After years of periodic complaints from residents about the deer population in Fort Dodge, the idea of an urban controlled bow hunt was renewed with the City Council earlier this year. The council held a workshop discussion on the proposed ordinance allowing the urban deer hunt on July 25.

The proposed ordinance passed its first reading with a 6-1 vote that night. The second reading was approved with a 5-2 vote on Aug. 8. The third and final reading of the ordinance will be on Monday.

If the proposed ordinance receives a third go-ahead, it will then be submitted to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in March. The DNR’s Natural Resource Commission will vote on approving the request for a hunt on May 17, 2023.

The city used crowdsourcing to have residents help locate the most popular areas for deer last year, according to Fort Dodge Assistant City Manager Ryan Maehl. The deer spotting wasn’t a count of the local deer herd, but to track where they frequent.

“That’s a difficult count, in any scenario, with any amount of money,” he said.

Some of the areas of the city that see the highest number of deer are the Woodlands neighborhood northeast of Dodger Stadium off of North 22nd Street, and along North 15th Street near the Oakland and Corpus Christi cemeteries, Maehl said. The areas around Snell-Crawford Park and Loomis Park are also popular deer-sighting spots.

Opponents of the proposal say that there isn’t any data available on the deer population in Fort Dodge, and that no one really knows how many there are.

Shannon Crouse said she lives next to a wooded area in town and she used to see “huge” groups of deer wandering around, but now she’s noticed fewer and fewer deer.

“We maybe see one or two a week,” she said.

Crouse started a Facebook page called “Fort Dodge Deer Friends” to encourage those who oppose the proposed hunt to contact their councilperson and voice their concerns.

“I found that most of the people I talked to personally were against it, but they didn’t know that there was anything they could do about it, or what to do about it,” she said.

Crouse also argued that an urban hunt isn’t going to wipe out the entire deer population and solve gardeners’ problems when they plant what she called a “deer buffet.”

“They’re still going to be eating your flowers if you are not willing to do something yourself to keep them away,” she said. “If you’re going to plant it, they’re going to eat it.”

On a Facebook post on The Messenger’s page, Fort Dodge resident Mike Haubrich shared concern that a hunter might mistake a family pet for a deer when hunting.

Many residents who are in favor of the proposed urban deer hunt feel that the deer are overpopulated and a menace.

Steve and Judy Rozek live on Elizabeth Avenue near Snell-Crawford Park and say they have lost five trees in the last 10 years due to the deer rubbing on the trunks and have had to deal with the deer eating their flowers and bushes.

“We have tried about everything, from fencing around them, liquid and solid deer repellent,” Steve and Judy Rozek wrote in an email. “Our concern also addresses diseased animals and the possibility of coyotes moving into town.”

Arlyn Goraczkowski, who also lives in the Snell-Crawford area, said the deer population in Fort Dodge is “just completely getting out of control.”

He said he’s spent a lot of money on different products to repel the deer from his yard, but it hasn’t helped.

“Five years ago, we didn’t have this problem,” Goraczkowski said. “I quit feeding the birds because it was attracting the deer to any seeds that fell on the ground.”

Goraczkowski said he’s also concerned about coyotes and other animals of prey hunting the deer.

Some Fort Dodge residents, though they support the proposal, do have concerns about the urban hunt.

“I’m all for the urban hunt because the deer have overrun this town,” resident Caleb Westall said. “My one concern is the safety of our citizens, so there needs to be rules in place to protect them from people who will be unwise hunters.”

A deer’s only predator in the city comes in the form of a car, Josh Westall said.

“An out of control herd leads to ravished gardens and destroyed cars,” he said.

He said he believes that a few years of successful urban deer hunting will curb the growing population of deer.

“That being said, not every Tom, Dick and Harry needs to be slinging arrows at 350 feet per second that are equipped with razor-sharp broadhead tips,” Josh Westall said.

He suggested in addition to a minimum hunter age of 20 and a proficiency test, that hunters have at least three years of previous bow hunting.

Archers wanting to join the hunt, if approved by both the City Council and the NRC, will have to apply for the special urban hunting license next summer. They will also be required to go through two days of city-hosted proficiency testing.

The season for urban deer hunting will run from Sept. 16, 2023, to Jan. 7, 2024. In March 2024, the council will have a meeting to discuss the results of the bow hunt and provide public comment opportunity before considering re-approval of the program in April 2024.

Currently there are 25 other municipalities in Iowa with an urban hunting plan, including Ames, Mason City, Iowa City, Marshalltown and Dubuque.

Hunters will have to seek permission from landowners to hunt on the private property and have them sign a waiver, Maehl said. Landowners are able to deny the hunters access to their property. Hunting will not be allowed on city-owned property.

Maehl said the city took a “conservative approach” to planning where the hunters can hunt, limiting it to properties of at least 200 square yards.

Shots can only be taken from an elevated stand and must be at a downward angle and less than 75 feet.

“A diligent attempt shall be made to retrieve every arrow,” the ordinance reads.

“Safety is definitely something we’re very, very concerned about with this,” he said. “WIth all cities and municipalities that have done this, there hasn’t been an incident with it. That does not mean there can’t be.”

If any accidents should occur — whether it’s truly an accident or an act of negligence — the hunter will be liable for the damage or injuries, Maehl said.

“Just like it would fall onto the hunter through the DNR program outside the city limits, too,” he said. “If they were negligent in their poaching, then they broke other laws as well.”

Maehl said the city welcomes residents’ input on the matter.

“That’s why the ordinance reads require three readings — that’s a month and a half of time for one to reach out and talk to their councilperson,” he said. “Or on Monday night is the council and there will be an opportunity to talk about items on the agenda or not on the agenda. They can always step up to the podium and talk to the council about that.”

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