Participants will learn basic strategies for hunting highland birds such as proper equipment, hunting location, safe target practice, and undressing, slaughtering, and cooking.

For more information and to start the registration process, visit http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=dep4qyuab&oeidk=a07eip589plaf30c9d0

The program is provided through a partnership with the Iowa DNR and Pheasants Forever. It is part of a national effort to recruit, retain and reactivate hunters due to the general decline in hunting and outdoor recreation.

Iowa’s wild rabbit populations remain free of deadly viruses

State wildlife experts are on the hunt for a new virus affecting native rabbit and hare populations. Following an initial outbreak in New Mexico in March 2020, the virus that causes rabbit hemorrhagic disease is considered stably endemic in Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotypes 2 (RHDV2) can persist in the environment and be transmitted from rabbit to rabbit, by predators, insects, and even vehicle traffic, affecting populations in new areas. While the virus is not currently in Iowa, it has been confirmed in domestic rabbits in Minnesota and South Dakota, and in the wild rabbit population in eastern Colorado and northern Texas.