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What's IA hunters feelings?

I think any non-resident landowner who owns a minimum amount of acreage (say +100 acres) should be entitled to purchase one either sex tag that will only be valid on their property. They also must pay the full non-resident license fee (no freebie like resident landowners). They also would be entitled to purchase additional antlerless only farm unit tags to help control the doe population. Rural Iowa land prices are a true bargain. Compare what people are paying in other states for hunting acreage that does not have anywhere near the quality hunting that Iowa has to offer. I know quite a few non-residents who have purchased rural acreage for hunting. All have implemented quality management. All establish food plots to keep the deer healthy. Most of them have consulted with the IDNR foresty and wildlife biologists to enhance their properties for wildlife. Like them or not, these non-residents are true assets to sustaining wildlife in Iowa.
 
I agree with cornfed on the trespassing. I have never seen anything like it! I have a farm in Kansas and never have problems with trespassers. In Iowa, you can guarantee that your property will be driven by a hord of gun hunters (at least in my area of SE Iowa) if you are not there period. It really stinks when you could be hunting someplace else during Iowa's gun season but can't because you have to be on your property patrolling it.
 
Great points John V, I agree with you. I wish Iowa would do the same as Wisconsin when it comes to non-res tags. When you purchase a buck tag two doe tags are attached to it at no additional charge. I don't kill a buck in Wisconsin every year but I almost always kill a doe or two.
 
Thanks for the luck Ghost Walker.
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I also believe that Kansas has the right solution by charging the nonresident landowner a steeper price for a permit and putting an 80 -100 acre limit on it.

I hear talk of Iowa giving out more nonresident permits. I don't agree with this, but if they are going to, the peole that own land that are not residents in Iowa should get first dibs at those licences at least. My 2 cents!
 
Start paying Iowa state income tax and we'll reconsider.
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(No, your property tax on that undeveloped parcel is not making you a resident)

Here is a thought! Put the non-resident land owners in a catagory of there own and charge them about 1500.00 a tag (buck even!) If they have the funds to buy the land yet not pay income tax or capital gains on their Lg income the state should beinfit for what it provides them.
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Here's your non-selfish reason. If you do not meet requirements for residency, you aren't afforded the same benefits as those who are residents. Sounds pretty basic. This isn't limited to hunting and it isn't limited to Iowa. I think everyone who buys land and improves it for habitat or whatever they do with it understands that going in. I don't think there's any deception involved.
To rutnbuck: Yes I do have money invested in land in Arizona and in habitat also, and I'm "fortunate" enough to be paying for all that and a lot of other lands with my federal income taxes.
 
Trper - what I meant by the phrase "common Iowan" is someone whose income and financial situation does not provide them an opportunity to purchase a large tract of recreational land, but has contributed to the health of the deer herd via license purchase, etc. In my mind these are the people who have hunted in their own state for years and have done so under regulations that promote, at least in an indirect way, the growth of mature animals. Whether I consider myself a common Iowan or not is not my point. My point is that I personally don't like to see people that have contributed to the healthy Iowa deer herd shouldered away once it gets good enough for outside "money" to come in and take it away.

Now that others recognize that there is an attractive quality associated with this practice, they want to come here and hunt, indirectly displacing the people who have supported the conservation programs that led to the attractive situation in the first place. Call it what you will, I don't like it.

As far as selfish behavior, no one is exempt here IMO and it really isn't a factor since everyone is speaking up "selfishly" for their own interests. The land buyer that excludes others so they can shoot the bucks, the resident that doesn't want to see others shooting "their" bucks, etc, are all the same to me.

Perhaps this is not common sense to you, but someone did ask what Iowa hunters felt about this situation.

Hypothetically, if I as an Iowan bought 10 acres in say, Illinois and then wanted to attend college there as a resident, which is much less expensive BTW, do you think I should be able to do that? Is that fair to the Illinois residents who actually live there? How about if I bought the out-of-state land knowing that it didn't qualify me for the lower tuition and then once I bought it I started to push for my "rights" as a landowner? How do you think current residents would react? I think they might react "selfishly" and say that if you want to receive the benefits of being an Illinois resident you should move there. Sounds familiar to me. If people want to be treated as Iowans, let them move here I say. That's common sense to me at least.

Lastly, I think hunters can disagree and hopefully I have expressed myself without being disrespectful to anyone else. It is a bigger threat to hunting in my mind to have even fewer hunters, which is where I see this phenomenon taking us.
 
Nonres,

I think you are very fortunateto be able to purchase such land to enjoy.I know when and if I ever get a chance I would do the same just for hunting enjoyment, walking through the woods or shed hunting.You are right,even twenty years from now you will still have ground,as long as you make the payments.

