TITLE V
MANAGEMENT AREAS AND PRACTICES
CHAPTER 51
GAME MANAGEMENT AREAS
[Prior to 12/31/86, Conservation Commission[290] Chs 1,2,4,8,9,24]
571—51.1(481A) Definitions.
“Blind” means a constructed place of ambush or concealment for the purpose of hunting, observing, or photographing any species of wildlife.
“Commission” means the natural resource commission.
“Decoy” means a bird, or animal, or a likeness of one, used to lure game within shooting range.
“Department” means the department of natural resources.
“Director” means the director of the department of natural resources or a designee.
“Handicapped person” means an individual commonly termed a paraplegic or quadriplegic, with paralysis or a physical condition of the lower half of the body with the involvement of both legs, usually due to disease or injury to the spinal cord; a person who is a simple or double amputee of the legs; or a person with any other physical affliction which makes it impossible to ambulate successfully without the use of a motor vehicle.
“Horse” means any equine animal, including horses, mules, burros, donkeys, and all llamas or alpacalike animals.
571—51.2(481A) Jurisdiction. All lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the department are established as game management areas under the provisions of Iowa Code section 481A.6.
571—51.3(481A) Use of firearms.
	51.3(1) Restrictions. The use or possession of firearms on certain game management areas is restricted.
	a. 	Target shooting, for the purposes of this rule, is defined as the discharge of a firearm for any reason other than the taking of, or attempting to take, any game birds, game animals, or furbearers. Target shooting with shotguns shooting shot is not restricted to a specific range, except as otherwise provided. Target shooters using shotguns with lead shot cannot discharge the shot over water.
	b. 	Target shooting shall occur only on the designated and posted shooting range.
	c. 	Any person target shooting with any type of handgun or any type of rifle, or shooting shotgun slugs through a shotgun, must fire through one of the firing tubes, if provided, or at the firing points on the rifle or pistol range.
	d. 	It is a violation of these rules to place any target on the top of the earthen backstop or to fire at any target placed on top of the backstop.
	e. 	The shotgun range, if provided, is restricted to the use of shotguns and the shooting of shotshells only.
	f. 	Target shooting shall occur only between the hours of sunrise and sunset.
	g. 	No alcoholic beverages are allowed on the shooting range or adjacent parking area.
	h. 	Target shooting is restricted to legal firearms and shall not be done with any fully automatic pistol, rifle, or shotgun of any kind. No armor-piercing ammunition is permitted.
	i. 	Targets are restricted to paper or cardboard targets or metal silhouette-type targets. No glass, plastic containers, appliances, or other materials may be used. Targets must be removed from the area after use or must be disposed of in trash receptacles if provided.
	j. 	All requirements listed in this subrule shall apply to the following shooting ranges:
	(1)	Banner Mine Area – Warren County.
	(2)	Bays Branch Area – Guthrie County.
	(3)	Brushy Creek Area – Webster County.
	(4)	Hawkeye Wildlife Area – Johnson County.
	(5)	Hull Wildlife Area – Mahaska County.
	(6)	Mines of Spain – Dubuque County.
	(7)	Ocheyedan Wildlife Area – Clay County.
	(8)	Princeton Wildlife Area – Scott County.
	(9)	Spring Run Wildlife Area – Dickinson County.
	k. 	In addition to the requirements listed, the following shooting range has specific restrictions.
Oyens Shooting Range – Plymouth County. The range is closed to the public except between 9 a.m.	and sunset. Law enforcement firearms training and qualification of local, county, state or federal officers shall have priority over general public use of the range. Shotguns shooting birdshot may be fired outside the firing tubes, but within the designated range area. General shooting by the public shall take place on a first-come, first-served basis.
	l. 	McIntosh Wildlife Area - Cerro Gordo County. The use or possession of firearms, except shotguns shooting shot only, is prohibited.
	51.3(2) Use of paintball guns. The use of any item generally referred to as a paintball gun is prohibited on all game management areas.
571—51.4(481A) Use of horses on game management areas.
	51.4(1) Prohibition. Horses are prohibited on all game management areas unless allowed by exception. This rule does not apply to state forests or state recreation areas.
	51.4(2) Exception for hunting and field trials. Horses may be used on all game management areas for training raccoon hunting dogs from October 1 to February 1 and for hunting raccoons during open hunting seasons. Horses may be used for participating in authorized field trials, unless this activity is posted as prohibited.
