David, I had a chance to talk with some DNR guys at the Iowa Governor's Hunt last weekend. (Up around Spencer, probably the best bird numbers in the state. About 60 hunters, total bag was about 1 bird/hunter which is not bad, considering a lot of guys on that hunt are not really very serious bird hunters. And they're all wild . . . well, maybe except for the governor's team.) They've been kicking around the idea of a program like the states to our west: public access to private ground. Problem right now is that we're in a bad budget crunch, and because hunter # are down, so is DNR revenue.
That being said, we are fortunate to have more Pheasants Forever chapters (and members) than any other state. PF has a program called "Reload Iowa", under which they're going to hire 50 "Farm Bill Biologists", each of whom will be responsible for 2 counties. Those individuals will be contacting virtually every landowner in the state, to try to get them enrolled in whatever govt conservation program works best for them. They've just hired the first 4. It's a long-term effort. I've said that I think I'm fortunate enough to have seen the best pheasant hunting Iowa will ever have, but I'd sure like to see PF prove me wrong.
