Volume 13 JANUARY, 1954 Number 1 THE 1953 IOWA DEER SEASON ---* • * * • * * * * • * By John Madson LOST ISLAND LAKE ..~ do c utlon As si~> tnnt STATE PARK For five days in early December, Iowans watched their first modern By Charles . Gwynne deer season with mixed feelings. Professor DeJl:trtment of Geolos.,ry Some were opposed to any deer Io,·u, Stute Co llege season at all, while others wanted P robably most persons would be a chance at big game hunting and curious as to how Lost Island Lake venison roasts. got its name. So also would many A month later, shots from the geologists. Of course the name sug deer season were still bemg heard. gests tha t there was once an island The Conservation Commission was in the lake and that it disappeared the target of criticism, most of Islands do "disappear" to be sure, which was levelled against the and so ~resumably could a low legal multiple deer kill and the $15 lying island in an Iowa lake. This license fee. would be through erosion. The To these and some other criti disappearing act would be brought cisms, the commission could only about by wave erosion and ice answer that it was Iowa's first big push, a ided by runoff from rain game season and that there had fall. The island would get smaller been some mistakes. To statements a nd smaller, and finally would be that Iowa's deer had been "slaugh engulfed by the waves. Il would tered" and that the Iowa herd had seem likely that there would be been "wiped out," the commission some record of this event if it strongly disagreed. happened within htstoric times. I n summary of the deer season, Any island thus done away with the commission points out that would have been composed of gla probably fewer deer than the 1953 cial drift. This is the famtliar sub reproduction were taken during the soH of Iowa, mostly a jumbled hunting season. The census taken mass of clay, silt, sand, pebbles, late last winter indicated roughly and larget stones Waves, ice-push. 13,000 deer in the state. The in and run off could rathe1 eastly wipe crease during the summer is be out a low-lying island composed of lieved to have been as much as 50 thts sor t of m aterial. It would be per cent, or 6,500 animals. quite different if the island were Before and during the season, made of solid rock, as are some of 3,795 licenses were sold Of these, t he islands in the lakes of northern 3,074 of the attached report cards Minnesota. have been returned by hunters, who Also, constder what changing reported killing 2,196 deer. Added lake-level could do. Falling level to this figure is the 769 tags issued in time of droughl might cause a to farmers and hunters making shallow portion of lake bottom lo multiple kills, bringing the present appear as an island Given normal \\' •rr~n Reed. Ch~rokee Co Photo. reported deer kill to 2,965 animals precipitatiOn and nsing level, and Iowa d eer we re large a nd In exce ll ent condition. Conserva tion Officer Frank St a rr t a gs Conservation officers have also es a deer shot by Da rrly Bla nkenba ke r of Ch erokee before its re moval to a locker pla nt. t he island would disappear. A timated that 92 farmers in their dam at the outlet raising the lake territories killed deer for which level several feet might do the THE DEER SEASON AS TOLD IN THE PRESS neither licenses or tags were is same thing. However there is no sued. The total deer kill, as esti- record of the level of this lake hav To the surprise of nearly every-J and displayed their ability to hide mated from hunters' reports, is ing been raised artificially one, Palo Alto County's first deer in the brush right under the eyes 3,057 I n any case, if an island dtd "dis hunting season in 75 years yielded of hunters. . As the deer started Hunter success \vas extremely appear" from Lost Island Lake its a big harvest of whitetails. The coming in, more and more men, high. Nearly three hunters out of location would continue as a shal fi\·e-day hunt opened Thursday and both farmers and others, decided four, or 71 per cent, killed deer. low area perhaps CO\-etNl with closed Monday . Some hunters to go hunting The demand for From the early reports received by rushes. But a survey of the lake reP o 1t u1 the neYer-shot-at-deer licenses increased and a shortage the commission, 1,097 hunters re made about 1935 shows no shallow "tame" the first day 01 two, offer- of shotgun slugs developed until ported no kill, 1,771 reported kill area T he lake bottom was found ing fairly easy close-range targets finally they could hardly be found ing one deer, 183 killed two deer, to drop off from the shore rather for their shotgun slugs. Later, on dealers counters in Emmets- 13 killed three deer, six killed four (Continuecl on p3ge 7) however, they became more wary (Contint:ed on pa~e 6) 1 (Continued on l'age li) Page 2 IOWA C ONSERVATIONIST
