(Arnolds Park)– Ask the question if you think there are too many deer in the Iowa Great Lakes Area, and chances are you’ll get a different answer, depending on who you talk to.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wednesday held a meeting in Arnolds Park to talk about that very issue with large landowners. Representatives of church camps, cities, the Dickinson County Conservation board and others were on hand.
DNR Enforcement Officer Gary Owen says his agency is more than willing to work with landowners who would be willing to allow a limited harvest of deer.
Owen says it’s important to manage the local deer herd before it gets too large. He says it’s crucial to keeping a healthy deer herd.
There’s increasing concern about that in other states where chronic wasting disease has been detected in deer herds. Officials say the likelihood of that and other diseases greatly increases as the deer populations increase.
Owen urges landowners interested in allowing a controlled deer harvest to contact him.
