Iowa City adopts new deer management plan

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Council this week adopted a new five year deer management plan that will continue the city’s urban bow hunt program but delays the possibility of a sharpshooting season until 2026.

The city approved an initial plan back in May that would have continued the urban bow hunt program and also had one guaranteed year of sharpshooting, with the possibility of a second.

However the Natural Resource Commission — the state board that reviews management plans — approved a modified version without a guaranteed sharpshooting season.

The NRC asked the city to continue with its urban bow hunt program and collect additional data on deer population for the next two years. The city aims for a population density of less than 25 deer per square mile.

“If at that time we can make the case that there is a need for sharpshooting, then (the NRC) said they would consider a sharpshoot at that time,” Assistatnt Kirk Lehmann, Assistant City Manager said at the Tuesday council meeting.

The city typically partners with the DNR to conduct an aerial survey to determine deer levels in a certain area. Aerial surveys are meant to provide general data on deer population, but can be influenced by factors such as the weather, food availability and overall deer movement.

The DNR was unable to complete an aerial survey this year due to inclement weather conditions.

Because of that, the NRC used the most recent data, from February 2023, when 382 deer were observed. In 2022 there were 615 deer observed, and there were 239 in 2021.

“The problem is, anecdotally, we know the population is exploding, we just don't have the data to really drive that home with the NRC,” said City Manager Geoff Fruin.

Lehmann said the city is looking into other methods of data collection to avoid reliance on aerial survey data.

Residents report landscape damage, car collisions

The city identified areas of concern in its 2023-24 annual deer management report. Those areas include Manville Heights, east through Morningside-Glendale and Washington Hills, as wells as areas north by Hickory Hill Park and Bluffwood/Shimek neighborhoods.

In July 2023 the city asked for public input on the deer management strategy. The city received 43 comments, which mostly expressed concerns about deer damaging property and being a danger to drivers.

Outside of that, in 2023 the city received more than 30 additional comments through email, phone and ICgovXpress — a digital platform for citizens to relay concerns to the city — about reports of garden and landscaping damage and overall frustration about deer population levels.

The city reported that multiple residents reported groups of more than 10 deer in their yards.

Council member Megan Alter said at the Tuesday meeting that she has spotted one of these large groups of deer in her yard.

Council member Shawn Harmsen said he also has had problems with deer, including some that ate his tomato plants.

Since the survey, Lehmann said the city has continued to receive complaints from community members about deer infiltrating neighborhoods.

In addition to feedback from the public, the Parks and Recreation Department has reported that deer have begun to pose a risk to urban tree health.

Last year Iowa City police responded to 27 calls for service related to vehicle accidents involving deer, with total estimated damage costs exceeding $100,000.

From 2016-2019 there were more than 50 vehicular collisions with deer in Iowa City. Since 2020, there has been no more than 36 reported.

Urban bow hunt program continues to grow

The city adopted a deer management plan in 2019 after a survey in 2018 showed the urban deer population had nearly tripled since 2010.

The plan called for a year of sharpshooting and four years of bow hunting. White Buffalo Inc., a professional wildlife management organization, conducted the sharpshooting and harvested 500 deer in the 2019-2020 season.

The first two years of urban bow hunting had five hunters participate and fewer than five deer were harvested.

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Prior to the 2022-23 season the city began reaching out to private property owners in areas with higher deer population density about participating in the hunt. That year posted the highest hunter participation up to that point with 12 hunters and a total of 29 deer harvested.

Last year city council approved the use of designated public lands for hunting as recommended by DNR staff. More than 16 hunters participated and 32 deer were harvested.

The council approved Sand Prarie Park for the hunt. Lehmann said city staff are planning to present more public lands later this year for council approval.

Megan Woolard covers Johnson County for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 368-8677; megan.woolard@thegazette.com