l'IH:ASANTS-Many quick limits, Iowa Conservationist '' lth g-ood hunting weath('r in ""- ish ~ I by the g-ood phl'asant territory. Later lOW A CONSE.n v A 11v~ COMMISSION In the season th(' birds wised up and C\ eryone is asking "V.'here East 7th and Caurt-Dos Moines, Iowa 111<1 " -ro?" (No Rlqhts Reserved) WM. S. BEARDSLEY. Governor of Iowa ,, I c•:\IAIIO'\, Carroll and Greene: BRUCE F. STILES, Director DPC'K \ > GEESE-Duck hunt- ~- ing wa'5 slow until the last lf) ;AMES R. HARLAN, Editor or 12 da) s of the season rnttl JOHN MADSON, Special Writ€"r ' No\'l•mber 19 nothing much was E' t l tJ ' ., I:.:~ tal
~aves Owl. This powerful bloodthirsty VVhen the buck reached the de tnade "T1ger of the Air" frequently be coys it apparently realized that :-A comes a serious predator on poul something was amiss. It hurried , rt try, game birds and waterfowl. It out of the water and up the bank, plles 1s the only owl not protected in disappearing over the levee.-Bur tim Illinois and most states. Neverthe- lington Hawkeye-Gazette. med 7 are A gray Fallow deer- a fugitive him before he grew up," Chris from a zoo- met a sad fate Satur said. The deer has lived since with bern day afternoon because he was in wild deer on the river bottom land. mo st fa iled the wrong company. But he did grow up to a hand •e of The 200-pound buck who escaped some 200-pound gray buck with the from Chris Christensen's zoo on N. distinctive palmed antlers of his little ater. Eighth St. two years ago as a species. The Virginia deer of this a la te young fawn was slain along with the area are reddish color with white t i n~ seven wild Virginia deer now native tails and have spiked antlers. rinl!' to this area, on the Harry Schultz Sharpe Osmundson, 143 Fifteenth farm, on the Missouri River east of Ave., a naturalist, said Saturday 1s in jdisOD Crescent. night that Fallow deer are native ng so Jim Sh•rman rhot.o Chris late Saturday told baffled of Southern Europe. They are fhe little Burrowin!J Owl lives prineipally on inseets. In Iowa It is found only In the northwest. sportsmen in the party that the hardy, easy to raise and are com • • * * * * * • young fawn and several other monly found in zoos in the United OWLS to throw a nail or other iron object grown deer were brought here from States. into the fire. To the Greeks and a Kansas City zoo. The fawn es The gray deer first came under By D avid H . Thompson Romans, the owl was a symbol of caped "before he even had horns," the shotgun sights of Harold Saint, a nd R ob E- rts Ma nn wisdom and was the companion of Chris stated. He was seen lurking who a lso farms near Crescent. their goddess of wisdom. around the pen at the pound sev Harry Schullz dropped him with a The owls, of all our native birds, It is not true that owls are eral times and finally disappeared. second shot. Council Bluffs Non are least understood. Most kinds "blind" in daytime. They see very "I thought probably the dogs got pareil. remain hidden, motionless and si well, but most kinds see better at * • * * * • * • * * lent during the day and hunt only dusk because their eyes, adapted * at night or in the dim twilight of for night hunting, are so sensitive morning and evening. Only a few, to light that the iris almost closes lil{e our common Short-eared Owl in strong light. It is supposed that and those big owls of the far north they are particularly sensitive to the Snowy Owl, the Great Gray g reen, yellow, orange, red, and pos Owl and the Hawk Owl habitually sibly even to infrared rays which hunt in daytime. Because an owl's are invisible to us. In addition, feathers are pecuharly soft and like the hawk, the eye of an owl fluffy, it flies as silently as a pass can be instantly and sharply fo ing shadow, swoops upon its prey cused to see either near or far and unheard, and its Indian name was it is probably the most efficient ''hush-wing." organ of vision in the world. As Since ancient times there have with us humans, and unlike other been many superstitions and leg birds, an owl has both eyes set in ends about these birds They have the front of its skull, but they are been regarded as the companions immovable and cannot be rolled of sorcerers, witches, ghosts, hob from side to side. Th1s gives the goblins and Satan himself. Their birds' face an uncanny menacing weird nocturnal hootings, gobblings staring expression. However, it and screams were and are believed can rotate its head almost 180 to predict death, illness or dis degrees to the right or left, so that aster. Even today, in our southern it can stare back over either shoul states, the plaintive quavering cry der, and many a small boy has un of the Little Screech Owl- which successfully tried to make an owl they call the "Shivering" Owl will "twist its head off" by walking ,. cause some people to get out of bed d · t I Cnunc ll BIU!Y8 Nonpareil Photo. aroun 1 • Hunters with a 3·year·old Fallow deer killed on the Missouri River near Creseent. The and turn over their left shoe, others Owls have another peculianty. zoo eseapu had lived more than 2 years In eompany with wild whitetails. Page 4 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST
