Hunting overhaul as 250,000 outdoorsmen will be forced into ‘zones’ and pay 5% increase

Published: 11:33, 7 Aug 2026

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows A hunter kneeling in tall grass, aiming a rifle with a scope at a deer in the distance, Image 2 shows A white-tailed deer buck with antlers stands in a Pennsylvania forest, partially obscured by green brush

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NEARLY 250,000 outdoorsmen are in for major changes when the coming hunting season starts in just weeks.

As part of the overhaul, hunters will not only have to pay more for their licenses, but must also choose one place to hunt for the entire season.

A hunter kneeling in tall grass, aiming a rifle with a scope at a deer in the distance. — **Hunters in one US state have two major changes in store for the coming season starting in just a few weeks**Credit: Getty

A white-tailed deer buck with antlers stands in a Pennsylvania forest, partially obscured by green brush. — **The changes are being made in efforts to bring Iowa’s deer population back to acceptable numbers**Credit: Getty

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is implementing the zone changes in response to a dwindling deer population statewide.

As a result, the state will be divided into two zones for the coming deer hunting season starting on September 19.

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For the 235,540 deer hunting license holders registered in the state last year, this means choosing which zone they hunt in for the entire season.

Zone B is covering eight counties in the northwestern part of the state near Sioux City, about 90 minutes north of Omaha, Nebraska, while the rest of the state falls under Zone A.

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Under the new rules, general deer licenses in Zone B will be restricted to antlered bucks only as part of these population recovery efforts.

The zones will remain in place until the population has recovered sufficiently, with the DNR saying that response has been largely positive.

“Everyone’s aware of the population decline in western Iowa, and I think in general people are very happy to see something being done,” said Jack Elliot, state deer biologist for the Iowa DNR to local outlet KWQC.

“There’s always certain folks that are going to be impacted more than others, and we do want to hear from those folks too and make sure that they understand our rationale and why we’re doing what we’re doing.”