(Area) Staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are currently conducting their annual nighttime spring spotlight surveys across the state, collecting information on Iowa’s deer and furbearer populations.
John Lorenzen, with the DNR Office in Lewis, said the annual survey is conducted from mid-March through April in each county.
Lorenzen said the surveying begins an hour after sunset, preferably on nights with low wind, high humidity and above freezing temperatures. The routes cover different habitats from river bottoms, to farm fields, prairies, woodlots, pastures and timber stands.
Staff are careful to avoid shining homes and livestock while on the survey and contact the county sheriff ahead of time in case they receive any calls.
The survey report will be posted later this summer to the Iowa DNR’s website .
