IC council agrees to bow hunting of deer
Hunter
6/20/19
The Iowa City city council has approved a long-term plan to address the city’s rising deer population, and that includes bow hunting.
In previous years the city has relied solely on the contracting of sharpshooters to quell the deer population and applied to the Iowa Natural Resources Commission to do the same this time. However, the NRC rejected the application, insisting that allowing bow hunting would be more effective.
The Council has been against the bow-hunting solution, but as the population continues to grow and the NRC refusing to budge, members reversed their positions during Tuesday’s meeting and approved sharpshooting for this season and bow hunting for the winters of 2020-2024. The bow hunting will be allowed on the stipulation that they’re necessary to maintain a deer density of ten deer per square mile.