l ake Odessa, a popular hunting, fishing and picnicking area, will soon receive a face· For the $t ill hunter a fresh wet snow means "this is the day" to go fox hunting. li fting to increase its recreation potential. Principal development will Include control • * • structures to prevent extreme water fluctuations. now and then you find where he coyote, and eight of the foxes has lain down to watch his back were taken in one day. Hi!' meth 3,000 ACRES OF FISH, GAME AREA TO IOWA trail. It is an hour now since ods are worth studying. you've seen him, but his pauses Like mnny fox hunters, Ed uses Some of the best news in a long strictest sense, is not a lake, but are becoming more frequent. nigh 'eloctty, small -bore r1fles. tlme for Iowa sportsmen is the a wilderness of bayous and hea\ily In mid-afternoon the trail S\\rings His favorite is a .22-250 Mauser, transfer of the Odessa Area from timbered Islands that teem with toward a lo\v ridge ahead and on on which is mounted a targt.t tele the U. S Army Engineers to the fish and game. a hunch, keeping the wind in your 1 scopic sight. Strange as it sounds U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. face, you cut across a broad field 1 the r1fle's great velocity makes it l<~ederal aid spokesmen at the William The area is located near the Mis commission say that development to intercept it '\t the top of a slope safe to use in Io'' a. The extremely q•i•ld t SISSlppl River several miles south plans will be put into effect as soon you scan the landscape with your fast bullets (3,300 feet per second of Muscatine. as possible. glasses, and just below the crest never glance; in fact, they won't De eli The Iowa Conservation Commis of the distant hill you see a spot even go through a fox. Upon hit of red .fluff. lmg anything, they simply blow Sion received word in December deer, 1 that the transfer of certain river RECIPE FOR \Yorl< down the draws then, and up. Last winter Ed shot a running deer. through what cover the open fields tox in the front leg and killed it 1 lands along the Mississippi had tn the SCRAMBLED FOX w1ll give you When close the m::;tantl:> Upon examination, it been completed, and that these than 1 lands had been turned over to fed Let's say that it's a day in late range lo 250 yards, belly down I was found that the leg had been ktlled eral fish and game agencies. This winter There IS a fresh, wet snow and crawl into yom rifle sling driven bacl< through the animal's does not include all lands under beneath a leaden sky, and except Th1·ough the powerful target 'scope chest! for an occasiOnal crow, you are the red fluff resolves into a crouch- Using a pair of 9 by 35 binocu th~ ~ the jurisdiction of the Army Engi deer i neers, but only those having value alone. ing fox, still watching his back lars, Ed lakes a trail in all-white reconu as waterfowl management areas I magine that you are miles from trail. The dot of the crosshairs clothing. He wears white cover The:e The good news stems from the the car, carrying a ten-pound hangs at the line of his back for ails, whHe gloves and a white cap, north fact that some of these lands will, rifle You are dressed in white to an instant. And, with the recoil : for foxes are alert to anythmg Were t in turn, be transferred to the Iowa match the world around you. Be of the rifle, you know it is the last dark mo' ing on the winter land Howe, Conservat10n Commission Of the neath your parka is a pair of bi trail he will watch. . . . scape. Although Ychk doesn't cam- nated, 6,000-acre Odessa Area, about 3,000 noculars, and beneath your belt is There aren't many still hunters ouftage his rifle, some hunters do hunt acres will be placed in the charge an empty stomach It is early these days, for it is a demanding this by applying strips and odd seasolli art. But for the men who can pieces of adhesive tape, thus break- of the Conservation CommiSSion. February, and most other hunters saw .,. This means that the commission have long since hung up their meet its demands, It pays off. mg the rifle's outline. llarJ;r One of these men these still hun- Ed begms a hunt from a car. will be free to begin development guns But for you, a fox hunter, deer a ters is Ed Yelik of Des Moines Driving around a section of land, of one of the finest fish and wildlife the season has just begun. who has hunted foxes ,, ith a rifle he watches for a set of fox tracks IO\\·l areas in the state For three hours you have been for twelve years HIS tally for leading into the area He then garded The long-planned development followmg a fox trail. The fox knows you are behind him, and last winter was 33 foxes and one dnves around the section, and if lllis~IOJ will include concrete water control • the tracks don't go out the other se~"era structures at the inlet and outlet • s1de, he goes in after them From F1r~ of Lake Odessa. In the past, high then on it's Ed or the fox, and no llot·fa spring water levels have flooded holds barred h\·estc. the lake, hindering fishing and the Many hunters follow this same teportf vegetation growth so vital to wild