ElkHunter
Life Member
- Deleted by N/A
35 % Rule
Yes, the nonresident quota for the Any-Deer Combo licenses (quota 6000) is split so that 35% can go to bowhunters and 65% go to firearms hunters (shotgun 1, shotgun 2, & late muzzleloader seasons). These percentages are written into the Iowa Code in Chapter 483A.8c.
These percentages were not designed to discriminate against nonresident bowhunters, but instead, were designed to distribute the nonresident any-deer license quota among nonresident applicants. The percentages are based on how resident Iowans purchase any-deer licenses. At the time the Code was adopted approximately 35% of resident Iowans purchased any-deer archery licenses and 65% purchased an any-deer firearms license of some type.
The intent of the Code was to distribute the nonresident quota for any-deer licenses in a manner similar to the way resident Iowans utilized the resource. Part of the intent of the establishment of the nonresident any-deer quota was to allow an opportunity for family members to return home and participate in the deer hunt.
Breaking the nonresident any-deer quota into percentages similar to how resident Iowans utilize the resource helps accomplish that goal and it also helps maintain the balance of pressure among the hunting seasons which plays an important part in creating the quality of deer hunting that Iowa is known for.
At the time the Code was adopted the shotgun season was THE deer season for the majority of Iowa residents and that still remains true today. During the 2008/09 deer season, 31% of Iowans purchased any-deer archery licenses and 69% of Iowans purchased only any-deer firearms licenses.
The large, nationwide demand to hunt in Iowa for the purpose of harvesting a "trophy buck" combined with the knowledge that those bucks may be more vulnerable during the rut, has caused more nonresidents to apply for the archery season over one of the firearm seasons. This makes drawing a nonresident archery license more difficult than drawing a firearms license in most zones. This trend seems purely rut-related.
In the neighboring states of Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin where the firearms season is during the rut and nonresidents are not limited, nonresident firearms any-deer license sales far outnumber nonresident archery sales and more closely match how residents of those states purchase deer licenses. In Minnesota for example, during the 2008 season, nonresidents purchased almost 8 times more firearm licenses than they did archery licenses. Also in 2008, about 40% more nonresident bowhunters hunted in Iowa than in Minnesota.
In Iowa, without the percentage allotment between archery and firearms seasons, nonresident any-deer license allocations between seasons would be far different than those of resident Iowans.
How the Draw Works
During the draw, the quota for each zone to be allotted for the archery season is determined and the nonresident any-deer archery season draw is conducted FIRST. All bowhunter applications are considered in order of preference points, then by zone preference, until the nonresident archery quota is filled (35%) or the system runs out of bow season applicants.
Then the nonresident firearms draw is conducted. The only way for nonresident firearm applicants to receive more than 65% of the any-deer quota is if enough bowhunters do not apply to fill 35% of the quota. This has never happened in Iowa and, to my knowledge, the 35% has always been met during the first round of drawings. This means that there is enough first-choice bowhunter applicants for each zone to fill the archery quota.