Section 481A.6B. Pheasant population studies — reports.

  1.  The department, in cooperation with private and public partners, shall conduct a multiyear study to determine the effectiveness of stocking wild or first-generation pheasants in the state.

  2.  The department, in cooperation with private and public partners, shall stock wild or first-generation pheasants in an area with suitable pheasant habitat that has a very low or no wild pheasant population. The rate at which the pheasant population changes over time in the stocked area shall be compared to the rate of change in another area where no pheasants have been stocked. Both areas shall be located in the southern half of the state. The results of the study shall be published and made available to the public at the conclusion of the study.

  3.  The department shall collect a sufficient amount of new data as is necessary to confirm or revise population parameters used by the department to predict pheasant population change. A report discussing the data collected and the changes made to the department’s pheasant population prediction model, if any, shall be submitted to the general assembly and made available to the public by December 31, 2015.

  4.  The department, in cooperation with an institution under the control of the state board of regents, shall also conduct a study to determine the economic impact of pheasant hunting in Iowa. The study shall focus on the impact to rural areas of the state and to small communities. A report on the results of the study shall be submitted to the general assembly by December 31, 2014.

  5.  The duties imposed in this section are contingent on the receipt of outside funding by the department sufficient to cover the costs associated with the studies required.

  6.  This section is repealed June 30, 2018.

2012 Acts, ch 1106, §1