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Iowa DNR is better than others!

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There was a person who was complaining about how bad the Iowa DNR was because they took there time processing tags. Give me a brake! The Iowa DNr has to be doing the best job in the country. With a few non resident tags, no rifles, and a gun season after the rut, that is why Iowa has so many big bucks. Take Michigan for example; endless doe tags(which no one uses) every small buck dies cause everyone has to get "there buck". Rifles and a November gun season, plus baiting. It is a joke. So if certain individuals want to complain about bad DNR's don't look at Iowa they do a fantastic job.
 
I am not sure if the talk of the day should be "whos better" as much as it should be "what's changed."

With Wilson,Farris and Carrier gone we have had some major administrative changes. I would be interested in an organizational chart of who's who now and what there roles are.

Maybe this would be more constructive then building up or tearing down an office of Iowa's state government.

Having sat on the DNR Commission I somewhat understand the ups and downs of this huge department. We also have a few CO's checking in periodically and they can give us there views from the field.

Just my 2 cents,

TLH
 
This was posted yesterday on the DNR website...

TOP MANAGEMENT SPOTS FILLED IN DNR REORGANIZATION

Des Moines – Following Gov. Tom Vilsack’s signing last week of a bill that reorganizes the structure of the DNR, Jeff Vonk, DNR director, announced the filling of top management positions in the department.

Elizabeth Christiansen was appointed deputy director, and Mike Brandrup the division administrator of the new Conservation and Recreation Division. Wayne Gieselman had been announced in April as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Division. He is now officially the administrator of the new Environmental Services Division. Linda Hanson remains in her position as administrator of the Management Services Division.

Vonk said the reorganization of the DNR reduces seven divisions to three by combining similar functions, and reduces bureaus under those divisions from 21 to 16. The moves are expected to save about $500,000. Anticipating legislative approval of the changes, Vonk said he had left vacant three administrator and the deputy director positions from the old structure.

Christiansen, 45, had been division administrator of DNR’s Land Quality and Waste Management Division for the past two years. That division was incorporated into the new Environmental Services Division, along with energy and geology.

Brandrup, 57, had been the division administrator of the Forests and Prairie Division since 1999. Brandrup’s new division includes forestry, fish and wildlife, and state parks.

"Liz has the depth of background and leadership ability to be my second in command," said Vonk. "Mike has continually demonstrated his management skills for natural resources and DNR staff," he said. Both appointments became effective immediately.

Before coming to the DNR, Christiansen spent about 10 years with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Cedar Rapids and Linn County on waste management issues. She holds a BA in biology from Cornell of Mt. Vernon, IA. Her home is in Iowa City.

Prior to leading the Forests and Prairie Division of the DNR, Brandrup worked in private industry for five years and started with the Iowa Conservation Commission as a district forester in 1975. He has a BS in forest management from Iowa State University. Brandrup is from Webster City.
 
well said kelcher, the iowa dnr has done a great job!they have the best bowhunting in the country because of the way they have set there seasons up.i feel they do need to keep tabs on this late season doe issue,some guys are shooting 250# pound does with red spots on there heads and then they roll them over and low and behold they have a dink.this stinks!eight point does have a point with the gun-bow ratio more gun then bow tags, most guys would rather bow hunt.now for larrys comments on michigan, iowa is not about the numbers like michigan is,i can remember flying in from saskatchewan to metro airport in detroit i looked down and thought i was looking at a pumkin patch, no it was just michigans opening day of gun deer season right during the rut.then to top this of i was talking to a trapping buddy of mine from northern michigan he said the head of the dnr up there has a masters in math not management doesnt that just figure.the only thing michigan could do is you would have to harvest a doe and then you could get a buck tag, there are way to many deer up there,it would stink if a booner walked by and you hadnt filled your doe tag though,but the chances of that happening is about has good has getting struck by lightning.that my freinds is why i moved to iowa. seeya tim
 
For the most part I think Iowa's DNR does a pretty fair job of wildlife management. We have plenty of game (depending on who you talk to) and the future looks good. Is there room for improvement?....sure, but every DNR nationwide falls into that position.

Regarding the time for issuing licenses...Iowa could learn a few lessons from some other states. The computer generated licenses will help a lot. Wyoming is a good example of applications being available in Jan-Feb...gives the hunter a chance to make arrangements for vacation time, travel plans, etc in plenty of time.

I've been told by those within the Iowa DNR the reason they wait so long to issue tags has to do with the DNR's presence at the Iowa State Fair. Supposedly many are use to picking up their deer applications at the DNR building on the fairgrounds. The fear is that if this were to change, the people that have done this for years might miss out (or be confused) and applications would go down. As it's been explained to me, this "late in the year State Fair tradition" has resulted in the tags getting issued later than most other states. I would think this could change with the computer generated licensing.

For those non-resident hunters that hunt multiple states, it would be nice to know a little earlier in order to schedule hunting plans.
 
