Regional Industry & News

State officials to host meetings in NW Iowa on license changes for the upcoming deer season

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - With some changes right before deer hunting season starts, the Iowa DNR is helping hunters stay informed.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting four meetings in Western Iowa to update hunters on changes before licenses go on sale Saturday, Aug. 15.

Meetings are scheduled on:

- Monday, Aug. 3, at Yellow Smoke Park near Denison

- Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Dennis L. Sohl Center in Hinton

- Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Sandy Hollow Clubhouse in Sioux Center

- Thursday, Aug. 6, at Prairie Heritage Center near Peterson

The most significant change this deer hunting season is dividing the state into two deer zones, Zone A and Zone B

The specifics of these zones include:

- Zone B includes Lyon, Sioux, O’Brien, Plymouth, Woodbury, Ida, Crawford and Shelby counties.

- The rest of the state is Zone A

General deer licenses in Zone B are valid for antlered bucks only, and party hunting is not allowed.

With these changes, hunters will need to select the zone they will be hunting in before purchasing their deer license. Zone A licenses are not valid in Zone B, and Zone B licenses are not valid in Zone A.

Zone B allows for Antlered Buck-only harvest for all seasons except youth and disabled, or for hunters with landowner-tenant tags or landowners in the depredation program.

“These regulation changes, including dividing the state into two zones, are the product of more than a dozen meetings with local hunters concerned about low deer populations who want to see the herd recover. We’re hosting these meetings within the new Deer Zone B and encouraging hunters to attend to keep the conversation going,” Jace Elliott, state deer biologist with the Iowa DNR, said in a press release.

A limited, county-specific quota of Any-Deer Licenses are available in Zone B, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Licenses go on sale at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 15.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.