(Lewis) John Lorenzen, a Fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, addressed the large raccoon population during his weekly radio show on KSOM.
Lorenzen says the most recent spring spotlight survey data just came out, and in Cass County, there is an average of 2.4 raccoons observed per mile per spotlight route.
Lorenzen says when averaging the total number of raccoons counted in each county over the last five years, Cass County averages 129.6 raccoons counted each year, which is the second highest count in the state. Pottawattamie County leads the state in raccoons, with 166 each year over the past five.
Raccoons were the focus of a bill approved during the 2023 Iowa legislative session, allowing landowners or tenants to dispatch raccoons causing damage to their agricultural property, outside of the city limits. Landowners may shoot or trap raccoons using cage or dog-proof traps. A license is not required, and landowners do not need to notify the DNR before shooting or trapping.
That bill was signed into law by Governor Reynolds and became effective on July 1.
The other related change relaxes the rules for hunting and trapping raccoons for everyone.
The new rules, developed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and approved by the Natural Resource Commission of the Iowa DNR, allow for year-round hunting and trapping of raccoons on private land.
