ARC 0283D

ARC 0283D

NATURAL RESOURCE COMMISSION[571]

Adopted and Filed

Rulemaking related to hunting and wildlife

    The Natural Resource Commission (Commission) hereby rescinds Chapter 104, “Wildlife Importation, Transportation and Disease Monitoring”; rescinds Chapter 112, “Hunting Preserves,” and adopts a new Chapter 112 with the same title; and rescinds Chapter 115, “Whitetail Hunting Preserves,” Iowa Administrative Code.

Legal Authority for Rulemaking

    This rulemaking is adopted under the authority provided in Iowa Code chapters 484B and 484C.

State or Federal Law Implemented

    This rulemaking implements, in whole or in part, Iowa Code chapters 484B and 484C and section 481A.6.

Purpose and Summary

    Chapter 112 consolidates two chapters related to private hunting preserves in the State of Iowa. Specifically, the Iowa Code authorizes private hunting preserves for game birds and whitetails and other ungulates. This chapter sets forth general operation, registration, and fees for hunting preserves; signage and fencing requirements; recordkeeping and reporting requirements; tagging and transportation requirements; and health and disease testing requirements, both generally and for whitetails specifically. The substance of these chapters has been revised to eliminate redundancies, improve efficiency, and align with the Iowa Code, as mandated by Executive Order 10.

    This rulemaking also rescinds Chapter 104, which contains antiquated provisions related to farm deer, which are now under the jurisdiction of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Public Comment and Changes to Rulemaking

    Notice of Intended Action for this rulemaking was published in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin on January 7, 2026, as ARC 9923C. A public hearing was held on the following date(s):

     ?   January 28, 2026

     ?   February 2, 2026

    No one attended the public hearings. No public comments were received. No changes from the Notice have been made.

Adoption of Rulemaking

    This rulemaking was adopted by the Commission on April 9, 2026.

Fiscal Impact

     This rulemaking has no fiscal impact to the State of Iowa.

Jobs Impact

    After analysis and review of this rulemaking, no impact on jobs has been found.

Waivers

    This rulemaking is subject to the waiver provisions of 571—Chapter 11. Any person who believes that the application of the discretionary provisions of this rulemaking would result in hardship or injustice to that person may petition the Commission for a waiver of the discretionary provisions, if any.

Review by Administrative Rules Review Committee

    The Administrative Rules Review Committee, a bipartisan legislative committee which oversees rulemaking by executive branch agencies, may, on its own motion or on written request by any individual or group, review this rulemaking at its regular monthly meeting or at a special meeting. The Committee’s meetings are open to the public, and interested persons may be heard as provided in Iowa Code section 17A.8(6).

Effective Date

    This rulemaking will become effective on June 17, 2026.

    The following rulemaking action is adopted:

    ITEM 1.  Rescind and reserve 571—Chapter 104.

    ITEM 2.  Rescind 571—Chapter 112 and adopt the following new chapter in lieu thereof:

CHAPTER 112

HUNTING PRESERVES

571—112.1(484B,484C) Definitions. In addition to the definitions in Iowa Code sections 484B.1 and 484C.1, the following definitions apply:

    “Accredited veterinarian” means a Category II-accredited veterinarian as authorized by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state veterinarian in accordance with 9 CFR Part 161 as amended through February 25, 2020, to perform functions required by cooperative state/federal animal disease control and eradication programs.

    “Annual activity report” means the Annual Report Form provided by the department.

    “Approved laboratory” means an American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD)-accredited laboratory or the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

    “Boundary sign” means a sign prescribed by the department that, when posted, designates the registered hunting preserve’s boundaries.

    “Cervidae” or “cervids” means any member of the Cervidae family, whether free-ranging or captive, except those classified as farm deer by Iowa Code section 481A.1(21)“h.” “Farm deer” does not include any unmarked free-ranging elk, moose or mule deer.

    “CWD” means chronic wasting disease, an infectious prion disease of cervids.

    “Department” means the Iowa department of natural resources.

    “Hunting preserve operator’s registration” means the authority of the holder to establish a hunting preserve for the purpose of holding, propagating, and releasing game birds or privately owned whitetails or other ungulates for hunting purposes. “Registration” means both the license created in Iowa Code section 484B.4 and the registration created in Iowa Code section 484C.7.

    “Lease” means a land-lease document for hunting preserve purposes.

    “Privately owned” means the propagation and holding of whitetails whose origins are from privately owned populations.

    “Quarantine” means an imposed restriction prohibiting movement of whitetails to any location without specific written permits.

    “Registrant” means a person or organization that is registered to possess a hunting preserve operator’s registration issued by the department.

    “Transportation tag” means a self-adhesive, numbered tag for marking individual game birds and whitetails and other ungulates prior to transportation.

