Official State of Iowa Website

DNR News Releases

  About DNR   >   DNR News Releases

Search for a News Release


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


DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: DeerReturn
RSS
Donated deer hides benefit disabled veterans

Donated deer hides benefit disabled veterans

  • 11/20/2024 1:53:00 PM
  • View Count 4230
Hunters donated more than 4,100 deer hides to Elks Lodges across Iowa last year, which was a slight decrease from the 2018-2019 season. The deer hides are used by the Veterans Leather Program to make professionally-crafted leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs and also turned into leather used for therapy programs for recovering veterans.
Deer donation program

Deer donation program

  • 11/20/2024 1:50:00 PM
  • View Count 3908
The Iowa DNR, the Food Bank of Iowa and 31 meat lockers are participating in the Help Us Stop Hunger program for 2024. Hunters are encouraged to contact a participating locker before they harvest a deer to see if the locker has any additional drop off instructions.
Doe harvest registry

Doe harvest registry

  • 11/20/2024 1:47:00 PM
  • View Count 3766
Hunters interested in working with farmers to harvest additional does are encouraged to sign up with the Iowa Doe Harvest Registry. The Registry has been a resource that the Iowa DNR has offered to farmers since the mid-2000s, but is now easier to access.
Iowa’s busiest deer seasons are almost here

Iowa’s busiest deer seasons are almost here

  • 11/20/2024 1:39:00 PM
  • View Count 4085
Iowa’s most popular deer hunting seasons are just around the corner, when roughly 100,000 hunters take to the timber for the long-awaited gun seasons.
2024 Iowa deer hunting off to a good start

2024 Iowa deer hunting off to a good start

  • 10/15/2024 1:13:00 PM
  • View Count 7608
Despite warm weather persisting in much of the state, roughly 6,000 deer have been registered so far through the youth and disabled hunter seasons, and the opening of the archery and early muzzleloader seasons, which is slightly higher than both last year and the five-year average.
Drivers stay alert for deer movement

Drivers stay alert for deer movement

  • 10/1/2024 12:59:00 PM
  • View Count 5696
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.
Help the DNR track hemorrhagic disease

Help the DNR track hemorrhagic disease

  • 7/26/2024 3:08:00 PM
  • View Count 7689
Hemorrhagic disease, commonly referred to as EHD or Bluetongue, has been impacting deer in Iowa for over a decade, with severe outbreaks occurring in 2012, 2013, 2019, and 2023.
DNR to host Western Iowa deer population meetings in July

DNR to host Western Iowa deer population meetings in July

  • 6/25/2024 11:41:00 AM
  • View Count 4624
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting eight meetings in Western Iowa to discuss the status of the region’s deer herd as population levels have fallen in recent years. The meetings are open to the public.
Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

  • 5/28/2024 2:16:00 PM
  • View Count 3198
Fawning season traditionally begins during the last week of May, peaks in the first couple of weeks of June, before gradually tapering off. And that means deer are on the move.
Last chance to hunt deer until fall

Last chance to hunt deer until fall

  • 1/11/2024 5:02:00 PM
  • View Count 4172
Iowa’s final deer seasons are now open - the Population Management January Antlerless Season and the Excess Tag January Antlerless Season.
Donated deer hides benefit disabled veterans

Donated deer hides benefit disabled veterans

  • 11/21/2023 11:56:00 AM
  • View Count 5311
Hunters donated more than 4,500 deer hides to Elks Lodges across Iowa last year, which was an increase of nearly 600 hides from the 2022 season. The deer hides are used by the Veterans Leather Program to make professionally-crafted leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs and also turned into leather used for therapy programs for recovering veterans.
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease

  • 11/21/2023 11:52:00 AM
  • View Count 7436
Iowa is experiencing the third worst outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), behind only the outbreaks in 2012 and 2019 in severity. The disease appears to have hit southeastern Iowa the hardest, but has been reported in 74 counties, which is the highest number of counties to report the disease in one year.
First of Iowa’s popular gun deer hunting seasons opens Dec. 2