Some people stick this money into motorhomes,buy condo's in the mountains,or just simply piss it away over the course of their life by drinking, smoking, gambling etc.
It's their choice, and thus is yours.

If you have the chance, buy it.Yes you may not be able to get a buck tag,so get the antlerless tag, come with your video camera, tape what is running around on your property,find the shed's in the spring.

As for trespassing, find a neighbor, tell them you will let them in to hunt if they keep on eye on the place.Just because you buy ground doesn't mean big bucks are going to stay there.They may be on the neighbor's ground and you may want to sit over there sometime.
The biggest mistake I see of people that buy ground is that they gate it off and don't let anybody else on it, keep it open to the neighbors and they will probably let you on theirs.Just tell them when you would be in the area so they wouldn't go in and mess things up for you.

Don't forget to invite a kid!!
 
Nonres,Why sould the state of Iowa make it so you can buy land here and hunt when you are not a resident?
I looked at the Michigan DNR website and they are the same as Iowa on nonresidents.It says owning land in Michigan is NOT a qualitication for a resident hunting license.
You have to live their and have a Michigan driver license and vote and pay taxes and all that good stuff that makes a resident a resident.
Im not trying to get down on you or your home state.Just saying thats how it is here and there.
I would get the same response to the same question if it was reversed.
Iowa nonresident fees have increased a lot in the last few years.I could go to your home state as a nonresident and hunt cheaper than you could when coming here.I dont set the fees though.Theres the way it sould be and theres the way it is.
Buy that land if you like,i dont think you will regret it a bit,for Iowa has plenty to offer besides deer hunting.You can hunt them sheds and morel mushrooms in the spring just to mention a few.Who knows someday you may want to move here.
 
Daver, I personally also do not like the idea that those who have contributed to a healthy Iowa deer herd be shut out of places to hunt because of outside money. My basic point is that there is nothing anyone can change about that. You either have it or you try to get it! This is a free country and anyone who is a citizen can buy ground anywhere if it is for sale. If they don't move here then its there loss. They just get to hunt every other year depending on which type of license they apply for. We all like to think if we do the right thing, pay our taxes etc.... that the state will take care of us because we have contributed to the till. Also it does not take much to meet the requirments of residency. Alot of States back East don't have a lottery to get a non res license. There are alot of Iowa residents who spend more time living in other States. They pay all there taxes and have licenses and have a residence. They get there Iowa license then just purchase a non res license in the state there spending most of their time in. There non res license is cheaper that ours and they don't have to apply. After reading my reply from last night and waking up to a new day I really do understand the concern Iowa hunters have. The real question that should be asked is "What can we do about it "?Everyone surely realizes it is about money with the legislature and not what we as common Iowans who have contributed to Iowa's conservation programs and success think. I guess my whole point is keeping a non res landowner from getting a tag every year is not going to stop prime hunting land from being bought. That's just how it is!! I must say I do like scouts idea of having them pay for it if there priority is hunting Iowa every year. Non res are not selling their land to non res. I do not fault those who are selling their property to make up for losses that occurred with last years economy. If things don't change and the legislature doesen't get their act together more ground will be up for sale. A good example of money thrown away last year by our legislative body. No to .08%. It will cost taxpayers more money and more of the recreational drinkers might get arrested and not the hard core drunk who kills people on our highways What a joke!!! Obvioulsy they have never been around a person who tests .08. Also for those of you who do not know you can be arrested for .08 now or less. The only thing the .08 does is set the standard for the dot being able to suspend your license if you test .08 at at the time of arrest. Maybe they will get it right this year. Sorry for the political agenda item. Just venting again.
 
I think the discussion is great & both sides have good points. I have sacrificed alot to own a small parcel of ground. I pay the taxes to live in Iowa & deal with the lower pay than I could earn in other states. I do get a better quality of life in return for that. I don't want to live in Detroit or Chicago. There will never be agreement on the topic- but one option I saw was to put non-res owners in their own class. I'd let them hunt but the tag fees should go directly to the purchase of public hunting lands. I'd also suggest a much, much steeper fee just to level the field.
 
Trper - I appreciate and respect your reply, although I do disagree on one key point. I think there are things that can be done to preserve and even expand quality hunting, here in Iowa and elsewhere too. Believe it or not, I am happy to see non-residents bag big deer too. I just don't like the trend that is going now that restricts access to quality deer habitat to all but the wealthy.

Let's not roll over and accept that there is nothing that we can do to prevent people from being shut out of quality deer hunting.