	51.4(3) Exception for horseback riding. Horseback riding is allowed on the following game management areas from May 25 to September 30 and is confined to existing roads or trails as posted:
	a. 	Elk Grove Wildlife Area – Guthrie County.
	b. 	Lennon Mills Wildlife Area – Guthrie County.
	c. 	Marlow Ray Wildlife Area – Guthrie County.
	d. 	Middle Raccoon River Wildlife Area – Guthrie County.
	e. 	Sand Creek Wildlife Area – Decatur and Ringgold Counties.
	f. 	Cardinal Marsh – Winneshiek County.
	g. 	Hawkeye Wildlife Area – Johnson County.
	h. 	Black Hawk Wildlife Area – Sac County.
	i. 	Turkey River Wildlife Area – Howard County.
571—51.5(481A) Dogs prohibited—exception. Dogs shall be prohibited on all state-owned game management areas, as established under authority of Iowa Code section 481A.6, between the dates of March 15 and July 15 each year; except that, training of dogs shall be permitted on designated training areas. Field and retriever meets shall be conducted at designated sites. A permit as provided in Iowa Code section 481A.22 must be secured for field and retriever meets.
The permit shall show the exact designated site of said meet and all dogs shall be confined to that site.
571—51.6(481A) Use of blinds and decoys on game management areas.
	51.6(1) Stationary blinds. The construction and use of stationary blinds on all game management areas, except on Pool 14 downstream of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (River Mile 502) near Princeton, Iowa, and on Pools 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Mississippi River, are restricted as follows:
	a. 	Construction. Any person may construct a stationary blind using only the natural vegetation found on the area. No trees or parts of trees other than willows may be cut for use in constructing a blind. No other man-made materials of any type may be used for building or providing access to a stationary blind.
	b. 	Use of blinds. The use of any stationary blind which is constructed in violation of 51.6(1)“a” is prohibited.
	c. 	Ownership of blinds. Any person who constructs or uses a stationary blind shall not have any proprietary right-of-ownership to the blind.
	51.6(2) Portable blinds. The construction and use of portable blinds on game management areas shall be restricted as follows:
	a. 	Construction. A portable blind may be constructed of any natural or man-made material, as long as it is a self-contained unit capable of being readily moved from one site to another.
	b. 	Prohibited use. Portable blinds shall be prohibited from one hour after sunset until midnight each day. Portable blinds which are built on, or are part of, a boat shall be considered as removed from an area when the boat and blind are tied up or moored at an approved access site. No boat shall be anchored away from shore and left unattended unless it is attached to a legal buoy.
	c. 	Exception—tree blinds. Portable blinds placed in trees and used for purposes other than hunting waterfowl may be left on an area for a continuous period of time beginning seven days prior to the open season for hunting deer or turkey and ending seven days after the final day of that open season. Portable blinds left on game management areas do not guarantee the owner exclusive use of the blind when unattended, or exclusive use of the site.
	d. 	Protection of trees. The use of any spike, nail, pin, or other object which is driven or screwed into a tree is prohibited.
	51.6(3) Use of decoys. The use of decoys on any game management area, except on Pool 14 downstream of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (River Mile 502) near Princeton, Iowa, and on Pools 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Mississippi River, is restricted as follows:
Decoys are prohibited from one hour after sunset until midnight each day, and decoys cannot be left unattended for over 30 minutes between midnight and one hour after sunset. Decoys shall be considered as removed from an area when they are picked up and placed in a boat, vehicle or other container at an approved access site.
	51.6(4) Use of stationary blinds and waterfowl decoys on Pool 14 downstream of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (River Mile 502) near Princeton, Iowa, and on Pools 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Mississippi River. The use of permanent blinds for waterfowl hunting on Pool 14 downstream of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (River Mile 502) near Princeton, Iowa, and on Pools 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Mississippi River is restricted as follows:
	a. 	Registration. Hunters must register their blind site with the department of natural resources by completing a registration card and designating the blind’s location on a map. Registration will be held in August at a site to be publicly announced by the department. Registration is for a five-year period and requires payment of a fee of $100. The blind registration number must be visibly posted at the blind’s entrance.
	b. 	Construction. Blinds must have minimum dimensions of 4 feet by 8 feet and not greater than 500 square feet of floor space, not including a boat hide. The blind must be constructed of biodegradable materials, including nontreated dimensional lumber and nontreated plywood, unless the blind will be removed at the end of the waterfowl season. The use of metal or nylon fasteners, including but not limited to nails, screws, lag bolts, staples and ties, is allowed. Treated lumber, treated plywood, woven wire, chicken wire, cattle panels, tin and sheet metal, vinyl and plastic, and other nonbiodegradable materials are not allowed unless those materials or the entire blind is removed within three days after the close of the waterfowl season.
	c. 	Tree and brush removal. No person shall remove brush or trees around any blind, except willows. Willows and annual vegetation from the blind site may be used to cover the blind.
	d. 	Occupation of blinds. Registrants must occupy their blind site by the opening of shooting time each day to claim the blind site for that day. After that time, unoccupied blind sites will be available to any other hunters. No person shall claim or attempt to claim a blind that is legally occupied. No person shall harass, in any manner, the occupants of a blind that is legally occupied.
	e. 	Locking blinds. No person shall lock a blind.
	f. 	Decoys. Decoys may be left out for the entire waterfowl season but must be picked up and removed from the area within three days after the close of the waterfowl season. All jugs and other floating devices used to attract waterfowl shall be considered decoys.