Why are all you guys discussing all these things (new workers, rights and wrongs) about the Iowa DNR I was giving them a compliment. The post about the outfitters? Did I mention outfitters? I am simply saying that we the NONRESIDENT should feel obligated and lucky to hunt such a fine state. I personally don't have any interest to hunt elsewhere. I don't hunt with outfitters and Michigan is too frustrating! My cam-tracker took more pictures of people than it did big bucks in Michigan last year. I agree with (tk) I have seen the Pumpkin patch he speaks so highly of. If you want to see what Iowa would look like if everyone got a tag come to Michigan on Nov 15. Don't complain about Iowa!
 
Why is it impossible to book a hunt in the summer? There are many areas that offer guaranteed tags and have openings all the way up to the start of deer season.Nebraska comes to mind right away because I hunt there when I dont draw an Iowa tag .They have excellent hunting.Your season isnt ruined because you have to wait a few weeks for the draw results.
 
HET LARRY, I READ THAT POST @ THE DNR TAKING TO MUCH TIME TO GET BACK TO PEOPLE ON THEIR SUCCESS OR FAILURE TO DRAW A TAG. I THINK YOU MISSED THE POINT OF THE REPLY. THE POINT IS THAT IF YOU WANT TO BOOK ANOTHER HUNT ( IF UNSUCCESSFUL ) WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE AT THAT TIME OF THE SUMMER FOR THE FOLLOWING FALL. AS FAR AS THE QUALITY OF THE IOWA DNR, I BELIEVE THAT THEY KNOW THEY CAN DO ALOT BETTER. EVEN THE PROFESSIONAL GUIDES THAT RESIDE AND WORK WITHIN THE STATE COMPLAIN ABOUT THIER RESISTANCE TO INCREASE THE QUANITY PERMITS OR REVISE THE PERMIT ALLOCATION BETWEEN SHOTGUN SEASON AND ARCHERY. FOR THE PROFESSIONAL GUIDES ITS EITHER FEAST OR FAMINE. SOME OF THE OUTFITTERS HAVE TO BOOK UP TO 75% OVER THIER CAPACITY IN A GUESS AS TO HOW MANY OF THEIR CLIENTS WILL ACTUALLY DRAW. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN OUTFITTER WHO CAN ACCOMADATE 8 HUNTERS ALL OF A SUDDEN HAS A 90% DRAW RATE FOR THAT WEEK AND GETS 14 TO 15 HUNTERS IN CAMP ? KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT AND IT SUCKS. ON THE OTHER HAND I FEEL BAD FOR MY IOWA OUTFITTER FRIEND WHO BOOK 10 HUNTERS FOR A WEEK AND ONLY ONE GETS DRAWN, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO LIVE ON THAT, DO THE MATH !!
 
Eight Point,

The DNR is supposed to support and control the wildlife and land resources in Iowa open to the public. In my mind the residents of Iowa who pay their taxes here and live here should get the majority of their support. The DNR is not responsible or obligated to help outfitters make profits. I also feel that a drastic increase in the number of nonresident licenses will increase the number of outfitters, increase the amount of leased ground, and ultimately decrease the amount of opportunities for resident hunters. I am not anti nonresident, I just don't want it to get out of control. I think I went a little off the subject though. I read the post about the Iowa DNR and it seemed to me that it was just some venting of frustration over how difficult it can be to plan out of state hunts. I agree with the guy that it can be frustrating especially if you aren't drawn, but the Iowa DNR has done a fairly good job of maintaining our Trophy buck population and they are attempting to try and help control the doe/deer population in general.
 
Since, I was the one that stated the DNR was inefficient and should get this process started earlier as a couple others stated, here goes. First, I am no against the draw or the number of permits issued. Each state must determine what is best for the management of their animals and the Iowa DNR knows far better than I what that is. Frustration, definitely, but only because of the time frames. I do not know what sense is made of the Iowa fair and non-resident tags as we msut all apply by phone, not by mail-in application so that goes out the window. If they only isssue 6500 tags they can do that in February as well June. It has no effect on the resident tags. As you can see from other posts that people are having problems with the process again this year as they did last year, not to mention that a great majority of the permits issued were wrong when issued. Archery tags issued as gun tags, seasons wrong, etc, etc. Hey nobody is perfect but they need to get this system perfected. I love hunting in Iowa and feel it is about as good as it gets for whitetails and I plan to hunt there each year, but as I sit here, I can't fully plan my limited vacation time as I have to wait half the year to find out if my plans will work out. I would just like the process moved forward a couple months, is that so wrong?
 
tped,
My comments on the "State Fair reasoning" was meant to address issues on resident hunting tags...sorry for the confusion. In the past residents who mailed their applications in were lucky to get their tags until 2 weeks before the season opened. I think this will improve with the computer licenseing system. One year we got ours two days before the opening day. If it takes that much time to process then application deadlines need to be set earlier in the year.
 
Rembandt, I understand and can't explain that either. We have the same problem in Pa with doe tags. Everyone applies at the same time and if you don't get your application back in the mail within 10 days or so, you drew the tag. If there are left over tags, you can now purchase those over the counter. Here's the kicker. It still takes them until right before the archery season to get the mailed tags back and we even supply the postage paid envelope. Go figure! You know, I don't think it matters wat state you deal with, they all have their plus''s and minus's guess we just have to make the best of it.
 
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