Iowa's white-tailed deer population declines as hunting season begins

As cooler temperatures settle in across Iowa, deer hunters are already gearing up for hunting season. But they might harvest less this year after Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources determined that deer populations are down across the state, reports Iowa Capital Dispatch for Successful Farming. 

In its 2026 spring survey, DNR scanned for wildlife after sunset along gravel roads throughout the state, and found "the lowest relative abundance of white-tailed deer in over a decade." The DNR reports 2025 saw a 20% decline in abundance — the lowest estimate since 2013 — though there is evidence populations in western Iowa are rebounding. Bowhunters, who are the most active deer hunters, confirm these results with their own observations.

In response to the data, Iowa's DNR implemented a new regional hunting zone, which limits licenses and requires the hunting of only antlered deer with unique quotas in eight western Iowan counties. The reasons for decline, according to DNR’s survey, “remains unclear.”

Deer are often exposed to the sometimes fatal epizootic hemorrhagic disease, but 2025 saw low mortality rates from the illness. Chronic Wasting Disease in deer is managed by the DNR with help from hunters, who report signs of the sickness, but "CWD was not listed as a reason for the population declines across the state."

Instead, the survey found that it's possible climate change and habitat loss are to blame. Unaccounted for landscape or atmospheric conditions, like warmer weather, rain or crop cycles, could have impacted the count. "DNR said the survey also observed very low numbers in 2012, but that numbers shot back up the following year at rates that were 'biologically improbable.'"