Iowa’s Whitetail Deer Report

Iowa’s Whitetail Deer Report

By Ben Leal

The 2023/2024 whitetail deer season would be considered by man to be nothing but ordinary. On opening day, October 1, 2023, central Iowa was greeted with an 88-degree day. That warm trend continued with high temps ranging from the 50s to the mid-70s. On the 27th of the month, the temperatures finally dipped to the mid-30s, with lows below freezing. Many deer hunters said, “Finally, the deer will start moving”. That only lasted a few days before we saw a rebound to warmer temps for another three weeks. It goes without saying that the weather impacted much of the deer season.

IEHD/CWD UPDATE
Last year was marked by arid conditions throughout the State. Much of central Iowa and northeast Iowa was listed as either in a severe or extreme drought. Other areas were abnormally dry to moderate, affecting 79% of the State. “The 2023 EHD outbreak likely also contributed to lower harvest throughout southern Iowa, but the population level impacts are still yet to be determined”, said Iowa Department of Natural Resources Deer Biologist Jace Elliott. “We received nearly 2,000 reports of suspected EHD-related mortalities, which marks 2023 as the second most severe and 1st most widespread, with at least 77 out of 99 counties affected by an EHD outbreak in Iowa’s history. The first major outbreak was in 2012.”
The first case of CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease was reported in Allamakee County in 2013. Since then, it has slowly increased its footprint throughout Iowa’s wild deer herd. Since monitoring began, Iowa has seen 347 testing positive for the disease. “CWD continues to spread in geographic range and prevalence, with five new counties confirming a CWD-positive deer in 2023: Howard, Jones, Gurthrie, Monroe, and Marshall”, notes the biologist. In total, twenty counties have had positive results for CWD.

HARVEST BY SEASON
Below is a breakdown of the harvest by season for the 2023-2024 whitetail deer hunting year: “I attribute the slight decline in the harvest to the unseasonably mild weather during the early and last seasons, followed by the polar vortex that took place during our January antlerless seasons,” noted Elliott.

2023-2024 DEER SEASON SUMMARY
As noted, last year’s whitetail deer season was notable by unusual weather. Hunters still managed to record good harvests for the year, and we will look at the top ten counties for the 2023-2024 season.

Clayton County tops the list for last year’s season with a total harvest of 4,023 deer. Covering 793 square miles, the average harvest per square mile was 5.1 deer. Of those, 1,534 were antlered bucks, 1,999 does, 324 button bucks, 123 doe fawns, and 43 shed antler bucks. Allamakee County follows with 3,327 harvested deer. Of those, 1,276 were antlered bucks, 1,666 does, 234 button bucks, 115 doe fawns, and 36 shed antler bucks. Allamakee County harvested an average of 5 deer per square mile, covering 659 square miles in Iowa’s Northeast corner. Madison County is third on our list, with 2,759 harvested deer. Of those, 1,009 were antlered bucks, 1,436 does, 236 button bucks, 59 doe fawns, and 19 shed antler bucks. Covering 561 square miles, Madison County averaged 4.9 deer per square mile. Warren County follows with a total harvest of 2,494 whitetail deer. Of those, 1,038 were antlered bucks, 1,137 does, 215 button bucks, 84 doe fawn, and 20 shed antler bucks. The average harvest per square mile was 4.3 deer, covering 573 square miles in Central Iowa.

Winneshiek County followed closely behind Warren, with 2,469 whitetail deer harvested for the season. There were 815 antlered bucks, 1,340 does, 202 button bucks, 76 doe fawn, and 36 shed antlered bucks taken for the season. Winneshiek County covers 690 square miles and averages 3.5 deer per square mile harvested.

Van Buren County comes in at number six with 2,427 harvested deer, with an average of 4.9 deer per square mile due to the 490 square miles this county covers. There were 874 antlered bucks harvested for the season in Van Buren. Jackson County sits slightly behind with a total harvest of 2,419 harvested deer. Of those, there were 1,007 antlered bucks taken, and 1,102 does. Jackson County covers 650 square miles and averages 3.8 deer taken per square mile. Dubuque and Appanoose Counties follow in eighth and ninth place with 2,200 harvested deer and 2,136, respectively. Between the two counties, 1,627 antlered bucks were taken. Linn County is rounding out the top ten, with a total harvest of 2,128 harvested deer. Of those, there were 836 antlered bucks, and 1,040 does. Averaging 3.0 deer per square mile, Linn County covers 725 square miles.

The top ten counties for the 2023-2024 season yielded 26,382 harvested deer; of those, 10,016 were antlered bucks, and 13,057 does. Covering 6,274 square miles, the top ten yielded an average of 4.2 deer per square mile.

2023-IOWA DEER HUNTER SURVEY
Look on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources website and do a bit of sleuthing. You can find information on a few DNR methods to determine the population trends for deer, raccoons, and other furbearers. One such survey is the spring spotlight survey, where the DNR drives two rural routes across each county at night, documenting the number of individual species observed and their location. Another tool the DNR uses is the Bowhunters Observation Survey. The DNR obtains information on deer, turkeys, and select furbearers each year. For each bowhunting trip, survey participants are asked to record the date, the county hunted, the number of hours hunted, and the number of animals observed while bowhunting. Both are available in PDF format and can be downloaded; great information to review!

In June 2023, the Iowa DNR conducted an Iowa Deer Hunter Survey. “This is the first year that we conducted this survey, and the plan is to repeat it every five years,” said Elliott. This survey of Iowa deer hunters was conducted to assess the following: age and experience demographics, harvest, effort, and activities, motivation and importance of deer hunting, satisfaction of the deer hunting experience and current methods of take, perceptions of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and deer population trends, regulatory preferences and emerging technology, attitudes and opinions regarding the role of fair chase in deer hunting, and also concerns about chronic wasting disease (CWD).

On June 1, the Iowa DNR mailed a postcard containing instructions for an online questionnaire to 16,501 deer hunters in Iowa, approximating a 10% sample of the resident population of deer hunters. The selection was restricted to hunters who were 16 years old or older. There were two additional mailings to non-respondents, one in another postcard and the last in the form of a booklet. Of those surveyed, there were 4,062 respondents; 2,024 responded online, and 2,038 responded via paper booklet.

The complete survey is available online in PDF form, and I encourage you to have a look and review the information. It is incredibly insightful and gives a small glimpse of what Iowa deer think about deer hunting here in Iowa. If you receive a postcard in 2028, please take a few minutes to complete the survey. It is an excellent opportunity to share your thoughts and provide valuable information to the Iowa DNR.

Iowa’s deer hunting opportunities abound, and there is no shortage of places to go and enjoy a day out in the field. Whether in the field or at home, research can be one of your best tools in preparation for the coming season. Take care of the resources we share, and Good Hunting All!