Proposed legislation would create legal protections for black bears in Iowa

Several times a year, Iowans report sightings of black bears in the state. Those animals would gain new protections under a bill that received unanimous support from a House subcommittee Wednesday.

The bill — HF 2099 — would make black bears a protected furbearer species and set fines for unlawfully killing a black bear. It was introduced by Republican Rep. Brian Lohse, of Bondurant.

There have been nine black bear sightings in Iowa since 2024, Lohse said during a House natural resources subcommittee meeting Wednesday, referencing data from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Black bear sightings have been rising, especially in northeast Iowa, where bears can cross into Iowa from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“Black bears are not that far from Iowa’s border,” Vince Evelsizer, state furbearer and wetlands biologist with the DNR, said in a press release issued in April 2025. “We typically have two to five bear sightings each year, which we believe are usually younger males.”

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Lohse said the idea for the bill came from his son’s desire to protect the bears so they can be hunted for recreation.

“The point of this bill is to provide them with protection, with a coming risk of bear population expanding …,” he said. “And anecdotally, I would say part of the reason that my son would love to protect them is eventually, he would love to hunt them himself.”

With state protection, a black bear hunting “season” could eventually be created. Currently there are no harvest regulations for bears in Iowa because they are not recognized as wildlife species under Iowa’s hunting laws.

Current Iowa Code lists the following as “fur-bearing animals for the purpose of regulation and protection”: beaver, badger, mink, otter, muskrat, raccoon, skunk, opossum, spotted skunk or civet cat, weasel, coyote, bobcat, wolf, groundhog, red fox and gray fox.

The proposed bill includes a $2,500 fine for someone who illegally takes a black bear.

Lohse said allowing black bear trapping and hunting in Iowa could also create tourism opportunities, drawing out-of-state hunters.

Mixed reactions

Preston Moore, Iowa state director for the nonprofit Humane World for Animals, said the organization is apprehensive about some of the language in the proposed bill.

“Our biggest concern with this bill is that it's being framed as a black bear protection bill,” Moore said. “Yes, it would protect black bears on the surface, but it would also open the door to the Natural Resource Commission establishing a trapping season against this species.”

Only two states — Maine and Alaska — currently allow black bear trapping.

Moore said trapping is widely illegal because it is “incredibly cruel and inhumane and incredibly unpopular with the general public.”

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association also is opposed to the bill, and any legislation that protects bears in general.

“There are well documented cases of bears attacking livestock,” said Jake Swanson, a lobbyist for the association. “Certainly, you could appreciate our concern there as a group that raises cattle primarily, so for that reason we are registered opposed.”

Supporters of the bill include the Iowa Conservation Alliance. The organization’s lobbyist, Jim O’Brien, said the bill is the “first step” toward protecting black bears.

That “will allow our wildlife professionals at the Department of Natural Resources the ability to begin to manage these numbers,” O’Brien said.

Briana Kouma, conservation program coordinator for the Iowa Sierra Club, said the organization also is in favor of the bill. He said the proposal “simply acknowledges that black bears are present in Iowa” and that “the state needs clear framework to manage and protect them.”

The bill “provides structure and accountability, where there's currently a gap. And yes, this does make (black bears) a furbearer, but it does not create a hunting season right off the bat,” Kouma said. “For that reason, we would like to protect them. It also puts framework in place for penalties for unlawful taking of the bear, which there currently is not right now, showing that poaching and illegal taking will not be tolerated in this state.”

The subcommittee advanced the bill, with all three members — Reps. Sam Wengryn, R-Davis City, Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, and Jennifer Smith, R-Dubuque — signing off on it.

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. She is also a contributing writer for the Ag and Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative focusing on the Mississippi River Basin.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com