First of Iowa’s popular gun deer hunting seasons opens Dec. 2

  • 11/21/2023 11:45:00 AM
  • View Count 8181
Iowa’s most popular hunting seasons are less than two weeks away when more than 100,000 blaze orange clad hunters will be walking, posting, sitting and standing in Iowa’s timber and field edges hoping to tag an Iowa deer. The first deer gun season is Dec. 2-6; the second deer gun season is Dec. 9-17.
Drivers stay alert for deer movement

Drivers stay alert for deer movement

  • 9/26/2023 1:00:00 PM
  • View Count 5332
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.
Chronic wasting disease found in Marshall County deer

Chronic wasting disease found in Marshall County deer

  • 8/1/2023 12:04:00 PM
  • View Count 4234
A tissue sample collected in mid-June from a road killed adult buck deer in Marshall County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. With the addition of Marshall County, 260 deer have tested positive in 16 Iowa counties since 2013.
Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

  • 5/23/2023 1:20:00 PM
  • View Count 3315
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.
Safety first, during the shotgun seasons

Safety first, during the shotgun seasons

  • 11/15/2022 11:42:00 AM
  • View Count 4620
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 archery deer hunting season begins Oct. 1

Iowa’s archery deer hunting season begins Oct. 1

  • 9/27/2022 1:57:00 PM
  • View Count 4944
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. 
Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

  • 5/31/2022 3:29:00 PM
  • View Count 3273
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.
Apply now for Iowa nonresident deer tags

Apply now for Iowa nonresident deer tags

  • 5/23/2022 3:17:00 PM
  • View Count 3749
The Iowa nonresident deer hunting application period is currently open. Applications close June 5 at midnight, so there's still plenty of time to apply.
Iowa’s deer harvest on similar track as 2020

Iowa’s deer harvest on similar track as 2020

  • 12/14/2021 2:50:00 PM
  • View Count 4222
Iowa’s hunters reported harvesting around 75,000 deer heading in to the final weekend of Iowa’s shotgun deer season, which is similar to the 2020 deer harvest at the same point.
Drivers stay alert for deer movement

Drivers stay alert for deer movement

  • 10/19/2021 7:07:00 PM
  • View Count 2650
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 youth deer season begins September 18

Iowa’s youth deer season begins September 18

  • 9/14/2021 2:58:00 PM
  • View Count 3175
The Iowa deer hunting tradition will be passed on to about 10,000 young hunters who are participating in the youth deer season, which opens on Sept. 18.
Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

  • 6/8/2021 1:29:00 PM
  • View Count 2849
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.
2021 winter has been tough on deer

2021 winter has been tough on deer

  • 2/24/2021 10:02:00 AM
  • View Count 3580
For wildlife, surviving an average Iowa winter is challenging enough. When the winter includes consecutive days where temperatures don’t cross above zero and new snow arrives weekly, survival can become extremely difficult.
21 deer test positive for chronic wasting disease

21 deer test positive for chronic wasting disease

  • 2/24/2021 9:59:00 AM
  • View Count 4483
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ 2020 surveillance of Iowa’s wild deer herd for the presence of chronic wasting disease has yielded 21 new positive deer, and has added two new counties to the list where positive deer have been found.
Tip leads to Buchanan County deer poaching case

Tip leads to Buchanan County deer poaching case

  • 1/12/2021 12:31:00 PM
  • View Count 6057
A tip that an individual with a rifle may be trying to kill a deer at night in Brayton Memorial Forest Wildlife Area, near Hopkinton, resulted in one person being charged with illegally taking a white-tailed deer, and a number of individuals being charged with helping him.
Hunting seasons begin closing soon

Hunting seasons begin closing soon

  • 12/29/2020 11:35:00 AM
  • View Count 2930
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.
Page 1 of 4 FirstPrevious [1]