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Deer are NOT Pests

jjohnson said:
Not to get off topic but I think the biggest threat we face is money more so than insurance companies. I completely agree with you and changing the publics mentality on deer will only help. What worries me the most is the money the state was making in the mid 2000's when we were aggressively thinning the herd. When those kinds of dollars were coming in and now they cease. Politicians will surely be looking to fill the void. Gov. Branstad mentioned with Winke about raising NR tags. I believe that would ruin our deer hunting quicker than anything. Some say NR won't buy or lease because we had a poor year this year. That's b.s. because its still better than their home states.

I do believe we over harvested does in areas but I believe we are smart enough to sustain the numbers. Doe tags were cut in a lot of areas last year and I believe they will be cut again. What we weren't ready for was an aggressive harvest,a couple significant winter kills, and now EHD. All of that put us in a hole that we will climb out of so long as our legislatures don't get money hungry and sell us out first.

The night before 1st season shotgun I sell on average $12,000.00 in licenses alone. I talk to a lot of farmers and hunters and from what I can tell the days of kill everything are done. The farmers at least in my area are not complaining anymore. For good reason too. There's a fraction of the deer now.

Unfortunately I also believe the good ol' days are gone.
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Agree JJ. True post.

One thing to add.

We can all write letters until we are blue in the face but I do not think Branstad will ever side with the hunters or the DNR over Farm Bureau especially with the amount of money they give his campaign.
It will never happen.
 
jjohnson said:
Some say NR won't buy or lease because we had a poor year this year. That's b.s. because its still better than their home states.
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As regression toward the mean continues in the Iowa herd, Iowa is becoming less of a focal point as far as where to go for hunting Whitetail. The only reason we still have that allure is perception, and that is fading fast.
 
Thinkin Rut said:
As regression toward the mean continues in the Iowa herd, Iowa is becoming less of a focal point as far as where to go for hunting Whitetail. The only reason we still have that allure is perception, and that is fading fast.
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I disagree. It may have faded but not much. I'm 15 minutes from Wisconsin and 15 minutes from Minnesota. I wouldn't want to know how many of them that are chomping at the bit to buy here. It will take far more than one or two subpar years to have these guys turn the other way. If they were even guaranteed a buck tag every other year the flood would start. I know I talk to a lot of NR every year that are either hunting or snooping. Regardless of a crap year. Its still Iowa. Look at Illinois.

You don't think if tags opened up outfitters wouldn't lock up as much as possible and manage it. The herd and quality of the herd would rebound quickly. All the while residents would be S.O.L.
 
jjohnson said:
I disagree. It may have faded but not much. I'm 15 minutes from Wisconsin and 15 minutes from Minnesota. I wouldn't want to know how many of them that are chomping at the bit to buy here. It will take far more than one or two subpar years to have these guys turn the other way. If they were even guaranteed a buck tag every other year the flood would start. I know I talk to a lot of NR every year that are either hunting or snooping. Regardless of a crap year. Its still Iowa. Look at Illinois.

You don't think if tags opened up outfitters wouldn't lock up as much as possible and manage it. The herd and quality of the herd would rebound quickly. All the while residents would be S.O.L.
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It takes a long time or major event to change a reputation. This is not one or two subpar years, this is the new Iowa and that is a hard pill to swallow.
 
Thanks for posting all this!!! Again, til I'm blue in the face.... It DOES HELP to write in. They need to hear it!!! Please take the time folks!!! I've spoken with some of the guys before - a few hundred emails does make a difference!!! They want to hear it and do keep track. So, please, write in (I think contact info is on a few threads here) and attend the meetings, we absolutely NEED a few good voices at these meetings. They are going to be a very big opportunity if we can get some good voices there, big need!
 
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