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The 2026-27 hunting and trapping seasons will soon be upon us. There are several regulation changes heading into the upcoming seasons that I want to highlight in this article.
Deer hunting licenses will now go on sale at 9 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2026. Online deer and turkey licenses sales will stop two weeks prior to the season opening to ensure transportation tags are mailed and received by the purchaser prior to the season opening date.
Hunters wishing to purchase antlerless deer tags for counties with a relatively small number of such tags should waste no time in purchasing those licenses as some county antlerless tag quotas fill quickly. The antlerless deer quota for Tama and Benton counties remains unchanged from last year at 200 for Tama and 325 for Benton.
Audubon, Carroll and Greene counties have been added to the antlered-buck only harvest during the first regular gun season.
The Population Management January Antlerless Deer Season will be available in Allamakee and Winneshiek counties only, if the number of unsold antlerless licenses on the third Monday in December exceeds 100.
Treestands on public lands must have a metal tag with the owner's DNR issued customer identification number attached and visible from the ground. This is in order to address issues with treestands being left on public land well beyond the close of season. Treestands can be placed on certain public lands open to hunting from a period 7 days before the deer season starts. Within 7 days of the deer season closing, the stand must be removed. During the course of my 22-year career as State Conservation Officer, I could have filled more than one large roll-off dumpster with the number of treestands I have removed from public lands. So, treestand user beware.
A new online tool now allows for instant reporting of buck deer "deadheads" from February 1 through July 31. This is for the reporting and legal acquisition of dead bucks found and the ensuing desire by the finder to possess the antlers still attached to the skull. An Iowa landowner has first dibs on antlers found on their property; if they do not desire them then someone else can have them if they have permission from the landowner and have reported the find online or to their local conservation officer. Deadheads found from August 1 to January 31 need to be reported by the finder to the local conservation officer. More information about the new digital reporting process is found in the current hunting regulation booklet published by the Iowa DNR.
Trapping identification tags attached to traps may include either the trapper's name and address or their DNR issued customer identification number. Trap tags that are improperly tagged, including not being legible, will be confiscated by a conservation officer.
Iowa now has two deer hunting zones: Zone A and Zone B. Zone B is in western Iowa along the Missouri River and consists of 8 counties. Zone A is the rest of the state. Hunters may purchase up to two general (any sex) deer licenses, including any combination of Zone A or Zone B licenses, consisting of no more than one archery season and one firearm season tag of choice. More particulars regarding these two zones can be found in the current DNR hunting regulation booklet.
The information presented here, and much more, can be found in greater detail in the 2026-27 Iowa Hunting, Trapping and Migratory Game Bird regulation booklet, which is now in the process of being disseminated to vendors who sell hunting, trapping and fishing licenses. An online digital version of this booklet is available now at www.iowadnr.gov.
As a reminder, anyone born after Jan. 1, 1972 must satisfactorily complete a hunter education course in order to obtain a hunting license. Depending upon your situation, the course can either be completed online or through an in-person class setting. The DNR website: www.iowadnr.gov, lists in-person classes available 30 days prior to the class start date.
Good luck this fall and winter in regards to your outdoor pursuits. And remember, it's not all about the take, it's about the experience of being afield and the memories that come with it.
Brett Reece is the state game warden.