method, but station a companion Sec0 life In the fall, low river levels or two at the place where they farmer also meant low lake levels, much thmk the fox \Vill emerge from Was 111 0 to the distress of waterfowl hunt the sectiOn Ed usually hunts alone, Pen 1 ers With permanent control struc and once on a fox t rail he sticks to the st tures the high spring water levels it He may take the fox m the than tl can be lowered and low autumn first sectiOn or he may not If seaSon: water levels can be raised to at necessar:y, a good still hunter will ~eer ra tract waterfowl. Smce the mlet of track a fox all day. Jng, b1 the lake will be in the pool behmd All of his hunting is done in I;\ hi channel dam 14, the lake can be open fields, the winter habitat pre- bunterl raised much higher than the ad- 1 ferred by red foxes. The red fox, 0 lher 1 jacent river. unhke his gray cousm, Vv ill e\ en cons, de The 3,000 acres transferred to sleep in the open and Yelik has ers• r,1 Iowa include some of the wildest .r., ,., r .. "'· often trailed them and shot them t on.:, lands in the state. Odessa, in the For fox hu ~ ting , Ed Yelik uses a .22·250 Mauser, with a target telescopic sight. I (Continued on page 7) Publtcu - IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Page 5 lcHEER UP • • • You don't have troubles. This In Memphis, Tennessee, J. C. past year may have been a little Lightfoot stood beneath a tree on a tough, but 1t could have b~en worse. gentle day and drank deeply of the Take the guy who got shot by his sunshine and fresh aid. He was lawnmower, for instance. Or the struck by the beauty of nature. poor fellow that was wounded by Then he was struck by something his rake, and the hunter who was else . . an ear of corn dropped shot by a deer. They had it tough! with precision and force by a squir These are only a few of the weird rel in the branches above. Mr. mishaps turned up by the National Lightfoot had to hotfoot it home Safety Council in its annual round to nurse a long, deep gash in his up of odd accidents: head. Robert Heinbaugh was mowing To lop it all, 13-year-old Hor his lawn in Painesville, Ohio, when ace Boutwell of Houston, Texas, he suddenly felt all shot ... and it watched breathlessly as Wild Bill wasn't from heat or fatigue. His Hickok routed the bad men on \a wnmower had run over a rifle TV. In his excitement, Horace got cartridge and had plugged him in out his trusty air rifle and blazed the b1g toe. away at a .22 caliber cartridge In Santa Cruz, California, John resting on a saw horse several feet Plumbe was shot by a rake he had away. His accurate shooting ex always regarded as an old friend. ploded the cartridge and sent the Plumbe was raking rubbish into a cartridge case whizzing back into bonfire. In the rubbish was a shot his shoulder. At the hospital he a g. gun shell. Wham! smiled happtly and said "Let's see • And in Payson, Utah, Shirl Kel Wild Bill do that." . . . It could oxes sey knelt trimphantly beside a deer only happen in Texas. teth· he had just shot. The animal So don't gripe about flat tires, ktcked defiantly, struck the trigger dents in your fenders and other uses 'Jf Kelsey's rifle, and shot him in humdrum misadventures. You nev tiles. the thigh. er had it so good! user, tele· year age class. arrow hunters were in the field, mds, Most hunters found rifled shot and only two deer kills are known Warran Reed, Cherokee- Courier l'hot.o. gun slugs extremely effective. They to have been made by bow-hunters. es it William Robe rtson of Cherokee with fine buck t a ke n on his fa rm. Fa rme rs we re not re mely quired to buy licenses but d eer killed ha d to be t a gged befo re remova l f rom the f a rm. reported good accuracy if the slug's Opinion of the deer season is on d) * * ., * * * * * • range was not exceeded. Kills at strongly divided, and always will cess brought many hunters to a 100 yards were frequent. In some be. One thing, however, is certain. \'OD't Deer 5e ason • • • t· hit· (Continued from page l) re1 a 1ve1 y sma11 area, resulting in parts of the state gunners often For years to come, hunters will be bloW deer, and four hunters killed five high hunting pressure. This, com fired at ranges beyond the capacity talking over the first Iowa deer tning deer. Of the thousands of hunters bined with the open country m of their weapons. Few bow and season. ild it in the field, 7 per cent killed more which deer and hunters could be * * * * * * * !1, it than one deer, and 93 per cent easily seen, fostered alarm among beeD killed only one deer or none. farmers and townsmen and many mal's In some local areas 1t 1s believed farms were closed to hunting after that as much as 50 per cent of the the first two days. The statewide nocu· deer were killed, the percentage picture, however, was one of con bite recommended for herd reduction. sideration on the hunters' part and The~e areas were m western and cooperation on the farmers' 0rer· • cap. northwestern Iowa where deer Third, there was high huntmg t.biJlg were highly vulnerable