Iowa DNR News
Deer Hunters Pitching In
Posted: October 23, 2003
Des Moines - Iowa deer hunters are
responding well this hunting season to shooting more deer and
giving their extra deer to the needy, but a little more is being
asked of them.
"Lockers are already reporting high
numbers of donated deer but the main deer harvest is still a month
away," said Richard Bishop, DNR's wildlife bureau chief. Bishop
expects to meet, even exceed the goal of 1,000 donated deer. The
archery season is currently open, but many more deer are taken
from the shotgun seasons in December.
Under the banner of Help Us Stop
Hunger (HUSH), 43 lockers in central and southeast Iowa are
processing deer donated by hunters that go into the Food Bank of
Iowa's network for distribution to needy Iowans. A check of 11
lockers showed about 16 percent of deer taken in to date is going
for HUSH.
"Hunters quit hunting when they do
not want to take home any more deer. With HUSH, hunters can keep
hunting and donate the extras to those who really need it," said
Bishop.
He said the DNR and Food Bank of
Iowa have raised more than $40,000 from insurance companies, the
hunting industry and conservation organizations to pay lockers $50
for each deer processed for HUSH. Some lockers require hunters to
bone out the meat; others take regular field-dressed deer.
"I am hopeful that deer hunters
will rise to the occasion even more by helping to pay a small part
of the processing costs," he added.
About two weeks ago, a $5 HUSH
donation option was added to the electronic deer permit buying
system. When a hunter buys a deer permit, the system asks if they
would like to donate $5 to help get venison to the needy. Bishop
said every $5 donation pays processing costs for 20 meals of the
healthy and tasty red meat.
"Deer hunting is a great sport, and
we need hunters to help us reduce the population to good levels.
But we also hope many of them will donate just that $5 more to
help process that venison for homes who can really use it," Bishop
said. He added that any deer from any season, legally taken in
Iowa can be donated.
Hunters wanting to donate extra
deer to HUSH can find a list of the lockers on the website:
www.iowahush.com, or ask for a locker list where they buy their
permit.
Pheasant Hunters: Be Wary of
Meth Labs
Posted: October 21, 2003
Des Moines - With Iowa's pheasant
population at a 10-year high, the roughly 225,000 pheasant hunters
heading to the farm fields and pasture areas Saturday should
expect a banner hunt. Unfortunately, some hunters will also
stumble across the remains of meth labs.
"Meth is the worst drug that we've
ever seen, and I've been at this for over 30 years," said an agent
with the Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) in the Department
of Public Safety. "Nobody is immune from this drug."
Meth cooks spend the majority of
the spring, summer and fall cooking the drug outdoors, in remote
places in Iowa's countryside.
"As the harvest progresses, meth
cooks will move from the cornfields to the ditches, under bridges,
to abandoned farmsteads and to the timber," said Rod Slings,
recreational safety program supervisor for the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources. "They are always looking for an out-of-the-way
place to make it, and those places are also popular with hunters."
Slings said if hunters find a
backpack or duffel bag laying in the field, they should leave it
alone.
"Hunters would be well advised to
not pick up or open a backpack or box or gas can laying out in the
middle of nowhere. It was probably left there intentionally and
probably has the remains of meth ingredients," he said. "Don't
pick it up, don't go near it. This is bad stuff and can be
regenerated simply by picking it up or even moving it."
"At first glance, many meth labs
and meth lab dump sites resemble harmless trash or litter," said
Marvin Van Haaften, Director of the Governor's Office of Drug
Control Policy. "However, materials used to make meth may cause
burns or respiratory problems if you touch the waste products or
inhale gases that may spew from them."
Other items hunters should be on
the lookout for are coolers, thermoses and buckets. Slings said if
someone sees any of these items, they should not touch anything,
get out of the area immediately and call the local sheriff's
department, 911, or *55 on their cell phone.
No clue is too small, Van Haaften
said. It is vital that hunters and the public contact local law
enforcement if they suspect suspicious behavior or activity.
"We routinely hear stories about
someone finding a new gas can laying in the ditch and pick it up
to take home and the chemicals inside explode injuring the
person," said another agent with DNE. "Even experienced law
enforcement officers have gone to the hospital after handling
these containers."
Meth labs are no longer
concentrated in central and southern Iowa. Agents have been
raiding sites all across the state. If hunters come up on an
active meth lab, the DNE advises them to not confront the cooks
and to leave the area immediately.
"Meth cooks are by nature paranoid
and violent," the agent said. "They are getting more and more
sophisticated and elusive."
