I have also enjoyed some great turkey hunting in Iowa for the past 6 years and am very tempted to snatch up one of the remaining leftover tags, but I just can't bring myself to give in to such a ridiculously high increase in just one year. I can still remember when my father told me many years ago that someday hunting would be just a sport for the wealthy--the old adage about that's how it is in Europe--and I always just blew it off. Afterall, this is America and we would never allow that to happen here. It may not be to the point where it is exclusively an "upperclass only" sport, since I could scrape up the $200 if I really wanted too, but it is now a matter of principles and not supporting the huge increase by not hunting in Iowa. Kind of a "screw me with such a huge increase, well screw you" attitude seems to be what most of us non-residents feel. It may not be the right attitude and many Iowa residents may not mind fewer non-residents in the woods, but it's disturbing that the Iowa DNR would let this happen and I can only hope that some of the residents of Iowa don't suppport such an unfair increase and try to pound some sense into your politicians for us non-residents! I've always wandered why we even have a DNR or Game, Fish, and Parks Departments if the legislature won't let them make the decisions that they feel are correct without trying to put in their two cents. Are these Departments just another "puppet on a string" for them? Sure seems like it!
