February 2023

The start of 2023 was encouraging for water resources in Iowa. Precipitation for the month was 1.82 inches, nearly double the normal moisture. All of Iowa’s reporting stations reported near to above-average precipitation.

February is American Heart Month and there is no better time to consider your cardiovascular health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 659,000 people in the U.S.

It will be time to start pruning fruit trees later this month. As pruning begins, it’s important to have a good skills at identifying fire blight symptoms and have a multi-pronged approach for control, especially in very susceptible trees. Pruning and sanitation are important control strategies, but improper cleaning of pruning equipment between cuts can easily spread the disease.

In 2022, Iowa residents purchased... Fishing 195,263 annual licenses 8,620 lifetime fishing licenses 14,592 three-year licenses 1,013 seven-day licenses 2,769 one-day licenses 42,728 trout fees 232 paddlefish licenses 17,945 third line licenses (resident and nonresident combined) 40,387 fishing, hunting and habitat combination licenses Hunting 39,414 annual licenses 56,398 hunting and habitat annual combination licenses 3,243 lifetime hunting licenses 4,368 hunting and habitat three-year licenses 1,274 apprentice (hunting and habitat) licenses 24,498 migratory game bird licenses 39,307 habitat fees 13,688 furharvester annual licenses age 16 and older 544 furharvester annual licenses age 15 and younger 513 furharvester and habitat annual combination licenses 354 lifetime furharvester licenses Large Game Deer 12,551 youth general deer, 1,050 antlerless deer licenses 267 disabled hunter general deer, 31 antlerless deer licenses 54,285 archery general deer, 21,829 antlerless deer licenses 6,796 early muzzleloader general deer, 1,463 antlerless deer licenses 44,492 first shotgun general deer, 17,278 antlerless deer licenses 47,420 second shotgun general deer, 18,602 antlerless deer licenses 19,642 late muzzleloader general deer, 9,995 antlerless deer licenses Turkey 5,507 spring bow licenses 16,209 spring gun/bow licenses seasons 1-3 17,792 spring gun/bow licenses season 4 5,841 spring youth gun/bow licenses 2,320 fall gun/bow 1,776 fall bow Landowner-Tenant Deer 61 youth general deer licenses, 52 antlerless deer licenses 5,132 archery general deer licenses, 5,044 antlerless deer licenses 1,099 early muzzleloader general deer licenses, 939 antlerless deer licenses 22,888 first and second shotgun season general deer licenses, 19,341 antlerless deer licenses 2,216 late muzzleloader general deer licenses, 3,678 antlerless deer licenses Turkey 2,022 spring gun/bow season 1-3 2,345 spring gun/bow season 4 815 bow licenses 41 youth licenses 2,535 fall gun/bow 993 fall bow In 2022, nonresidents purchased...