to bunters. success, and hunting is a part of land· However, the deer were not elimi- good conservation. Conservation in caJll• nated, even in the most heavily its modern meaning is not strict rs do hunted areas. The day after the preservation, but rather a wise use odd season closed, a conservation officer of our natural resources. All game reak· saw 27 deer in one morning near populations have annual surpluses Harlan in the heart of the western that should be harvested. If they car . deer country. are not harvested by man, they will, • Ian d. Iowa's first deer season was re- sooner or later, be harvested by rackS garded by the Conservation Com- nature. From this standpoint death then mission as highly successful for by hunting is preferable to death illd i.f several reasons· by sickness and starvation. The other F1rst, there were no fatal or present Iowa deer herd is in ex fTODI non-fatal shooting accidents. No cellent condition, but no animal .nd no livestock or property damage was species can expand unchecked . reported There is always a control, whether Second, there was a minimum of it is bunting, famine or epidemic farmer-sportsman friction. There Checking stations revealed that was difficulty in small areas in the deer killed were large and in superb open western counties, but over physical condition. The biggest the state there was less trouble buck checked by the commission hi than there IS m a normal pheasant ologists weighed 271 pounds live season Farmers in most of the weight, and there may have been deer range not only permitted hunt- larger ones unchecked Many bucks ing, but even joined the hunters. weighed well over 200 pounds, and (A h1gh percentage of licensed ten-point bucks were not uncom hunters were farmers.) On the mon. There were few patriarchs other hand, most sportsmen were checked at the stations, and seven considerate of property and farm- and one-half years was the maxi ers' rights, with only a few excep- mum age. The largest deer, both tions. In the Avoca area, wide bucks and does, were in the three Fine racks w ere t he ru!e on t hree a nd four year-old b.uc ks. Sher iff Ray Barber of Jasper ublicity of first-day huntt'ng sue- d h lf t f d h lf County and Conservat 1on Officer Gene Hlavka examme the rack of a 295-poultd buck P an one- a o our an one- a 1 killed by a car a few days before the season. Page 6 IOWA CONSE RVATIONIST -
·•· • Jim Shl'rm•n Phot< 1 ~~ q <' He!rDIIt· I• uld S ~:1 o l'h01 n Actua l we1 ghts revealed tha t hunters inva riably over·estlmated. Perhaps the new It was ha rd for the ge neral public to believe the number of deer in some areas. A e xpe rience of " hauling out" was responsible for the exaggeration. group of Dubuque County hunters after a successful hunt neilr• Pine Hollow State Pa rk happ1er 1f only one or two hunters, over the killing of does m th1s, the of the tlung-s that wul probably be In the Press ... employed by the state for that initial season in the last 75 years, changed in future seasons ... (Continued from page 1) purpose, were given the job of other farmers thrilled because they llarlan Tribune burg. Only the slug was a legal had an opportunity of .shooting . . . The biggest joke of the year load, outside of an arrow, and culling the herds . . . - LeJI.Iars Sclltincl some of the "government beef" ... \Vas the day the deer season opened. dealers never anticipated so big a demand Some hunters, in other sec- Bell€ vue Lwcler The hunters who lmew where to go A got their dt•er in the first five or -Emmctsburq Democmt tions of the ~late, gave away their Th1s writer's gue~s •~ that .. Iowa's deer season closed deer as they got them in order to the lolal bag will be less than 100 ten minutes. That's quicker than shooting . during pheasant sea- Lo Monday afternoon, termed by most contmue hunting throughout the deer in Iowa's first official legal son . as "very successful" . . . season, contrary to every intent of deer hunting season qUJ( Polk City Citize11 -Che1·okce Courier the law . Mancl!estcr D emocrat SO!II . Deer hunters in the Dtckm- - Lake Park News ... Just how much the Iowa Probably the most unusual el"at son County area had easy pickings The deer season just past herd was reduced will not be known incident ... was the killing of two pl as they rolled out an estimated 125 was really surprising. More deer . but it is highly possible that deer with one slug-. A slug tore feet to 130 deer during Iowa s first leg- were taken the first day than most more deer were eliminated than completely through one deer and 'J1 islated deer season which ended of us skeptics believed would be antlc1pated by the conserva then killed another animal behind Monday . . . taken dur mg the entire season tion comm1ssion. We expect some the first ..