484B.10  Season — hunting preserve hunting license.
  1.  a.  A person shall not take a game bird or ungulate upon a hunting preserve, by shooting in any manner, except during the established season or as authorized by section 481A.56. The established season shall be September 1 through March 31 of the succeeding year, both dates inclusive. The owner of a hunting preserve shall establish the hunting season for nonnative, pen-reared ungulates on the hunting preserve.
  b.  A game bird hunting preserve operator may apply for a variance to extend the season date beyond March 31 for that preserve if the monthly precipitation is above average for the county in which the preserve is located for at least two months out of the months of January, February, and March of that season. The state climatologist appointed pursuant to section 159.5 shall provide official national weather service and community collaborative rain, hail and snow network data to the department to determine whether a variance to the established season shall be granted. The department shall not grant a variance to a game bird preserve that extends the season beyond April 15 of the year for which the variance is requested. A person hunting on a game bird hunting preserve on a date after March 31 pursuant to an extension granted under this paragraph shall only hunt for and take chukars, quail, or rooster pheasants.
  2.  Waterfowl shall not be shot over any area where pen-reared mallards may serve as live decoys for wild waterfowl. All persons hunting game birds or ungulates upon a licensed hunting preserve shall secure a hunting license that includes the wildlife habitat fee in accordance with the game laws of Iowa, with the exception that an unlicensed person may secure an annual hunting preserve hunting license restricted to hunting preserves only for a license fee of five dollars. All persons who hunt on hunting preserves shall pay the wildlife habitat fee.
  3.  A nonresident youth under sixteen years of age may hunt game birds on a licensed hunting preserve upon securing an annual hunting preserve hunting license restricted to hunting preserves only for a license fee of five dollars and payment of the wildlife habitat fee. A nonresident youth is not required to complete the hunter education course to obtain a hunting preserve hunting license pursuant to this subsection if the youth is accompanied by a person who is at least eighteen years of age, is qualified to hunt, and possesses a valid hunting license that includes the wildlife habitat fee. During the hunt, the accompanying adult must be within arm’s reach of the nonresident youth.
92 Acts, ch 1160, §10; 96 Acts, ch 1072, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1199, §25, 27; 98 Acts, ch 1223, §30; 2009 Acts, ch 144, §44; 2012 Acts, ch 1096, §22, 23; 2015 Acts, ch 26, §9; 2017 Acts, ch 29, §139; 2021 Acts, ch 82, §2; 2021 Acts, ch 174, §25
Remote control or internet hunting prohibited, see §481A.125A