Des Moines, IA- Iowa’s 2022 deer harvest increased over 7% over the 2021 season, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR says that number is due in part to the new Excess Tag January Antlerless Season approved by the Iowa Legislature last spring.
“A lot of hunters chose to participate in the new season, and the harvest was on par or a little above the other firearms seasons,” said Jace Elliott, state deer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Elliott says that hunters reported more than 2,500 deer taken during the Excess Tag Antlerless Season in January.
According to the DNR, hunters tagged deer at a rate of 30% to 35%, for a total reported harvest of over 109,600 deer.
Deer harvest varied regionally, with the north-central and southeast regions seeing an increase over 2021. Far western and southwest Iowa saw a decline in harvest. The DNR believes this is due to recent outbreaks of EHD and floods in the Missouri River valley.
“The deer herd has shown that, given time, it can recover from EHD outbreaks,” he said. “And 2022 was a mild year with respect to EHD in that area.”
The deer population model indicates the herd size is stable to slightly increasing and is within the goal of the Iowa deer study advisory committee.