• -Spirit Lake Beacon And when we say most of us skep- changes will be made in the next G 11 t tnt be n1 Press ... Iowa's first deer hunting tics, w e mean approximately 15,000 per hunter limit It ~ecms evident that the season in 75 years ended Monday. of us . · Neola Gazettc-Repo1 ter $15 license was a little steep for Typical of hunters' comments was: - Afton Star Enterp1"isc Because of the great num most city hunters, and they are "It wasn't a bad season but I suspect that if and when bers of hunters the deer Simply had the ones who ... buy permits to there are plenty of them left for another season comes to Iowa, no place to hide. Everywhere they hunt and fish, and who finance a years to come" . some of the mistakes of this year's t·an there were hunters waiting to good part of the work of the Iowa -Northwood Anchor hunting will be employed to set up shoot them. . J auron said he had Conservation Commission ... . Not many deer were killed a more realistic deer season heard of no one geltmg five, the - Dt nison Bulletin limit allowed by the law, and one m Decatur County during the five- Some of the fa rmers were incensed • By a 5-1 vote, about 200 day deer season. . . The fi rst day * • * • • farmers and businessmen of the hunters scattered the deer and Avoca area attendmg a meeting farmers reported they were every ... opposed an open season on deer where and not at their usual cross next year. Assa1led was the un ings at dusk and sunrise . . . sportsmanlike conduct of some - L eon Jounwl-Reporter hunters, both local and foreign. . . Although Iowa's first deer They agreed the number of such season got off to a slow start, Bu hunters was not great, but their \\or chanan County sportsmen Monday actions added fuel to the fire ... te finished the five-day event with en i l tlcmtic ~61CS Teleqraph b ... thusiasm and success. Few of the . The first open deer season ther Buchanan County hunters failed to m Iowa in 75 years was subject to I\ a, bag a deer ... a lot of deserved criticism With stor I -ndependence Conservative the limited restnctions, hunters .o\ were permiltcd to mal{e hogs of Pto1 . With fewer hunters than I~ were anticipated, and with so many themselves, and many of them took , of the deer's natural haunts posted advantage of the privilege. A limit against hunting, it would seem that of one dee1 per season would have l~ a good many of the graceful crea been hbcral enough . 11 tures will have a pretty good I - GruiiCly Cc11te1 Register chance of evading law-abiding B1ggest gripe among farm ers and also folks living in and sportsmen next month. If that proves to be the case, we hope some around Avoca were the game other method will be used to re "bogs" who were not satisfied to duce the herd in the future, 1f that shoot one deer on opening day, but went out on following days for becomes necessary. It may not be Jim Shennon Photo. as democratic, but we suspect the Hundred s of deer were voluntarily brought to the checking stations where biologists more ... d etermined age a nd w eights and other f actua l Information that will aid In determining - Avoca Journal-Herald farmers concerned would be much future management of the herd. IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Page 7
is a hilly country it is not like one wind, Ed com es in from the east made by stream erosion. Many of or west, depending on the best the depressions are not drained cover. The important thing is to by streams. If they are deep wear white and avoid being up enough, lakes or ponds form in wind. Yelik has found that a fox them. Of course the water all isn't much afraid of white-garbed comes from the rain. hunters, and it is often easy to All lakes in time will cease to come within rifle range. exist, as is s uggested by the F oxes a lso seem to feel safe in amount of silt found on the bot open fields. Perhaps this is be lorn of Lost Island Lake. Sedi cause much of their experience is ment carried in by streams, run with shotguns or twenty-twos, the off down the shores, and waves, ranges of which are highly limited gradually make the lake basins in Iowa's broad fields. more shallow. Material blown in by the wind also contributes. One of Yelik's favorite hunting Reeds and rushes take hold, and areas is within ten miles of Des what was once a lake becomes a Moines, where, in spite of his con marsh. stant attention, there are still plenty of foxes. When asking a Southwest of Lost Island Lake farmer to hunt last winter, Ed was and continuous with it is a swampy told "There's been a lot of circle area called Barringer Slough. This hunts around here, and the foxes probably was once a shallow south are gone." With his tongue in his westward extension of Lost Isla nd cheek Ed headed through the farm Lake. Time has wrought its a nd killed two foxes in the first changes, and now it is a swamp field. Shooting doubles like that ~ oeas. A The drainage from Lost Island isn't loo unusual in late February, t Part. passes through the Barringer when the mating season has begun . • Slough. Then it goes into a tribu tary of the Little Sioux River, and A fresh snow and a sunshiny day makes ideal fox hunting into the a rea of an older glacier weather. Foxes, like cats, like to une deposit. Erosion headward by this bask in the sun