The Conservation and Natural Resources State Wide Action Team (SWAT) is one of twelve SWATs that focus on different issue areas. The purpose of the Iowa Farm Bureau’s SWATs is to provide:

• education to SWAT members so IFBF has a well-informed “panel of experts” on issues;
• an additional avenue for input to the organization in issue surfacing;
• a group that can be asked to participate in policy implementation (feedback on specific regulations, attendance requested at town hall meetings, etc.);
• input on IFBF programming needs.

To make the best use of our volunteers’ time, most of the communication with the SWATs will be done via email and this website. The SWATs will probably meet in person only at the IFBF Annual Meeting in August (for issue surfacing) and at the Policy Information Conference in March (for issue education and program review.)

The Iowa Farm Bureau Conservation & Natural Resources Issues Conference was held June 25 at the Farm Bureau Building auditorium in West Des Moines. The annual one-day meeting combined conservation science and timely issues all on one session. Topics this year included:

• Dr. Mary Skopec - The Impacts of livestock on Water Quality
• Dr. Tom Isenhart - Stream Bed & Bank Impacts on Water Quality
• Dr. Jeremy Singer - Cover Crops in Iowa
• Mr. Steve Berger - Farmer Experience with Cover Crops
• Mr. Bill Belden - Biomass Opportunities for Farmers Today
• Jim Lahn - Rapid Watershed Assessment
• Rick Robinson - The Facts on Weather and Soil Conservation
• Conference Brochure

Not a member of the Conservation and Natural Resources SWAT Team? Click here to get signed up!

The DNR’s Natural Resource Commission will approve the 2008-09 deer hunting rule on Thursday, June 12 at its monthly meeting in Onawa at the Community Center, 320 10th Street. The DNR is proposing to increase the number of paid antlerless license quotas in 39 counties by 11,050 compared to last year. The same number of counties that were open for the November and January antlerless seasons will again be open in 2008-09 (copies are attached). They are also keeping the depredation program portion of rule in the deer hunting regulations, as sought by Farm Bureau. This will help improve communication to landowners, farmers and hunters about the program's details.

The rule also implements the depredation program changes in the Farm Bureau-supported Senate File 2328. Participating landowners or eligible family members may obtain one free depredation license for each hunting season, depredation license transferability to other hunters is implemented, and stored hay, grain or silage will not be omitted from damage calculations if they are not protected by fencing or gates.

Also, preliminary results of a National Ag Statistics Service survey of Iowa farm owners and operators conducted by the DNR every five years indicates the proportion of farm operators that reported they had damage due to deer decreased by 16 percent in 2007 and is now back at the level it was in 1996. The proportion of farm operators who reported that deer numbers had increased in the past 5 years decreased markedly in 2007 and is now at the lowest point since the surveys were initiated in 1988. The proportion of farm operators who reported that deer numbers are too high on their farm decreased by 11 percent from 2002. The proportion of farm operators who reported that they believe deer numbers should decrease greatly was down 6 percent in 2007. DNR says it appears that the deer management program has measurably reduced the perceptions about deer numbers among farmers and their perception of damage they are experiencing. If the current trend continues, the DNR says overall deer herd should be close to the department’s goal with deer numbers that are similar to where they were in the mid 1990’s. Final survey results will not be available until the end of June.

See the DNR’s web site for more details: http://www.iowadnr.com/nrc/08jun/17.pdf. View all agenda items or meeting location details at: http://www.iowadnr.com/nrc/08jun12a.html. If you would like to comment further on the proposed final rule, you can send an email to the DNR staff, the director and to all NRC members at the same time by clicking on this link with your email program open: SEND EMAIL TO ALL

Fianl Deer Rule
Antlerless Quotas Map 2008

There are also other aspects of deer hunting and wildlife damage issues that are set in Iowa Code and cannot be changed by these rules, such as the number of nonresident licenses, non-resident landowner hunting, and the number of or transferring landowner licenses. However, here is a summary of current Farm Bureau policy on wildlife damage issues.

• Permits for harvest of deer and wildlife on a year round basis are important to protect crops and rural property. Implementation of the deer depredation program, including the use of in-season depredation licenses, must be improved to reduce the deer population.
• We believe that the individual landowner/tenant is the best person to decide the size of a deer herd to maintain on his land. We therefore believe that one free deer tag should be issued for each forty acres the landowner/tenant owns. Should a landowner/ tenant qualify for more than two free tags, at the landowner/tenant request, one tag would be for any deer. If a landowner/tenant qualifies for ten or more free tags no more than four could be for any sex deer tags.
• These tags should be transferable to any hunter by a simple signature of the landowner/tenant .
• These tags should be valid for all deer seasons, (bow, shot #1, shotgun #2, late muzzle loader, and the January season).
• Iowans should be able to protect their families and property from predators without the permission of a conservation officer .
• Iowa should not adopt wildlife management polices or programs that increase populations of new wildlife predators. (2008)
• We do not favor the Iowa Department of Natural Resources implementing a hunting season for mountain lions in Iowa. (2006)
• The number of non-resident deer licenses should be increased and eliminate the lottery until the deer population is lowered.
• A greater number of antlerless deer should be harvested. In areas of higher deer population a doe should be harvested prior to a hunter receiving an antler tag.
• We support the continuation of animal damage control field operations in Iowa to assist farmers and urban dwellers prevent losses caused by wild game or predators.
• The DNR should add a landowner deer season starting September 1st and ending at the start of the regular gun season. (2005)
• We support changing current laws to include a rifle season for deer hunting. (2004)