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Outdoors
Iowa's bucks attract out-of-state poachers
Issuing more 'any-sex' licenses could ease the problem and increase revenue, officials say.
By JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
December 29, 2004
Louisianan Lanvin LeBlanc fell prey to Iowa's big buck lure this fall.
He and three hunting partners each had Iowa licenses to kill deer without antlers - and only deer without antlers - but they encountered numerous trophy bucks while bow hunting in Appanoose County last month. Finally, they could no longer resist.
"We kept seeing big bucks go by," said LeBlanc, 47. "There were several I didn't take aim at. But then we just made the conscious decision to go ahead."
They got caught, were ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in fines and damages, and had to turn over thousands of dollars worth of bow-hunting equipment, along with the four prized buck heads that they were so tempted by in the first place.
LeBlanc and his friends had obtained licenses to hunt does in what has become the premier state for bucks with world-class antlers - a status that has caused game officials, legislators and hunters to take opposing sides about how many out-of-state hunters should be allowed to share Iowa's bounty.
This year 12,166 hunters from other states applied for the prime "any-sex tags," which allows them to bag a single buck or doe.
Last year, state wildlife officials asked legislators to double the number of those licenses from 6,000 to 12,000, which would have brought in $1.8 million more for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The request was denied. This year the department will propose a more modest increase.
LeBlanc, a shrimper from Lafitte near New Orleans, said he gladly would have paid $70 more for an any-sex tag. But he, like 6,165 other out-of-state hunters who tried to get the sought-after license, had to settle instead for the $239.50 antlerless-only license to be able to hunt deer in Iowa. A lottery system is used to determine who receives the $309.50 any-sex licenses each season.
"I hunted in Alabama for 25 years. You sit in a hunting box and wait for a deer to walk by. That's not real hunting," said LeBlanc, who has hunted in Appanoose County for five years.
"In Iowa it's real, just like what you see in the hunting videos," he said.
Conservation Officer Randy McPherren, who helps cover the Appanoose County area, said doubling the number of any-sex licenses for out-of-state hunters would be the right approach.
"We've been issuing more and more citations to nonresident hunters since the temptation of Iowa big bucks has grown," he said. "I had a case from North Carolina a couple of years ago. They had purchased doe tags and were coming in with no interest to shoot does.
"From the enforcement end, it is very difficult to catch someone when he has a license to be there. The antlerless-only tags create too much of a temptation," he said.
Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau Chief Dale Garner said officials this winter will ask the Legislature for an additional 2,000 any-sex, out-of-state licenses. Costs in the department are going up and there has been a squeeze on the budget. More license revenue would help support more programs, he said.
State Rep. Mary Lou Freeman, R-Alta, chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said she would favor a modest increase.
"If we can target out-of-state licenses to areas of the state where people want additional hunters, we might be able to get something out of committee," she said.
Iowans who oppose an increase, such as bow hunter Scott Rolffs of Lynnville, are upset that more hunting outfitters and out-of-state hunters have purchased or leased Iowa land. Iowa, where less than 1 percent of the land is open to public hunting, has traditionally been a state where private landowners allow others to come onto their property to hunt.
"Probably close to 2,000 acres of land I once hunted is now being used by people from out of state," said Rolffs, who hunts in southern Iowa.
Rep. Richard Arnold, R-Russell, who also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee, also is opposed to an increase in the number of hunting licenses.
"I represent the hunters, the people in my area, and they don't want more out-of-state hunters," Arnold said. "They tend to buy up the land. This shuts hunting areas off to local hunters."
Still, the sale and leasing of land for hunting, as well as visits by out-of-state hunters, have economic benefits for rural areas.
LeBlanc said he spends around $1,500 for a four- or five-day hunting trip in Iowa. A federal survey shows out-of-state hunters spend an average of $225 to $250 a day on items such as gas, food and lodging.
"I really do like to come to Iowa. I love the people there, they are so friendly," LeBlanc said. "I feel badly and am embarrassed about what we did. It never happened before and it won't happen again."
Poaching hot line
Anyone who sees deer being illegally taken should call the Turn in Poachers Hotline. The majority of complaints to the hot line each year are deer-related. The number, answered 24 hours a day, is (800) 532-2020.
DAMAGES: Anyone, resident or out of state, caught taking a buck without the proper license will be fined according to the size of the deer's antlers. The damages can range from around $4,000 to $20,000 for larger-antlered deer. The cost for taking a doe illegally is $1,500.
FINES: Charges for taking a deer illegally are considered misdemeanors and carry a maximum fine of up to $100 plus costs, which comes to $147 maximum for each incident.
Out-of-state deer costs
ANY-SEX TAG: $309.50, which includes the cost of a deer license, a regular small-game hunting license, habitat fee and processing charge. This tag allows the hunter to kill a buck or a doe.
ANTLERLESS ONLY: $239.50, including the same licenses and fees as the any-sex tag. However, this tag allows the hunter to only hunt deer without antlers. Usually that means harvesting a doe, but occasionally a young buck who has yet to grow antlers.
DAMAGES: Anyone, resident or out of state, caught taking a buck without the proper license will be fined according to the size of the deer's antlers. The damages can range from around $4,000 to $20,000 for larger-antlered deer. The cost for taking a doe illegally is $1,500.
FINES: Charges for taking a deer illegally are considered misdemeanors and carry a maximum fine of up to $100 plus costs, which comes to $147 maximum for each incident.
Out-of-state deer costs
ANY-SEX TAG: $309.50, which includes the cost of a deer license, a regular small-game hunting license, habitat fee and processing charge. This tag allows the hunter to kill a buck or a doe.
ANTLERLESS ONLY: $239.50, including the same licenses and fees as the any-sex tag. However, this tag allows the hunter to only hunt deer without antlers. Usually that means harvesting a doe, but occasionally a young buck who has yet to grow antlers.