A day after a e year tributary could in time drain Lost storm is best. If it's still snowing 1pened. Jim Sh~rmnn Ph<>tn Island Lake. That however is A couple of youngsters look for the Lost Island. Eve n many geologists a nd historians a little, that's all right. The fox's ~to go are curious to know how Lost Island got its name. something for the distant future. ave or visibility will be cut down, too. * .,. ~ * * * * * * * Lost Island Lake will be a lake r than Lost 1 1 d to the lake have also brought in for a long while. Snow isn't necessary for still 1t sea· s an . . . sediment, but erosion of the lake hunting foxes, but it's best. If (Continued from page 1) quickly, and then to continue at a shores is believed to have conlnb- there's no snow you might try i::en somewhat uniform depth. The av- uted a large part of this silt de- Fox • · • driving along roads, scanning nusual erage was 6.6 feet and the greatest posit. (Continued from page 4) every open fi eld (especially just ftWO depth, in the south central part, 9.1 Most of Lost Island Lake is m in their sleep. But it's not always below the hilltops) with binocu tore feet. P alo Alto County, but the western that simple. lars. If the wind is blowing from the north, drive east and ~ r and The park, an area of about 50 part extends into Clay County The While hunting Yelik watches west and watch the south slopes. be bind acres extendmg along the shore of lake is in a country of lakes. Not well ahead and uses his binoculars the lake from which 1t 1s named, is far to the west in Clay County are often. Except for the mating sea If the wind is from the west, drive north and s0utb, watching the east 'ress a few miles north of Ruthven in Trumbull and Round Lakes, all son, foxes u sually hunt and feed northwestern Palo Alto County. A close to the county line. Five at night and rest in the daytime. slopes, and so on. Once you see a at the fox, lay your plans carefully. Ap !ep for striking fealme 1s the "wall" of Island Lak e is about 11 miles east A hunting trail should be avo1ded, boulders along the shore. Their of Lost Island Lake Of course for it will wander aimlessly for proach at right angles to the wind, ev are remembering that the fox will be :xtit5 tO location is the result of ice action. Dickinson and Emmet counties to miles. When a red fox is well-fed Originally the boulders were in the the north also have many lakes. he will look for a place to bed sniffing upwind and seeing down ance a wind. le Iowa drift along the shore As wave What is the explanation for the down and will often make a slight erosion proceeded the finer mate- concentration of lakes in this part ly twisting trail. In such a case, If you take it easy and wear . . white clothes, you can get close. 11etin rial of the drift was carried out of Iowa? watch the high ground ahead. Use into the lake and the boulders were The basins in which the lakes your glasses often. Some hunters, Yelik's shots average about a hun IUt 200 left stranded. In the winter they lie are of glacial origin. This does upon jumping a resting fox, will dred yards, although he has taken of the became frozen in lhe ice. Then not mean that the glacier scooped wait a half-hour before taking up foxes at over two hundred. 11eeting the ice, pushing shoreward, piled out hollows. The lakes are all in the trail. This lulls reynard into He hunts open fields for two on deer them up into a wall. Note that the depressions of a terminal moraine a false security and he will soon reasons: one, foxes feel more con the un· park is on the east shore of the of the glacier which last covered lie down again. Yelik, however , fident in the open, and two, there ' ~oOle lake, and that the prevaihng wind Iowa. The deposits left by this just keeps grinding away at the are more foxes there. They tend roreigD· is from the northwest. It is no glacier, called by geologists the trail. to avoid limber and heavy cover of such wonder that the boulders are piled Wisconsin, extend in the shape of One day in deep snow, Ed broke excPpt for hunting and shelter Jt their one on lop of the other. Also, note a lobe as far south as Des Moines. his front rifle sight while trailing from severe storms. how smooth and rounded most of The terminal or end moraine a slightly wounded fox. Instead of With the exception of good still them are. Constan t wear by the mark s a position of readvance of letting the animal rest, Ed decided hunters and expert trappers, foxes waves, particularly in time of the glacier. Back of the front the to run it down. Since both were aren't hurt much by man. Circle storm is responsible ice was m oving forward, but the nearly exhausted, neither of them bunts, in general, aren't very ef Although the wall of boulders rate of advance was approx1mately gained any ground When the fox fecti\•e Some c1rcle bunts may kill protects the shore, it is interesting balanced by the rate of melting. ran, Ed ran. When the fox rested, a lot of foxes, but most of them to note that a low bluff has devel- The