Natural Resources – Week of March 15

STAFF CONTACT:  Jace Mikels

SF 2370 – Various conservation and recreation activities under DNR

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2370 makes various changes to conservation and recreation activities regulated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The bill:

• Clarifies regulations on the operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles;
• Changes licenses for ATV and snowmobile dealers from one year to three years and adjusts the decal fee;
• Authorizes the State Forest Nursery to sell bare-root tree seedlings out of state;
• Authorizes online boating safety education classes;
• Adjusts fees for dog trial special events to be similar to those for other special events;
• Strikes a license requirement for nonresident falconers. This is covered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The bill also contains language banning the baiting and feeding of wildlife. The goal is to help prevent the spread of animal diseases, such avian influenza, chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis, which can be transmitted from wildlife to domestic livestock. The bill includes exemptions from the ban for:

• normal agricultural activity,
• feeding of waterfowl at parks,
• feeding within 50 yards of a residence,
• feed that is placed for normal agricultural, forest management, orchard management, wildlife food planting or other similar land management practices,
• feeding activities authorized by the director for wildlife management purposes or those practices carried out by other federal, state or local agencies in relation to their official duties,
• feed for the purposes of luring fur-bearing animals for hunting and trapping as permitted by law,

and feed placed within a licensed whitetail hunting preserve. [3/11: 29-20 (Republicans, Dandekar, Kreiman “no”; Heckroth absent)]