Firstly, if more states ammended their hunting seasons to eliminate heavy gun pressure during the rut there would be big bucks crawling all over the place in many states. This would provide more big buck opportunities to more people and everyone wouldn't have to go to Iowa, Illinois or Kansas just to hunt quality deer.

Secondly, hunter attitudes can be changed as they have been here in Iowa, at least to an extent. My memory says that it wasn't all that many years ago that the shotgun seasons had "buck only" tags, I think all of them may have been that way for at least the 1st season anyway. Talk about a recipe for an unbalanced herd! IMO the fact that not everyone is obligated to shoot a buck or no deer at all during the gun season helps contribute to more bucks growing up and developing into the mature animals that all of us are looking for.

Also, I can't think of anyone I know that voluntarily held off on the little guys 10 years ago. Now I know many hunters that pass on small bucks. I have personally passed up good bow shots at as many as 22 bucks in a given year. Before, a buck was a buck and they all wore the same target on their side. Consequently, big bucks were less common in my experience 10-15 years ago than they are now. So a combination of subtle license policy changes and voluntary restraint has to me made for more big bucks. IMO there's no reason that this can't be duplicated in other states too.

Thirdly, some states need some not so subtle policy changes. There are certain states that a person could shoot upwards of a half dozen bucks per year. How about changing that to two bucks per year and seeing if the other four survivors can grow an extra year or two. Maybe Iowa should charge non-residents based upon the policies of the states they are coming from. If you have ridiculous, big buck unfriendly policies at home you'd have to pay more to hunt here, etc. Something tells me that not too many Illinois and Kansas residents are coming to Iowa to hunt deer in relation to other states where good big buck opportunities are harder to come by.

That's all for now, again, I appreciate your viewpoints and hope that you appreciate mine too.
 
Daver, I must say I do agree with you on your key point of exspanding quality hunting in other states so that it eliviates the desire to travel here to harvest a quality animal. I for one would not travel anywhere else to hunt if I had it as good as I have it here. I don't need to travel to Illinois, Kentucky, or Canada to kill a trophy. I do respect your opinion and appreciate the complexity of this issue. It makes perfect sense to me. These types of discussions help to clarify and steer all of us towards a common goal. Hopefully all things will work out for the best. Attitudes definetely need to be changed! Thanks for your reply.
 
This is a tough subject, I think some of the problems relate to people buying land in S.E. Iowa enrolling this ground in forest reserve.
So now these poor county's have lost that much more tax base.
Also if you are from out of state and can only visit your land every so often, you are never going to keep people off of it.
O.K. so you buy 225 acres in Iowa, the state gives you one tag, no one comes on your property. You go down during season take a Booner. What kind of management is that? You will be taking one deer off a year on a 225 acre tract.
So you need better management are you going to let locals hunt your property to try to manage population? Or are you giong to start charging people to hunt?
All I am getting at is this subject can be debated a million different ways.
I am trying to talk my dad into non-resident farm management. He will be retiring in a few years and will be moving to S.E. Iowa. He can't afford to buy 200 acres. so I told him to find a land owner and talk him into selling him a few acres to build a house. Inturn he could put in plots, keep off treaspassers, and keep the owner informed of deer movement. Then when the owner is done with his hunt let dad do a little hunting.
What do you think? Sound like a good idea for both parties?
BOWDUDE
 
Nonres - If you are going shed hunting this weekend you better bring your tennis shoes because 90% + of those antlers are still attached to deer and they will be moving fast.

About your guaranteed license, I see your point but my opinion is no. I am sorry but I feel that being a resident of a state with fairly low avg annual income opportunities should have some privledges. Maybe I am being selfish, but you wanted an Iowan's opinion and I gave you one.

Now that is over, can I hunt your 240 acres if you buy it? Or are you going to lease the hunting rights to other non-res with tags?