front thus remamed m about Ed rested Finally, by mutual con don't. Hunters such as Yehk may oped along the s hore at the park. the same place, and the terminal sent, they called the whole thing kill as many foxes in one winter Much fine sediment must have been moraine was built up by the accu off. as several c1 rcle hunts of a hun carried out into the lake, as wave mulating debris freed from the ice A fox bedding down in the open dred hunters. etosion has proceeded in post-gla- Of course the margin shifted back usually does so on the windward It's a rough job, this still-hunt cial times. The survey of about and forth, and much more in some side of a bill, just below the crest. ing of foxes. But although the 1935 is stated to have disclosed places than in others. I n the vi Anything approaching from up work is hard and the hours are that the lake bottom was covered cinity of Lost Island Slate Park wind can be scented, and anything long, the pay is good Not in the With silt having an average thick- and in the neighboring counties to coming up from downwind can be bounties collected, or the pelts, but ness of 10.8 feet. This seems an the north the terminal moraine is seen. Ed usually comes in from in knowing that you have beat ext1 aordinary thickness. Some of many miles wide and is exception the side, out of seeing and out of Bre'r fox with his own high cards t~i s may be silt carried in by gla- ally hilly. scenting. If the fox is lying on a . . . patience, slyness and animal Clal melt-water. Streams tributary Although the terminal moraine south slope and out of a north endurance.-J . M. Page B IOWA CO NSERVATI O NIST
f .. ,, Huns \\('I'(' tnkPn the first , JOH~~TO.:-.., Tama and Bf'nton: two clays. Qt \II \ ry littlt• hun n~ tn HABBI'l'~ llunting Is slo\\', as this an·a this year. most hunt••rs awaltln~; Ol.CK5-\Yarm weather and dry pot holes gave unproclu('ti\ l' \\ IL 0...... ,. , B oonp a nd St OQ : h1111ting <'Xc·ept on opening- day ancl one 01 two clays late In thP •1 .\ll \ • . nting Sl.'llSOn. dono r n ~torv ('oun t ~, and r·c sults were poor. SQnJUU~LS - Bxccllcnt during lli!JSI of the SC'lLSOII fi)I the CX• lli'CKH J\~1) <~l;t•:SI~ :.lauy te.tl Jll'l'itnl•o•rl hunur but dr·y eon killed h£>rt o•arJy in thl R<'ason. ditlons rnucle it rlllhcult for the Huntm~; "·~'' poor until aroun•l no\ lee ;:'\n\ l'lllher· IS, then goorl to fair ItA BBI'I'S Iluntl'rs rPpor·ted seo r·ivo r shoot in~. Best goost>. hont iur; r ahhill:> In gr·l•ater· numbers ing- In '\ Par·s. l\lany t 'anadas than in rceent .r• ars, anri pro. and suh-sp((•les "er·e killed on Ill'('!:-. for good rabbit hunting l'i\ cr or 111 ('Ornflclds. seem hig-h, SQl'I H HI•:LS <''om;ido•t ing- till' dry PHI•:ASA:\'TS Opening; clay Wn'l \\Ntthct·, squlrrt>l hunting wns goorl, but for the a\c.rag•• hunt good. Lots of squu·rels kiliNI er this Ylnr \\as not ns g-ood as but plenty of seed <>lock left. \\<'1'1' recPnt ~ear. i\lany non Volume lL\HBITS Bl'ltf'r thun last year I'I'Sirlent hunten; W€nt home with :;om(' spots 'lhowing tnrr !'mpty h!t nrlPd, or nearly so. r·abbll shootln~·. Populations arc spotty. R.\US('H, Linn: I'IIf•:AS.\;:'\Tl:i f•'air· opc•ning with Qt',\11.-VliY dry conclltions in quite a fe\\ birr! lcilll'd. Suc ear·ly ~Pason mnric hunting dit cess dropped ofT aftc·r 0111 ning cult :.lost qua1l "t re shot dur dd\, and drv ('onditron!'< mnde Ing pheasant sNtson \\ hPn largo After opening days the ringneck again proved itself " the smartest game bird on t he I hunting hard. J1 u·ti('s of huntE:n"' flushed ('ovrcs North American contine nt" A good carryove r Is again appa r ent • • * ...... * * * * * H,\ nTH'!':-; -Poor to oatc, and ther(' Summ ary ... do not seem to be as many rab hits H'l la~t ) ('fir. Cor nued fr m par- ft) f PHEAS.\~'J'S Good on opening I ~ GARUETT, Potta\\attanuf': day, hut l_ittle hunting and poor ' I SUCCPSS Sl!ll'f' then t ken rqrardlcss of dry condi If wd t .ons. XI<; \\ EL, SioU'\. and PI) mouth· lJtTK::; AXD GEESE ·Starti•d mrlhon, slowly, but tho• g-oose shootinl.\" l•t ( h.s \'\ I,IO:F~S I· -s 1 art m~ IS on the .\tissouri was the gr .. nt of season "n« slow. ])u('ks PSt in y<'ars. nreatest per· r•t•nt rnO\'C'd In ahout ~ovemb('r 20 time. w was of Canarlas and HutC'hlns and mallarcl shooting wa!> \ (H\' ans\\e Duck hunting slow until Xo ~ood .\lany s•·e~•' in this nrca ' t•rnber 17, "hich brought won with large flocks feeding in ably In derful mallard shooting By the early picker1 liPid:; nne! then goo-~ lax, to 2t;th it was over. ing; on to thc• :.li~sour·i Rh·ror·. SQUIRRELS-Dry, and hunting SQriHitl~LS St.1rted slow due te> That' q tlrflicult. Good hnnwrs clid well, hea' y foliage, but pickrod up swer w and populations were very good Ia ter· In the s.-.a~on. hundred RABBITS Populations look good PHEASANTS Yer\' slow in this but thPr·e will be littl• hunting territory. Somn iimlts on opPn days p~ until snow. in~ day, but (('w slnre then. A onJy n PHEASAI':TS-.\Iost of the hunt clecrNt:o;<' of nbout 1 1 Pt r cent of for the ing \\'U~ on opPning day. On hir