Saturday’s crowd of people was “shoulder-to-shoulder” shuffles to get down the aisles to review vendor products and services. There was plenty to see, and plenty to talk about, and lots of friends to say hello to again. It was a good mid-winter escape, and it was a great time to learn more about all kinds of deer facts and biological truths for this big game animal that calls Iowa home.

While visiting with one of Iowa’s deer biologists, he told me a few interesting facts about the carrying capacity of Iowa land. Careful management of the overall deer herd requires various methods for hunters to use, a careful spread of deer hunting pressure based upon land uses and habitat zones, and, a careful management of hunting method types so as to spread hunting pressure as evenly as can be accommodated.

It is not easy. However, Iowa DNR officials have found a comfortable balance between landowner concerns and hunters’ desires. Nothing is perfect. Deer hunting regulations prove that this “balance” is a working baseline for the Hawkeye State.

Regarding carrying capacity, the biologist noted that Iowa land could support a total population of four times as many deer as we now have, but that option is not a good idea at all, both for the habitat and landowner tolerances.

Adding to that, such an overpopulation would add significantly to deer/vehicle accidents. While biological carrying capacity is one thing, how many animals can the land support there is another component.

That component is the public tolerance levels and political tolerance levels. While biologists want to work with facts, the latter two are often well mixed with emotion. Facts should win. Emotions sometimes carry the day.

Therefore, a balance has been struck in Iowa that is workable. From high deer population numbers of twenty years ago, the DNR now tries to manage hunters and hunting to keep the post hunt surviving breeding population of deer at about 300,000. This number is achieved by hunters taking 100,000 deer each fall.

Hunters have accomplished this via purchase of licenses, habitat fees, sporting arms, ammunition, bows and arrows, crossbows, and lots of time and money spent on land, on hunting gear and on special equipment to plant and manage food plots. Deer and deer hunters spend a lot of money in their passionate pursuit of the sport of deer hunting.

Landowners who raise livestock know full well the concept of carrying capacity. How many animals they can raise is based upon their land resources to grow the foodstuffs for those animals.

They find a balance between their land and numbers of critters. Then management efficiencies must be considered to make raising livestock a profitable economic course, year after year. That is not easy, but it can be done.

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Hunting is conservation: consider these facts.

1. In 1900, only 500,000 whitetailed deer remained in North America. Today, there are about 32 million by work supported and spearheaded by hunters.

2. In 1900, only 100,000 wild turkeys remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are over 7 million wild turkeys.

3. In 1901, few ducks flew their migration corridors. Thanks to hunters, wetland habitat projects and regulated hunting seasons have led to restoring waterfowl numbers to more than 44 million. 4. In 1907, elk numbers were estimated at 41,000. Thanks to money and hard work invested by hunters in partnership with state wildlife agencies and organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, there are now over 1 million elk.

5. In 1950, only 12,000 pronghorns remained. Today, there are over 1.1 million.

6. Habitat management, research and wildlife law enforcement are paid for via hunter dollars, and a big benefit of this cooperative strategy helps thousands of countless non-game species — insects, amphibians, birds of all kinds and sizes, small mammals and reptiles.

7. Through state licenses and fees, hunters pay $796 million a year for conservation programs. 8. In 1937, hunters actually requested an 11 percent tax on long guns to help fund conservation. In the 1970s, an amendment was added to the Pittman-Robertson Act that created an added tax of 10 percent on handguns and an 11 percent tax on archery equipment. To date, the funds raised add up to over $8 billion for wildlife conservation.

9. In just one year, these tax sources generate about $371 million and are redistributed to the states to assist in their budgeting.

10. Hunters across America collectively pay more than $1.6 billion for use on conservation programs.

11. Three out of four Americans approve of hunting, partly because hunters are America’s driving force for conservation.

12. If you break down financial support on a daily basis, it comes to $8 million.

13. Hunter support toward our economy tabulates to $38 billion per year in retail spending.

14. Female participation in hunting is more than 3.35 million and growing fast.

15. Sound wildlife management helps balance wildlife populations with what the land can support, thereby limiting crop damage and assisting in curtailing disease outbreaks.

16. Hunters help manage growing numbers of predators — cougars, bears, coyotes and wolves. Hunters are willing to pay for privileges to do so.

17. Hunters help reduce the incidences of vehicle/wildlife accidents by taking game animals during regulated seasons.

18. Hunting supports 680,000 jobs in services of all kinds for fuel, food and lodging.

19. Hunters and fishermen fund nearly 75 percent of the annual income for all 50 state conservation agencies.

20. Avid hunter and pioneer conservationist Theodore Roosevelt helped focus the nation’s attention on long term habitat conservation through his work to create national forests and national grasslands that all together placed 230,000 acres into protection for the public.

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Wildlife sightings this past week have been what I would call typical for early March. Lots of local Canada geese are using segments of open water along the Iowa River. While they loaf and take it easy, they are aware of lengthening days.

Their urge to move north is growing slowly and steadily. Big influxes of ducks and other goose species have not materialized so far. Wild turkeys can be observed in some farm fields adjacent to forest edges each evening before sunset.

Deer are bunched together during late winter and can also be observed readily in the hour before sunset. Look for them while driving back roads of the Iowa River valley. I have it on good reference that several sandhill cranes have returned to the bottomland wetlands northwest of Marshalltown. Spring is getting closer. Hurray!

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Congratulations are in order to Steve Armstrong, a volunteer for Pheasants Forever, for a job well done. Steve had the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2022 January PF Stage Banquet. He has held positions with the Marshall and Tama County PF Chapter as President, Vice- President, Banquet Committee and board member.

During his 32 years of volunteer service, he has worked with committee members on habitat projects such as the Marietta Sand Prairie, the Iowa River Wildlife Management Area and the BAWA Wildlife Area in Tama County. He is involved with tree planting, food plot crop seed distribution and future conservation projects.

Armstrong is one of five board members on the Marshall County Conservation Board. He keeps busy also with Youth Projects such as the Central Iowa Straight Shooters, awarding scholarships to seniors, contributing to youth projects and serving as a hunter education instructor. His hobbies include hunting, fishing/ice fishing, attending his grandkids’ school activities and traveling.

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board.

Contact him at:

P.O. Box 96

Albion, IA 50005

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