[ARC 7917B, IAB 7/1/09, effective 8/5/09; ARC 3796C, IAB 5/9/18, effective 6/13/18]
571—51.7(481A) Trapping on game management areas.
	51.7(1) Marking trap sites. No one shall place on any game management area any trap, stake, flag, marker, or any other item or device to be used for trapping furbearers, or to mark or otherwise claim any site for trapping furbearers, except during the open season for taking furbearers other than coyote.
	51.7(2) Reserved.
571—51.8(481A) Motor vehicle restrictions. The use of motor vehicles on all game management areas is restricted.
	51.8(1) Roads and parking lots. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, motor vehicles are prohibited on a game management area except on constructed and designated roads and parking lots.
	51.8(2) Handicapped persons. Handicapped persons may use certain motor vehicles on game management areas, according to the restrictions set out in this rule, in order that they might enjoy such uses as are available to others.
	a. 	Definitions. For purposes of this subrule, 51.8(2), the following definition shall apply: “Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle having at least three wheels and registered as a motor vehicle under Iowa Code chapter 321, 321G, or 321I.
	b. 	Permits. Each handicapped person must have a permit issued by the director in order to use motor vehicles on game management areas. Such permits will be issued without charge. Applicants must submit certificates from their doctors stating that the applicants meet the criteria describing handicapped persons. Nonhandicapped companions of permit holders are not covered under the conditions of the permit.
	c. 	Approved areas. A permit holder must contact the technician or wildlife biologist of the specific area(s) that the permit holder wishes to use annually. The technician or wildlife biologist will determine which areas or portions of areas will not be open to use by permittees, in order to protect the permittee from hazards or to protect certain natural resources of the area. The technician or wildlife biologist will assist by arranging access to the area and by designated specific sites on the area where the motor vehicle may be used, and where it may not be used. The technician or wildlife biologist will provide a map of the area showing the sites where use is permitted and bearing the signature of the technician or wildlife biologist and the date.
	d. 	Exclusive use. The issuance of a permit does not imply that the permittee has exclusive use of an area. Permittees shall take reasonable care so as not to unduly interfere with the use of the area by others.
	e. 	Prohibited acts. Except as provided in subrule 51.8(1), the use of a motor vehicle on any game management area by a person without a valid permit, or at any site not approved on a signed map, is prohibited. Permits and maps must be carried by the permittee at any time the permittee is using a motor vehicle on a game management area, and must be exhibited to any department employee or law enforcement official upon request.
	f. 	Shooting from motor vehicle. Except where prohibited by law, a handicapped person meeting the conditions of this rule may shoot from a stationary motor vehicle.
571—51.9(481A) Employees exempt. Restrictions in rules 571—51.3(481A) to 571—51.8(481A) shall not apply to department personnel, law enforcement officials, or other authorized persons engaged in research, management, or enforcement when in performance of their duties.
571—51.10(481A) Use of nontoxic shot on wildlife areas. It shall be unlawful to hunt any migratory game bird or resident game or furbearers, except deer and turkeys, or target shoot with a shotgun while having in one’s possession any shot other than nontoxic shot approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the following wildlife areas:

County	Wildlife Area	
Benton	Iowa River Corridor	
Boone	Harrier Marsh	
Buena Vista	All state and federal areas	
Calhoun	South Twin Lake	
Cerro Gordo	All state and federal areas	
Clay	All state and federal areas except the Ocheyedan wildlife area target shooting range	
Dickinson	All state and federal areas except the Spring Run target shooting range	
Emmet	All state and federal areas	
Franklin	All state and federal areas	
Greene	All state and federal areas except Rippey Access and McMahon Access	
Guthrie	McCord Pond, Lakin Slough and Bays Branch, except the target shooting range at Bays Branch	
Hamilton	Little Wall Lake, Gordon Marsh and Bauer Slough	
Hancock	All state and federal areas	
Humboldt	All state and federal areas	
Iowa	Iowa River Corridor	
Jasper	Chichaqua	
Kossuth	All state and federal areas	
Osceola	All state and federal areas	
Palo Alto	All state and federal areas	
Pocahontas	All state and federal areas except Kalsow Prairie	
Polk	Paul Errington Marsh and Chichaqua	
Sac	All state and federal areas except White Horse Access and Sac City Access	
Story	Hendrickson Marsh and Colo Bog	
Tama	Iowa River Corridor	
Winnebago	All state and federal areas	
Worth	All state and federal areas	
Wright	All state and federal areas	
571—51.11(481A) Rock climbing and rappelling. Rock climbing and rappelling are prohibited at all game management areas except at Indian Bluffs and Pictured Rocks wildlife management areas, Boone Forks wildlife management area only on the abandoned railroad bridge piers, and those authorized by 571—subrule 61.5(13). No one shall place bolts, pitons, or similar anchoring devices at Indian Bluffs or Pictured Rocks unless authorized to do so by the wildlife biologist in charge of the area.
