First ever Wildwood deer hunt inside city limits completed

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

One doe, one buck.

That was the total number of deer killed in Charles City’s first controlled bow hunt at Wildwood Park.

The hunt, which took place during November on the city-owned municipal golf course, was an attempt to cull the animals that have caused what city officials called significant damage to the nine-hole course.

Tyler Mitchell, Charles City Parks and Recreation director, said it took each hunter a couple of days to harvest a deer. Although he didn’t say he was disappointed in the results of the hunt, he said the test of whether it worked will be in the spring when the course opens for play.

“We’ll find out what it’s like this next golf season when all the deer are out there. We’ll find out if there’s some less damage,” said Mitchell. “We’re going to reevaluate and see what the plan is going forward.”

The city planned to issue six permits that bow hunters could use to help control the deer population that had damaged greens and trees on the historic course over the years. Only four hunters applied and provided the city the necessary paperwork and passed a limited background check.

The hunters used their own state archery tags for any who got a deer.

The bow hunt started Nov. 1 when the golf course was closed for the season. Hunters were limited to harvesting one doe or one buck each and had a week to do so. The hunts were conducted from an elevated deer stand.

Mitchell said he wasn’t able to use depredation tags for hunters this year. That may have piqued more interest in the inaugural hunt had they been used, he said, because then hunters would have been allowed to take a deer using that tag and still have their own deer tag to hunt elsewhere.

“I think if we get depredation next year that would help the number of people that would apply,” he said.

The City Council unanimously passed a resolution in September to allow the permit hunt, after hearing from city officials that the deer damage at the golf course cost the city thousands of dollars in extra money paid to staff to fix divots on greens or try to repair trees that were damaged by the deer.

Non-lethal methods to deter the deer such as mowing tall grasses to reduce cover proved futile. Oak trees were taken down to eliminate acorns as a  food source and wraps were slipped onto tree trunks to stop the deer from rubbing off the bark. Mitchell said smell and noise agents that would scare away or keep deer out of the area would work only for a short time.

“Then the deer would figure out that it doesn’t harm them and come right back,” he said.

Mitchell said holes 3-6 at the course saw extensive damage from deer trampling. He soon found out the whole course was being affected by the roaming herds.

“We saw them working their way throughout the whole course,” he said. “Most of the damage is done when it’s nicer out.”

Mitchell said the deer can also be a hindrance for golfers trying to get in a round.

“You go out there playing and you’ll hit your golf ball right by the deer and they just stand there,” said Mitchell. “Then you have to drive around them and they don’t move.”

Mitchell said he worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and consulted other communities in the state that have had success in using controlled bow hunts to keep deer numbers down.

“We are just trying to solve a problem is what we’re doing,” he said.

About 20 cities and approximately 25 state and county parks in Iowa use Deer Management Zone (DMZ) hunts.

Other towns across the state, like Charles City, change city ordinances to allow specific types of hunting during regular state seasons.

Mason City uses a DMZ hunt and started its effort five years ago to reduce the urban deer population. City leaders allow hunting in selected parks and designated areas with certain restrictions. Mason City can issue 150 antlerless licenses yearly and that hunt runs from Sept. 14 until Jan. 10. Since 2015, well over 100 deer in Mason City have been harvested through the program.

Almost all hunts conducted in those cities are antlerless kills that allow licensed bow hunters to participate. Some of the cities include Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Marshalltown, Urbandale and Ottumwa.

The first DMZ hunt was undertaken almost 30 years ago in 1990 at Springbrook State Park in Guthrie County. Waterloo was the first town in the state to conduct a controlled bow hunt within its city limits.

Iowa City has been the only town in the state that has used sharpshooters to cull herds from 1999 to 2009. That policy has since been rejected by the Iowa Natural Resources Commission. The Iowa City Council recently passed approval of an annual 30-day hunting period to take place for the next four years.

Archery bow season in the state runs from Oct. 1 until December 6. Then it starts back up again and is allowed from Dec. 23 until Jan. 10. Shotgun first season for hunters in Iowa starts this Saturday and lasts until Wednesday, Dec. 12.