IaCraig
 
Nonres is not here to answer for himself so I will try, he is still in Iowa buying his property.
First I would like to clerify Propredators answer to his own question. In Michigan any non resident may purchase a liscence over the counter for about a hundred bucks and hunt anywhere in the state. You do not have to be a resident, or live here or have a valid Michigan drivers liscence.
I am a non resident land owner with over 200acres. My nieghbors around me could not ask for a better partner in QDM. I am in the early stages of habitat development and will remain commited to that for as long as I own the property. Quality Deer Managment is first on my list. As a bow hunter from Michigan owning property in Iowa is a dream come true.
Yes I bought my property knowing full well that I may only be able to hunt it ever other year. That doesnt mean I understand the rule! If it is to keep a quality deer herd then my argument is this: As a land owner I would have the right to get only one non resident land owner tag per year(if it exsisted) and only kill one deer as opposed to the unknown amount killed by the truck loads of drivers that hunted my land in years past with the "brown its down mentality."
If it is property values you are worried about then my argument is this: I recently read an article in the Des Moine Register called " Property Value Rises." Land in my county went up 26% last year alone, and over all increased significantly all across the state. All of this happened without a non resident land owner tag.
Someone please explain what the function of this rule is? I come to Iowa ten times a year. I spend money at your hotels, restaurants,and hardware stores etc. I want to build a hunting cabin and spend more money in your state. I can hunt turkeys, pheasants, rabbits, ducks and everything else in your state, but I cannot kill a buck on my own land but every other year or so.
That being siad, if I wasnt so excited about hunting monster whitetail deer in Iowa I would not have made the investment that I did. Im OK with dealing with your rules I just dont understand them and their function.
One more Question for you? Why cant I hunt with my bow during shotgun season? (we can in Michigan, we just have to abide by the gun rules, hunter orange etc.)
IAcraig buying 240 acres of land is a huge investment for the purpose of hunting. If you think we are going to lease our land to others, you are wrong. I didnt purchase my property for others, I did it for me.

thank you for listening, COMMITED
 
Nonres is not here to answer for himself so I will try, he is still in Iowa buying his property.
First I would like to clerify Propredators answer to his own question. In Michigan any non resident may purchase a liscence over the counter for about a hundred bucks and hunt anywhere in the state. You do not have to be a resident, or live here or have a valid Michigan drivers liscence.
I am a non resident land owner with over 200acres. My nieghbors around me could not ask for a better partner in QDM. I am in the early stages of habitat development and will remain commited to that for as long as I own the property. Quality Deer Managment is first on my list. As a bow hunter from Michigan owning property in Iowa is a dream come true.
Yes I bought my property knowing full well that I may only be able to hunt it ever other year. That doesnt mean I understand the rule! If it is to keep a quality deer herd then my argument is this: As a land owner I would have the right to get only one non resident land owner tag per year(if it exsisted) and only kill one deer as opposed to the unknown amount killed by the truck loads of drivers that hunted my land in years past with the "brown its down mentality."
If it is property values you are worried about then my argument is this: I recently read an article in the Des Moine Register called " Property Value Rises." Land in my county went up 26% last year alone, and over all increased significantly all across the state. All of this happened without a non resident land owner tag.
Someone please explain what the function of this rule is? I come to Iowa ten times a year. I spend money at your hotels, restaurants,and hardware stores etc. I want to build a hunting cabin and spend more money in your state. I can hunt turkeys, pheasants, rabbits, ducks and everything else in your state, but I cannot kill a buck on my own land but every other year or so.
That being siad, if I wasnt so excited about hunting monster whitetail deer in Iowa I would not have made the investment that I did. Im OK with dealing with your rules I just dont understand them and their function.
One more Question for you? Why cant I hunt with my bow during shotgun season? (we can in Michigan, we just have to abide by the gun rules, hunter orange etc.)
IAcraig buying 240 acres of land is a huge investment for the purpose of hunting. If you think we are going to lease our land to others, you are wrong. I didnt purchase my property for others, I did it for me.

thank you for listening, COMMITED
 
commited,the point i was trying to make is that if i owned land in michigan i too would have to buy a nonresident tag.
Yes it would be much cheaper there than it is here with much more benifits.
I dont have the answer to the questions.You need to address the DNR and the law makers.
When i started hunting deer here in Iowa years ago it was buck only and the deer numbers at a lot less than now.The so called big horns didnt bring out of state huntings in to hunt.Dont think it was even allowed then.Now look at it,people are willing to spend a lot of money to cash in on it.
I guess you could say we Iowans are looking out for our own.If your going to come here to hunt to take advantage of years of developing are deer herd i guess your gonna have to pay for it.
If i had my way it would be a non res would have to pay A big game fee to hunt a buck and it would be no less than 3000dollars.
I dont hunt out of state,if i did i would hunt the thousands of acres of public hunting ground instead of buying up land for the purpose of hunting.
This only my bias thoughts on the matter and in know way is the view of ever Iowan.
 
My opinion, you are buying a buck, if you have money you can have anything. I'm forever thankful for happening to be born and raised in Iowa and I'm also fortunate to have relatives that allow me to hunt their land. We have a lot of slob hunters here and I wish we could trade them for good nonresident hunters, not to say all nonresident hunters are good. If you love Iowa hunting so much become a resident it's a free country. You should not be able to get a resident license just because you own land.
 
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