DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) – UPDATE (Feb. 22): The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has canceled three public meetings that were planned for Wednesday night.
The meetings in Ventura, Algona and Okoboji are canceled with no plans to reschedule. Meanwhile, the meeting scheduled tonight in Onawa will go on as planned.
The presentation will available on the DNR’s website for review and comment on Monday
“The presentation recaps the recently completed hunting and trapping seasons and discusses potential regulation changes and we include the wildlife@dnr.iowa.gov email for you to send your comments, concerns or opinions regarding the proposals or on any other topic that falls under the Iowa DNR’s wildlife umbrella,” said Todd Bishop, chief of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau.
Below is a full list of the public meeting locations and date.
- Onawa, Feb. 22, 6 p.m., Lewis and Clark State Park visitor center, 21914 Park Loop
- Chariton, Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m., Chariton Community Center Rooms A & B, 502 North Main Street
- Council Bluffs, Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m., Council Bluffs Fish and Game Club, 531 Comanche St.
- Decorah, Feb. 23, 7 p.m., Franklin W. Olin Building, Room 102, Luther College, 700 College Drive, next to the Prues Library
- Dubuque, Feb. 23, 7 p.m., EB Lyons Nature Center at Mines of Spain, 8991 Bellevue Heights Road
- Iowa City, Feb. 23, 7 p.m., Johnson County ISU Extension Office, 3109 Old Hwy. 218 South
- Wapello, Feb. 23, 6 p.m., Langwood Education Center, 14019 H Ave.
Any person attending the public meeting that has special requirements, such as those related to mobility or hearing impairments, should contact the Iowa DNR or ADA Coordinator at 515-725-8200, Relay Iowa TTY Service 800-735-7942, or Webmaster@dnr.iowa.gov, and advise of specific needs.
—————————-
PREVIOUS: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is holding townhall meetings all across the state this week to share the latest hunting season recap and take public questions and comments.
These meetings are held every year and are one of the ways the DNR keeps open communication with the public.
Mick Klemesrud, a Information Specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said that the meetings are valuable to both the DNR and the public.
“This is invaluable going out there and talking to our customers and actually its good on their end too we get to hear from each other and instead of any rumors our there about what the DNR is planning to do they can come out and listen to it themselves.” Klemesrud said, “We encourage everybody to come out and ask questions that’s what were there for to answer their questions provide their feedback this is their resource were just fortunate enough to take care of it for them.”.
The meetings are separated into two parts. The first is an educational presentation covering the latest wildlife data. The second offers the public access to the DNR’s local wildlife biologists to answer questions.
“the second half is just to talk about whatever the people there want to talk about thats where a lot of the local issues come in and so our local wildlife biologists will be the ones leading these meetings and they’ll be there to talk about any of the areas they want to talk about and local wildlife related issues.” Klemesrud said.
To learn when and where the meetings are taking place visit the DNR’s website.
