May 5, 6 and 7 of this year.  Today was the day for this, so all the House members were thrilled to meet these Dutch beauties and accept their Dutch treats.  The festivities and treats only took a few minutes however, and soon we were back to work.

The possibility that we will see a bill passed this session to address the growing concern over the deer population is improving.  The House passed HF 822 this week which provides some enhanced opportunities to harvest antlerless dear, which is what we really need to do to reduce the deer population.  HF 822, as passed by the House, is a major step in controlling Iowa’s deer population.  One positive aspect of this bill is that it gives the Department of Natural Resources the flexibility it needs to respond to the growing deer population.  At the same time, it still allows those who care the most about our deer population the greatest impact on its future: the hunters.  The DNR will issue many more antlerless tags to both resident and non-resident hunters which translates to more does killed.  Many believe this legislation is how to manage Iowa’s deer herd.

First and foremost, the new law will effect hunting licenses for nonresidents.  Under current law, a nonresident would have to pay $308 for the right to hunt a deer of either sex.  When the new law goes into effect, a nonresident would be required to purchase an antlerless only deer license for a reduced fee of $100.  The goal of this is two-fold.  It first of all increases the number of antlerless deer hunting licenses issued by 6,000.  Second, it enlists the help of out of state hunters in controlling our deer population.  The premise in the bill is that it is not fair for them to come into Iowa, benefit from our abundance of deer, but not take any responsibility for the safe management of the deer population.  In addition, with the purchase of any deer license, a $1 fee will be added.  Money collected from this fee will be used for the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program administered by the Natural Resources Commission.  Expansion of this income will provide more deer meat to low-income families and inmates as well as encourage hunters to take more antlerless deer.

The bill would allow the DNR to annually determine the number of nonresident antlerless deer only licenses available of issue based on which counties have not sold out of their allotted licenses.  This is a key provision in the bill for two reasons.  First of all, it grants the DNR the authority to determine the number of additional licenses that need to be issued and where the state needs to issue them.  Secondly, it allows the DNR to take action on the date it has collected via the new deer harvest reporting system that this bill puts in place.  Lastly, for residents, the bill gives the DNR the authority to issue annually one free antlered or any sex deer hunting license and one free antlerless only license to the owner of a farm unit or a member of the owner’s family or a tenant of the farm.

The new law would also establish a deer reporting system.  The commission will have to establish a system to collect information from deer hunters concerning the population in the state.  Specific criteria for the date the DNR could collect and the manner in which the department would be authorized to collect it is also specified.  The system is designed for the convenience of the hunter and provides many ways for the hunters to report deer they have taken. 

Finally, the new legislation allows the DNR to establish special season deer hunts for antlerless deer in those counties where deer population management is necessary.  The department would also be authorized to establish a special season deer hunt for antlerless deer in counties where paid antlerless deer licenses remain available. 

My main concern with this bill is requiring non-residents to purchase an antlerless tag doesn’t necessarily mean they will harvest an a doe.  However, the abundance of deer in Iowa has created a serious problem.  Ten Iowans have been killed in deer-vehicle accidents in each of the past two years (18,000 collisions with deer).  One in every 9 crashes in Iowa involves deer, and 600 injuries have resulted from automobile accidents/deer accidents in the state.  13,000 deer have been killed on Iowa roads and insurance premiums and deductibles have increased.  HF 822 is a result of citizens demanding action to address this widespread problem.  Hopefully this bill begins to reduce the deer population.

Question of the Week…

In response to the murder of Jetseta Gage, there has been increasing discussion by the press about the death penalty.  Do you believe the legislature should revisit this issue?