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A letter to the Governor's office, (and reply)

stuffy

stuffy

Member
I sent a letter to the Governor, and to other public figures, concerning the deer numbers in Iowa. So far, I have had one reply, from the Governor's office, which surprised me. Thought you would be interested in reading both.

Letter to the Governor:

Dear Governor Branstad,

I am writing this letter to make you aware of a situation, that I know you are very familiar with, and that is, the declining deer numbers.
I would like to offer you a different perspective, and how low deer numbers affect the economy, of the state of Iowa, as well as, small business owners, here in Iowa.
Last year, there were approximately four hundred licensed taxidermist's registered in Iowa. I will say, that a large percentage of them, make taxidermy their full time job. I have spoken to a lot of these taxidermist, around the whole state. Almost all of them, have seen a sharp decline in deer brought into their shop. With even some, mentioning now, they must find another job, since Iowa whitetail deer, are the main source of their income. Not only, does that harm their income, but it will also show a decline in sales tax, back to the state. I would not be surprised, that you also will see a decline in licensed taxidermist's, again less money for the state.
I (we) are hoping that the DNR will be able to enforce tighter restrictions of the distribution of antlerless tags, for the upcoming years. Many are opposed of the three day antlerless hunt, held around Thanksgiving, and also the wide distribution of depredation tags. As we have all heard, yes, the "large" insurance companies are saving money, with lower deer/car collisions, but the people losing money, are us Iowans, the "small" business owners.
Hopefully this letter will give you some insight on the deer numbers and their decline. It is time to let the deer reagin their strength, I am very fearful, that we are only one or two harsh winters away, from having the deer population as low as the pheasant population.
I realize that this one small step to hopefully getting some changes made. I will be in contact with all members of the Iowa Taxidermy Association, as well as other licensed taxidermist, here in Iowa. I will make sure, that if they feel the low deer numbers are hurting their business, that they be in touch with their local representative.

Thank You,
Durk Sterner
President,
Iowa Taxidermy Association


The reply:

Dear Mr. Sterner,

Thank you for contacting the offices of Governor Terry E. Branstad regarding the deer population in the state of Iowa. As you know, this is an issue that affects many Iowans and Iowa businesses. While the state of Iowa has many hunters that enjoy the sport of deer hunting, we must also keep in mind the impact of the deer population on property owners, motorist, airports, and on the cost of insurance poilicies.
As such, Governor Branstad does not support increasing the overall deer population in Iowa, as it would increase the risk for motorist on our roads and increase damages to personal property. Governor Branstad has, and will continue, to listen to both sides of this issue and will review administrative rules or legislation that references this topic with your thoughts in mind.
Again, thank you for taking time to contact our office. We appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to contact us again in the future.

Sincerely,
Julie Vande Hoef
Policy Advisor
 
I won't say it'll NEVER happen through governmental policies, but it's unlikely. The best way to make the change we desire is educating local hunters to make appropriate harvest decisions, regardless of what tags and seasons are available. Having a family that loves venison, I know my choice is going to be to initially try to find a trophy buck, but if that doesn't happen, I'll take a young buck before a doe...exactly the opposite of what we've been doing for so many years now. JMO...

NWBuck
 
Hardwood, alot of local airports are built on the fringes of town where hunting is limited or not allowed. Another situation where increased doe tags isn't going to help one bit. Shows how clueless the governors office is on the issue.
 
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I know the airport in Pella has chased deer off the runway with a pickup so planes can land safelly. They also had a coyote pack causing problems a few years ago, apparently a local corporate jet had to abort landings a couple of times because of them.
 
I sent a letter in and recieved the same word for word response. Looks like when they see something about the deer numbers its just a copy/paste and then hit send! Frustrating as I too feel nothing will be done and it will just keep going down hill. So much for hearing our opinions when they just overlook them.
 
Back before all this wackin and stackin started wasn't there some type of commission, that included the farm bureau and insurance co.s, that set the goal for reducing the herd? Didn't they agree that once those numbers were reached they would not appose reducing tag numbers to maintain that level?

Also, does this really all lie in Branstad's hands? Does the legislative board have no say in the matter?
 
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As long as there are cars there will be car deer accidents. What I always wonder is why you never hear them mention that there are more paved roads with more people on them driving faster and faster. Some of the highest deer populations are in some of the most rural areas where car deer accidents are minimal. The car deer argument doesn't hold much water with me. You can shoot the hell out of them but as long as they live close to a major highway some of them will end up roadkill no matter what you do.
 
Same here

shedhunter93 said:
I sent a letter in and recieved the same word for word response. Looks like when they see something about the deer numbers its just a copy/paste and then hit send! Frustrating as I too feel nothing will be done and it will just keep going down hill. So much for hearing our opinions when they just overlook them.
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exact same letter i got back also, they just don't care!:thrwrck:
 
That is the exact same letter they used LAST year in response to that topic. It is a pre-formulated response, and I doubt Branstad even knows that you sent the letter.
 
Sounds like Iowa is getting a taste of WI.... except for us it was EAB = earn a buck. Shoot a doe before obtaining a buck tag... deer populations in much of the state are way down, especially on public lands where private landowner would go to shoot a doe to earn a buck. I hope you guys can slow it down b4 it gets ugly
 
Since Pioneers exterminated the Buffalo, it has been the same story.- Make way for Humans. Will not end. Most people like their "Modern", life more than some mangy deer. Most don't want to slow down a little, don't want to sacrifice their beautiful yards, and the poor farmers definately don't want to feed any of their Profit, to brown Rats. So the Drum Beat will go on,,Kill All You Can...When hunting revenue drops,,,we just raise the price of licenses....
 
I wanna throw my hat into the Republican Governor's race to Primary this guy out! :)
 
I sent an email anyway. Whoever reads them,,I gave them all their talking points, and said don't bother sending them back to me. Probably not even read by a person. Most likely a computer spits form emails back!
 
send your letters, and your form responses, (and your displeasure at the lack of attention from the Gov)to your state reps, and the members of the legislative natural resources commitee members. need to flood them with emails, to be heard over the big $$$ from farm bureau
 
DWilk said:
That is the exact same letter they used LAST year in response to that topic. It is a pre-formulated response, and I doubt Branstad even knows that you sent the letter.
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X2. I recognize that response from last year. I will still send more though. I would really like to to know who does read these and what they do. Do they just a have a tally about the topic or do they just copy and paste that same old generic reply and do nothing?:thrwrck:
 
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