State: IA

Why It Matters: The Iowa legislative session saw its fair share of sportsmen and women-related bills introduced this year. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) was active in engaging on legislation that had negative impacts on  conservation funding, enshrining the right to hunt, fish, and trap in the state constitution, and establishing a curriculum for firearms,…

Why It Matters: Iowa legislators have been busy introducing legislation that is both positive and negative for sportsmen and women. Two new pieces of legislation have been introduced and are making their way through the legislative process before the March 7 “funnel” date. One bill aims to repeal the Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation Trust…

Why It Matters: As efforts to undermine the ability of sportsmen and women continue across the country, Iowa is working to constitutionally enshrine the rights of Iowans to hunt, fish, and trap. Constitutional amendments to protect the right to hunt, fish, and trap represent one of the strongest safeguards for our time-honored outdoor traditions. Highlights:…

Over the past decade, several states have introduced regulations allowing these cartridges, which provide effective, safe hunting options in densely populated zones. Straight-walled cartridges are considered safer due to their lower velocity and reduced risk of over-penetration compared to traditional bottlenecked cartridges, making them ideal for areas with high population density. These cartridges also often…

Why It Matters: The 2025 legislative sessions are in full swing in the Great Plains as legislation pertaining to the sporting-conservation community continues to be introduced. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has already engaged on several of these bills as they’ve begun to make their way through the legislative process.  Highlights: Iowa has introduced Houe…

Why It Matters: Learn to hunt programs offer great opportunities for individuals who have little to no experience with hunting to learn new skills that are needed for hunting. Not having the proper knowledge when it comes to hunting can be a barrier for youth or first-time hunters. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have…

Many sportsmen and women depend on federal lands managed by agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to activities like hunting, fishing and recreational shooting. As these agencies develop strategies to manage federal lands, it is critical for those who support these activities…

In recent years, Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) use has increased rapidly across the country.The unmitigated consequences of such growth not only threatens the environmental health of the lands used in OHV recreation but also threatens to eliminate future OHV opportunities. Some states have taken steps to provide adequate funding for sustainable OHV management and to…

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease occurring in farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, caribou, and moose. The disease was first recognized in 1967 as a clinical ‘wasting’ syndrome of unknown cause in captive mule deer in Colorado. CWD belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs)….

In addition to the American System of Conservation Funding, some states have begun to seek alternative methods of funding for their fish and wildlife agencies. A conservation sales tax on all taxable goods is one such mechanism that states might consider implementing. This excise tax is primarily applied to sporting goods such as firearms and…

One important tool for protecting fish and wildlife habitat is a state-level tax credit for gifts of land for conservation or conservation easements. With a wide variety of implementation options, these programs can provide alternatives to development by providing landowners with financial incentives to conserve land. These lands benefit fish and wildlife populations and have…

Properly managed wildlife habitat is essential for supporting sustainable and healthy wildlife populations. Well-managed lands containvarious successional stages that provide a diversity of habitats capable of supporting a diversity of wildlife. On federal lands, however, young forests and other early seral habitats are often underrepresented. The most efficient method to improve wildlife habitat is through…