AMES — A variety of stakeholders concerned about the state’s deer herd found common ground during discussions over the past three months — and one area where they could not agree.

The Iowa Deer Study Advisory Commission’s overarching goal was to determine the size of “a socially acceptable deer population.” The members tried to balance the needs of backyard gardeners, hunters, farmers, butchers, insurance agents and others affected by the number of whitetails in the state.

“There was some lively debate,” said Jean Eells, who facilitated the sessions.

Based on aerial surveys and scientific models, current estimates suggest Iowa supports up to 475,000 deer. The DNR’s goal is to return the herd to the level maintained during the 1990s. That would put the figure between 170,000 to 200,000 animals.

Members of the commission reached a consensus on most issues.

“I was just pleased as punch,” Eells said.

“These folks worked so hard, and they were reasonable in their responses and comments to each other. They just did a remarkable job in a very short amount of time to process a lot of information.”

The commission in its report to Gov. Chet Culver and the Legislature will make a number of recommendations, including the following:

Deer numbers should be reduced to current goals as quickly as possible.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources should contract a third party to survey Iowans’ attitudes about deer and deer management and incorporate the results into goals for each management unit.

The HUSH program, which pays processing costs for deer donated to food pantries, should be fully funded.

Officers in temporary positions in the DNR’s depredation program, which helps farmers and others determine damages and reduce problem deer populations, should become permanent. More effort is also needed to let the public know hunting licenses are available to thin local herds damaging crops and trees.

The DNR should continue to work with cities to develop deer control programs in urban areas.

Members of the group also felt the DNR should work with farming and hunting groups to improve access to private land for hunters willing to shoot anterless deer. According to the DNR, Iowa has the lowest proportion of land open to hunting of any in the Midwest, less than 2 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, 25 percent of the land in Minnesota is public and open to hunting.

Randy Taylor, president of the Iowa Bowhunters Association, said the commission will recommend groups representing hunters, farmers and landowners get together to talk about the issue. The DNR can only do so much, he added.

“You can give out 10,000 deer tags in a county, but if you don’t have access it doesn’t matter,” Taylor said.

Solutions might include special hunting programs tailored to specific counties or tax credits available to property owners who allow access. Those finer points must still be addressed, however.

“We didn’t have time to really sit down and work out details,” Taylor said.

Goals

DNR officials divide the state into 20 wildlife management units. According to Tom Litchfield, the agency’s deer biologist, in eight of the units deer numbers are at or near established goals. In nine other units, the herd is declining and will reach the DNR’s goals.

Three of the DNR’s wildlife management units, representing 15 counties, require larger harvests, Litchfield says. The area begins in the state’s midsection and stretches west to the Missouri River.

In considering a socially acceptable deer population, the stakes are high. According to the DNR, Iowans spent more than $239 million to hunt deer in 2006, dropping money in restaurants, sporting goods stores, gas stations and motels. Nonresidents added another $60 million, including more than  $11 million for lodging.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 95 percent of crop producers in Iowa host deer on their properties. Of those, 59 percent reported deer damaging their fields.

Beyond that, 11 people died and 468 were injured in animal-vehicle crashes in 2007, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Those figures stemmed from 8,027 collisions.

State Farm Insurance estimates motorists in Iowa last year had a 1 in 105 chance of hitting a deer. And when they do, the average claim to fix a damaged vehicle is about $2,270, according to Grinnell Mutual Insurance. The total repair bill in the state topped $56 million, according to the Iowa Insurance Institute, which is a conservative figure because motorists don’t report every encounter with a deer.

Divide

Despite agreeing on many topics, the advisory group could not reach consensus on one sticking point, whether the DNR should have complete authority to set deer quotas.

As it stands, DNR officials determine when seasons will be and decide how many licenses and what kind will be available. Legislators in Des Moines, however, determine how many licenses are available for people outside the state’s borders who would like to hunt in Iowa.

“The group was evenly split on that,” Eells said.

And firmly entrenched, in Taylor’s view.

“Right now the DNR has the authority, except for nonresident, any-sex tags,” he said. “That’s the only thing the DNR can’t set.”

Commission members who also happened to be state legislators were adamant, Taylor said.

“They weren’t willing to give it up. They like having the control,” he said.

From his point of view, nonresident hunters do not represent a significant part of the deer management equation anyway. Iowans with shotguns are the key to maintaining the herd, Taylor said.

“That’s just a fact of life,” he said.

Other issues

Taylor said the commission sidestepped the question of whether feeding deer should be prohibited.

“We kind of took the chicken way out. We decided we would let the Legislature decide that,” he said.

Some communities, Decorah among them, prohibit residents from placing food items with the express purpose of attracting deer.  The commission considered recommending a statewide ban on the practice.

“It’s nice to have some kind of law, but if you can’t enforce it, it’s silly to pass it,” Taylor said.

Bill Dayton owns a locker in Malcom and represented the Iowa Meat Processors Association on the commission. He noted the group’s support for the HUSH program, the initiative that allows hunters to donate deer to food pantries. In his view, the state should expand the effort.

“I think they’re going to need the HUSH program to get the size of the herd down and get people to hunt them,” Dayton said.

He said many lockers participate, though he does not.

“I think to get more people involved, they’re going to have to offer a bit more money,” Dayton said

Taylor said part of the problem is how the program is funded. The money, about $200,000, comes out of the DNR’s general budget, paid for by a $1 surcharge on hunting licenses. That may not be fair since other interest groups — insurance companies and farmers, for instance — benefit when the deer population is under control.

Commission members also believes the program should be self-sufficient, Taylor said.

“They thought it was extremely important to find a way for the HUSH program to pay for itself,” he added.

The commission is required to submit its final report to Gov. Culver and the Legislature by Jan. 10.

Though not bound to follow the commission’s recommendations, Dayton and Taylor expect DNR officials, the governor and legislators to heed the group’s advice.

“In fact when we got together, they kind of scolded us. ‘It’s time for the DNR, Farm Bureau and hunters to get together and hash this out,’” Taylor said. “Well now we’ve done that.”