    “Tissue sample” refers to the medial retropharyngeal lymph node, which is the preferred tissue type for CWD testing in whitetail deer and mule deer, or the lymph node and obex (caudal brainstem) in other cervid species. When damaged or degraded, the obex can be substituted in deer, though individual deer in early disease can be missed.

DIVISION I

GENERAL HUNTING PRESERVE OPERATIONS

571—112.2(484B,484C) Hunting preserve registration. A hunting preserve operator’s registration may, following review and inspection, be issued to a person or organization that, upon application, complies with all requirements established in Iowa Code section 484B.4 or 484C.7, as applicable, and this chapter.

571—112.3(484B,484C) Land leases required. All hunting preserve applications that include leased tract(s) of land shall be accompanied by a legible copy of the land-lease document(s). The lease document(s) shall include but not be limited to the following information: name/address of the lessee and lessor, term of the lease (not less than five years), purpose of the lease, description/location of the leased tract(s) (acreage—section—township—county), one copy of the plat map depicting the location of leased tract(s), and dated signatures by both parties.

571—112.4(484B,484C) Boundary signs required. All registered hunting preserves shall provide, post, and maintain boundary signs that meet the following minimum specifications: 160-square-inch surface area; sign material of wood, steel, aluminum or heavy poly-plastic; and white/red sign color combination with the message “Registered Hunting Preserve.” Boundary sign spacing shall be no more than 500 feet apart. Boundary signs shall be posted at each entrance and perimeter gate and at every boundary corner. If the facility operated prior to September 1, 2005, and was signed as a “Licensed Hunting Preserve,” those signs will satisfy the signing requirement. However, once existing sign supplies are depleted, new signs must read “Registered Hunting Preserve.”

571—112.5(484B,484C) Fencing required. All registered hunting preserves for whitetails or other ungulates shall construct and maintain a “deer-proof” boundary fence. Such fence shall be constructed and maintained with a minimum fence height of eight feet above ground level. Fencing shall be inspected and approved by officers of the department prior to registration. Follow-up fence inspections by the department shall be allowed at any reasonable time by appointment or by providing the landowner or preserve registrant with at least 48 hours’ notice. Boundary fence gates shall remain closed at all times except for preserve maintenance activity, at which time no open gate shall be left unattended.

571—112.6(484B,484C) Records and annual report. All registered hunting preserves shall submit to the department a completed annual activity report on forms provided by the department. All registered hunting preserves shall retain sales/shipping receipts involving the purchase and delivery of any game birds or whitetails or other ungulates to the registrant. All registered hunting preserves shall record any transaction involving the sale of game birds or whitetails or other ungulates by the registrant. All original sales receipts for harvested game birds and whitetails and other ungulates shall remain with the registrant as a part of the permanent record and a copy shall be provided to the purchasing hunter. This record requirement shall also apply to any sale of live birds or whitetails or other ungulates for private or commercial use, and the sale must be recorded immediately following the event.

Any registered hunting preserve having a registration for ungulates shall maintain an inventory record of all ungulates released and being held on the property at any given time.

571—112.7(484B) Game bird transportation tags. Tags shall be placed on a leg of all birds harvested on a registered hunting preserve prior to the bird being transported from the registered area. The tag shall remain attached to the bird until the time it is processed for consumption. Tags are available from the department at a cost of $5 per 100 tags.

571—112.8(484B,484C) Whitetail and other ungulate transportation tags. Tags shall be placed on a leg of each whitetail or other ungulate harvested on a registered hunting preserve prior to moving the carcass in any manner. The hunter shall, upon taking a whitetail or other ungulate, immediately validate the tag by including the following information in the space provided: species and sex of animal taken and the hunter’s signature. The hunter shall also notch or punch a hole in the corresponding blocks on the tag designating the year, month and day the animal was taken. The tag shall remain attached to the animal until the animal is processed for consumption. Tags are available from the department at a cost of $1 per tag.

571—112.9(484B) Processed game birds. Registered hunting preserves may prepare game birds for hunters by cleaning, dressing, preserving, and packaging whole birds or bird parts. Packaging material shall be a see-through plastic bag. The plastic bag shall be sealed and the tag placed around the opening of the bag or attached to the bag in such a manner so that the tag number(s) is completely legible. The number of game birds or combination of bird parts shall correspond to the number of tags affixed to the clear plastic bag.

571—112.10(484B,484C) Processed whitetails or other ungulates. Registered hunting preserves may prepare whitetails or other ungulates for hunters by cleaning, dressing, preserving, and packaging the meat. Packaging material shall bear the species name, date the animal was killed, and hunting preserve name in a legible fashion on the outside of the package. The tag shall remain with the meat during processing and shipment.

571—112.11(484B,484C) Health requirements. No game birds or whitetails or other ungulates shipped or transported into Iowa shall be affected with, or recently exposed to, any infectious, contagious, or communicable disease, or originate from a quarantined area.

