2016-2017 Deer Management Program Summary
2016-2017 Deer Management Program Summary
The City of Cedar Rapids Deer Management Program concluded the 2016-2017 bow hunt season on January 10th. A total of 82 hunters qualified for the urban bow hunt. 27 of the 82 hunters were successful in harvesting at least one deer. There were a total of 146 deer taken during this season's bow hunt. This is an increase of 48 deer from the 2015-2016 season.
A breakdown of the deer that were harvested:
- 136 does
- 5 button bucks
- 5 antlered bucks
24 of the deer were donated to help feed the hungry in Cedar Rapids and Linn County, while 122 deer were kept for personal consumption. Hunters had the choice to donate their deer to either the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, which is a cooperative effort among Iowa deer hunters, the Food Bank of Iowa, meat processors and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, or to a local program to feed the hungry at the Mission of Hope. The opportunity to donate to the local program was a new option this year. The program was a cooperative effort between Newhall Locker & Processing, HUSH, Cedar Rapids Fire Department, and local ENT Physician Kevin Carpenter. The two main goals of both donation programs is to reduce the deer population and provide high-quality red meat to the needy in Iowa.
Two hunters harvested the most deer, each taking 7 deer during this season’s hunt. 18 hunters harvested five or more does with this season's hunt and will be eligible for the 2017-2018 incentive buck tag. Since the inception of the hunt in 2004, the City of Cedar Rapids has shown a nearly 57 percent reduction in the number of deer killed on the roadway.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Andrews was the Program Manager for the bow hunt. There were no injuries reported.