571—51.12(481A) Camping restrictions. Primitive camping is allowed on all game management areas for a period not to exceed 14 days of consecutive use, unless specific restrictions are posted on site. The department may prohibit or restrict camping at any game management area by the posting of signs stating the applicable restrictions. Where posted, camping shall be prohibited within 100 yards of public parking lots, boat ramps, fishing jetties and other public use facilities.
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 456A.24(2)“a” and 481A.6.
[Filed 9/11/62; amended 5/14/75]
[Filed 7/13/65]
[Filed 3/8/66]
[Filed 8/12/70]
[Filed 9/14/75]
[Filed 6/5/81, Notice 4/1/81—published 6/24/81, effective 7/29/81]
[Filed 10/7/81, Notice 9/2/81—published 10/28/81, effective 12/2/81]
[Filed 2/9/83, Notice 11/24/82—published 3/2/83, effective 4/6/83]
[Filed 12/2/83, Notice 10/26/83—published 12/21/83, effective 2/1/84]
[Filed 7/10/85, Notice 4/24/85—published 7/31/85, effective 9/4/85]
[Filed without Notice 12/12/86—published 12/31/86, effective 2/4/87]
[Filed 5/13/88, Notice 3/23/88—published 6/1/88, effective 7/6/88]
[Filed 7/19/90, Notice 5/30/90—published 8/8/90, effective 9/12/90]
[Filed 2/15/91, Notice 12/26/90—published 3/6/91, effective 4/10/91]
[Filed emergency 10/4/91 after Notice 8/7/91—published 10/30/91, effective 10/4/91]
[Filed 6/4/93, Notice 4/28/93—published 6/23/93, effective 7/28/93]
[Filed 5/20/94, Notice 3/30/94—published 6/8/94, effective 7/13/94]
[Filed 8/9/96, Notice 6/5/96—published 8/28/96, effective 10/2/96]
[Filed 2/21/97, Notice 1/1/97—published 3/12/97, effective 4/16/97]
[Filed 5/29/98, Notice 3/11/98—published 6/17/98, effective 7/22/98]
[Filed 5/14/99, Notice 3/10/99—published 6/2/99, effective 7/7/99]
[Filed 11/12/99, Notice 9/8/99—published 12/1/99, effective 1/5/00]
[Filed emergency 1/7/00—published 1/26/00, effective 1/7/00]
[Filed 5/12/00, Notice 3/8/00—published 5/31/00, effective 7/5/00]
[Filed 6/21/01, Notice 5/2/01—published 7/11/01, effective 8/15/01]
[Filed 11/9/01, Notice 9/5/01—published 11/28/01, effective 1/2/02]
[Filed 5/9/02, Notice 3/6/02—published 5/29/02, effective 7/3/02]
[Filed emergency 8/15/03 after Notice 5/28/03—published 9/3/03, effective 8/15/03]
[Filed 5/20/04, Notice 3/3/04—published 6/9/04, effective 7/14/04]
[Filed 11/17/04, Notice 9/1/04—published 12/8/04, effective 1/12/05]
[Filed 5/18/05, Notice 3/30/05—published 6/8/05, effective 7/13/05]
[Filed 2/8/07, Notice 8/30/06—published 2/28/07, effective 4/4/07]
[Filed 5/21/07, Notice 3/28/07—published 6/20/07, effective 7/25/07]
[Filed ARC 7917B (Notice ARC 7693B, IAB 4/8/09), IAB 7/1/09, effective 8/5/09]
[Filed ARC 3796C (Notice ARC 3627C, IAB 2/14/18), IAB 5/9/18, effective 6/13/18]