Pucky Freak
Well-known member
The Iowa legislative session is Jan-Apr annually, and like clockwork, lawmakers hit the ground running with bills to repay their donors: IA Farm Bureau, and out-of-state campaign donors: individuals and weapons manufacturers. The currency of the quid pro quo repayment is Iowa's finite natural resources. The relentless assault on this resource from the legislature is opposed reasonably well by the Iowa Conservation Alliance, which represents numerous Iowa conservation organizations who pool together to pay a lobbyist to stay abreast of legislative proposals and promote and preserve natural resources for the enjoyment of all Iowans. https://www.facebook.com/people/Iowa-Conservation-Alliance/100064550302372/
Below are descriptions of 3 questionable natural resources bills, followed by some discussion. Anyone who is willing to contact elected officials with input, this is welcome and appreciated. Lists of whom to contact are provided, and I will plan to update this thread throughout the spring. Links to the bills are found here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking @Gellar always has helpful insight on these topics as well.
SF 175 Crossbows valid on vertical bow deer tags. Ravin Crossbows persistently funds political campaigns in order to try and expand its market share. This strategy has been very successful in other eastern states and Iowa sits firmly in it's crosshairs as a holdout. If passed, buck age class is expected to decline in line with what is seen in neighboring states of IL and WI where vertical bows are no longer distinguished from crossbows. The bill also puts more pressure on public lands with additional crossbow hunters on the landscape. Iowa has 8 deer seasons Sept-Jan and there is an overabundance of hunting opportunity as it is.
Status: Passed by NR subcommittee today. Forwarded to the Natural Resources and Environment Senate committee. Committee members emails and phone numbers at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=699
SF 145 Rifle turkey season. My guess is campaign contribution by a weapon manufacturer. Turkey populations are on the decline in most places in IA for multiple reasons, a significant one being recent population increases of egg-eating predators including raccoons, opossums, badgers, and skunks. IA already has 7 turkey seasons and there is plentiful hunting opportunity with a 4-bird limit per hunter. We need less pressure on the resource, not more.
Status: No subcommittee assigned yet. Contact bill sponsor https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=90&personID=6588
SF 42 Add +3000 NR deer tags. Recent hot trend is NR's buying up Iowa recreational land. New wealthy owners' patience grows thin in not being able to buy buck tags to hunt their property every year. Out-of-state campaign contributions to IA legislators grease the wheels to get the laws changed to accomplish this. I am for NR deer hunting opportunity in IA, but it needs to match the available resource. The scarcest resource in the deer hunting equation in Iowa is publicly accessible huntable habitat. Iowa ranks 49 of 50 in states for percentage of land that is open to public hunting. We also have just 8% of total land in timber and 76% of our total land is bare dirt or corn stubble after the crops are harvested. An extra +3000 NR deer tags every year might not sound like a lot, but it can have an outsized impact on public land hunting pressure.
Status: Passed by NR subcommittee. Forwarded to the Natural Resources and Environment Senate committee. Committee members emails and phone numbers at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=699
Below are descriptions of 3 questionable natural resources bills, followed by some discussion. Anyone who is willing to contact elected officials with input, this is welcome and appreciated. Lists of whom to contact are provided, and I will plan to update this thread throughout the spring. Links to the bills are found here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking @Gellar always has helpful insight on these topics as well.
SF 175 Crossbows valid on vertical bow deer tags. Ravin Crossbows persistently funds political campaigns in order to try and expand its market share. This strategy has been very successful in other eastern states and Iowa sits firmly in it's crosshairs as a holdout. If passed, buck age class is expected to decline in line with what is seen in neighboring states of IL and WI where vertical bows are no longer distinguished from crossbows. The bill also puts more pressure on public lands with additional crossbow hunters on the landscape. Iowa has 8 deer seasons Sept-Jan and there is an overabundance of hunting opportunity as it is.
Status: Passed by NR subcommittee today. Forwarded to the Natural Resources and Environment Senate committee. Committee members emails and phone numbers at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=699
SF 145 Rifle turkey season. My guess is campaign contribution by a weapon manufacturer. Turkey populations are on the decline in most places in IA for multiple reasons, a significant one being recent population increases of egg-eating predators including raccoons, opossums, badgers, and skunks. IA already has 7 turkey seasons and there is plentiful hunting opportunity with a 4-bird limit per hunter. We need less pressure on the resource, not more.
Status: No subcommittee assigned yet. Contact bill sponsor https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=90&personID=6588
SF 42 Add +3000 NR deer tags. Recent hot trend is NR's buying up Iowa recreational land. New wealthy owners' patience grows thin in not being able to buy buck tags to hunt their property every year. Out-of-state campaign contributions to IA legislators grease the wheels to get the laws changed to accomplish this. I am for NR deer hunting opportunity in IA, but it needs to match the available resource. The scarcest resource in the deer hunting equation in Iowa is publicly accessible huntable habitat. Iowa ranks 49 of 50 in states for percentage of land that is open to public hunting. We also have just 8% of total land in timber and 76% of our total land is bare dirt or corn stubble after the crops are harvested. An extra +3000 NR deer tags every year might not sound like a lot, but it can have an outsized impact on public land hunting pressure.
Status: Passed by NR subcommittee. Forwarded to the Natural Resources and Environment Senate committee. Committee members emails and phone numbers at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=699