    112.11(1) Game birds. All game birds and their hatching eggs shipped or transported into Iowa shall have proof of origination from flocks or hatcheries that have a pullorum-typhoid clean rating given by the official state agency of the National Poultry Improvement Plan or its equivalent and shall be in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Iowa department of agriculture and land stewardship.

    112.11(2) Whitetails. All whitetails shipped or transported into or within Iowa for hunting preserve purposes must be in compliance with all movement requirements, including but not limited to health certificate requirements, as prescribed by the department and the department of agriculture and land stewardship as established in 21—65.9(163) and 21—66.14(163). Whitetails are also subject to the rules in Division II of this chapter.

    112.11(3) Other ungulates. All other ungulates shipped or transported into Iowa for hunting preserve purposes shall be accompanied by an approved Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. All veterinary inspection certificates shall be retained by the registrant for a period of no less than five years.

571—112.12(484B,484C) General conditions for registrants.

    112.12(1) Records and facilities shall be available for inspection by officers of the department during reasonable hours. The department may conduct an annual site visit and visual inventory of whitetails or other ungulates observed.

    112.12(2) All records and reports must be kept current and reflect a true and accurate account of the registrant’s activities.

    112.12(3) The department must be notified within 30 days in writing if the registrant ceases operation as a hunting preserve, at which time all unused transportation tags shall be returned to the department.

    112.12(4) Whitetail or other ungulate hunting preserves that cease operation shall not remove boundary fencing without approval from the department. Whitetail or other ungulate hunting preserves shall be depopulated prior to any boundary fence removal.

    112.12(5) Game bird and ungulates-other-than-whitetail hunting preserves.

    a.  Registrants must seek to renew their hunting preserve operator’s registration within 30 days following the expiration date. Renewal requests received after this period may be considered a new application pursuant to 571—112.2(484B,484C) and 571—112.3(484B,484C).

    b.  All new hunting preserve operator’s applications shall be considered on a first-come, first-served basis following April 30 of each year.

    112.12(6) Whitetail preserves.

    a.  A registrant shall renew the hunting preserve operator’s registration and recertify no later than June 30. Registration renewal and recertification requests received by the department after June 30 shall be considered delinquent.

    b.  The department shall not renew a hunting preserve operator’s registration unless a completed annual report, including all documented events for the reporting period, has been received by the department prior to the reporting deadline.

    c.  For purposes of this chapter, there shall be a continuous open season on whitetails enclosed on registered preserves.

    d.  Individuals may use centerfire rifles, pistols, crossbows, modern or traditional archery equipment, muzzleloaders, or shotguns to hunt and harvest preserve whitetails.

DIVISION II

WHITETAIL DISEASE MONITORING

571—112.13(481A,484C) CWD in whitetails.

    112.13(1) Testing required. A person who keeps preserve whitetails in this state shall have CWD tests performed on any preserve whitetail that dies or is killed on the premises. Whenever any person receives a laboratory test result for CWD, that person shall immediately report that result to the department. The person shall report by telephone, email, fax or other rapid means within one day after receiving the test result and shall report in writing within ten days. The person shall provide a copy of the test result to the owner of the tested whitetail. This reporting requirement applies to any laboratory test result for CWD.

    112.13(2) Collecting tissue samples. One of the following persons shall collect a tissue sample and submit it for testing:

    a.  An accredited veterinarian.

    b.  A trained employee of the department authorized by the department.

    112.13(3) Reporting disease findings. Accredited veterinarians unaffiliated with the department shall share results of CWD or other disease testing by phone or email as soon as received. Accredited veterinarians unaffiliated with the department shall also provide a copy of the test result to the owner of the tested whitetail.

571—112.14(481A,484C) Official whitetail CWD tests. The following are recognized as official cervid tests for CWD:

    1.   Immunohistochemistry.

    2.   Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    3.   Any other tests performed by an approved laboratory to confirm a diagnosis of CWD.

571—112.15(481A,484C) Duration of quarantine. A positive test result for CWD will result in a minimum of a five-year quarantine on the preserve and all remaining animals located within the infected preserve. No animal movement in or out of the preserve can occur during the quarantine period.

571—112.16(481A,484C) Herd plan. The registered hunting preserve owner, the owner’s veterinarian, if requested, and a designated epidemiologist shall develop a plan for eradicating CWD in affected herds. The plan must be designed to reduce and then eliminate CWD from the herd and prevent spillover into wild cervids. The herd plan must be developed and signed within 60 days after the determination that the herd is affected. The plan must be formalized as a memorandum of agreement between the owner and program officials within the department.

These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code chapters 481A, 484B and 484C.

    ITEM 3.  Rescind and reserve 571—Chapter 115.

[Filed 4/17/26, effective 6/17/26]

[Published 5/13/26]

EDITOR’S NOTE: For replacement pages for IAC, see IAC Supplement 5/13/26.