DES MOINES – The bobcat season has reached its quota of 150 cats as of Monday morning, beginning the 48 hour grace period for fur harvesters to report any animals to a conservation officer and receive their proper tags.  The grace period officially ends at 8 a.m., Nov. 21.  This is the first year of a bobcat season in Iowa.
 
Bobcats trapped after the grace period must be turned over to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  The bobcat season was open in the southern two tiers of counties and limited to one bobcat per furharvester, regardless if it was hunted or trapped.
 
The otter trapping season remains open statewide, with an estimated 314 otters reported as of Monday morning.  The otter quota is 400. 

The California Department of Fish and Game reminds hunters that wild fires can alter hunting plans. Fire restrictions can limit a big game tag holder’s access in certain zones depending on conditions.
“Each year some of California’s hunters face the possibility that a devastating fire season may impact their planned hunting trips,” said Craig Stowers, DFG’s Deer Program Coordinator. “Hunters should consider shifting their plans and focusing on another site within the zone they selected if localized restrictions are in place.”
Last year, only a few of the 179,169 deer tags holders were affected by fire restrictions, Stowers said, and some hunters requested refunds. A refund request for unused big game tags must be submitted prior to the earliest hunting season for which the tag is valid. Refunds will be considered for unused deer , bear, antelope, elk, and bighorn sheep tags. There are no refunds or exchanges for premium deer tags due to fire closures. The refund policy for all unused deer tags can be viewed at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/hunting/faqs.html#RE
The general deer season in the A zone - covering all or part of 29 counties from Mendocino to Los Angeles - opens Saturday, Aug. 11. Several fire closures are currently in effect. Other big game seasons opening over the next two months may also face restrictions. Updated fire information is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/biggame.html or by contacting national forests directly. Maps of hunting zones can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/deer/deer_maps.html .
Access restrictions can be especially frustrating to deer hunters with hard-to-draw premium permits. DFG recommends all hunters consider scouting and hunting more than one specific location when planning hunts in areas with traditionally high fire danger. Keep in mind weather and moisture conditions can change allowing the reopening of an area for hunting, so check area forest closure information regularly.
DFG sets the deer hunting season based on deer biology, not on weather variations or predictions. Season dates are based primarily on consideration for breeding season and seasonal herd movements. During unusually dry years, access to some areas may be closed because of fires or fire danger by private or public land managers.
Funds raised from the sale of deer tags are used to conduct surveys and research, perform habitat maintenance and improvement projects necessary to allow for all hunting seasons.

PIERRE, S.D. - The mountain lion hunting season in the Black Hills of South Dakota is closed for 2006.
The season was set to run through Dec. 31 or until a total of 25 lions or eight females had been harvested. The season closed Sunday, Nov. 19, when the eighth female was harvested three miles northeast of Nemo.
In all, 15 lions were harvested in South Dakota’s second mountain lion hunting season.
The season remains open in the state’s prairie unit until Dec. 31.

Public access is closed to most of the Sherman Creek Wildlife Area in northeast Washington’s Ferry County due to the 500-acre Bisbee Mountain wildfire burning in the area.
Bisbee Mountain Road and Trout Lake Road, the main access points to the wildlife area, are closed until further notice.
The nearly 10,000-acre wildlife area west of Kettle Falls along Lake Roosevelt is managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing.
The fire began Sept. 9 on the wildlife area. The Washington Department of Natural Resources is investigating the cause of the blaze.
See http://www.inciweb.org/incident/497/ for updates on the fire and access restrictions.

PIERRE, S.D. — Due to extremely dry conditions, the Game, Fish and Parks Department is limiting vehicle access in some game production areas.
“In preparation for the upcoming hunting seasons, GFP personnel are doing all that they can to minimize the risk of wildfire,” said Secretary John Cooper.
In that effort, access to game production areas will be limited to foot traffic from the western border of the state to the Missouri River and in those counties east of the river that are affected by the drought. All traditional recreational activities will still be permitted in those areas.
Restricted vehicle access trails will be posted with signs that say “No Vehicles Beyond This Point.” The signs will stay up until the fire danger has passed.
“Just like any responsible landowner, GFP is taking precautions,” Cooper said. “All of our crews have stopped mowing trails due to the fire danger and they’re equipped with water pumpers or engines and extra firefighting equipment.”
In addition, GFP is also planning on other special efforts during the fall should the extreme fire danger conditions continue. During hunting season opening weekends GFP plans to have firefighting equipment, including firefighting aircraft, on standby.
As the department has in the past, it also plans to use spotter aircraft and have firefighting equipment in GFP vehicles while staff members are on routine patrol during season openers. Often GFP staff members, in cooperation with hunters, have been able to provide rapid response to an emerging fire hazard.
According to Cooper, watching out for fire dangers doesn’t end with the GFP effort.
“People who are recreating outdoors have a responsibility to equip their vehicles with fire extinguishers, water, blankets, rakes, shovels and anything else that will help them douse a fire,” Cooper said. “Over the past few years there have been virtually no fires started by individuals legally hunting during a season. But in these extremely dry conditions, it’s more important than ever that hunters check with the landowner first before hunting.”
The fall’s first hunting season, archery antelope, starts on Aug. 19.
Other fire safety tips include:
Extinguishing cigarettes with water or dirt and using an ashtray.
Limiting vehicle traffic to only designated areas.
Never parking a vehicle over dry grass.