Iowa’s 2024 hunting and fishing license sales revealed slight declines in several categories compared to 2023, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Residents purchased 32,021 fishing, hunting, and habitat combination licenses in 2024, down from 36,327 the previous year. Fishing license sales also decreased, with 195,615 annual licenses sold compared to 199,031 in 2023. Lifetime fishing licenses dropped slightly, from 8,773 to 8,741, while three-year licenses fell to 16,110 from 17,428. However, one-day and seven-day fishing license sales rose slightly, and third-line licenses increased to 20,619 from 18,790. Hunting license sales were a mixed bag. Resident annual hunting licenses rose to 40,439 from 39,602 in 2023, while hunting and habitat annual combination licenses dropped to 50,252 from 55,553. Migratory game bird licenses increased slightly, while fur harvester licenses declined. Deer tag trends varied. Youth general deer licenses rose to 13,287 from 12,551, while antlerless for youth increased to 1,309 from 1,050. Archery and shotgun licenses for deer saw slight declines. Combined shotgun season deer tags dropped to 85,874 from 91,912 in 2023. For turkeys, spring gun/bow licenses increased to 18,798 from 16,673, reflecting renewed interest in spring hunting. While most categories trended downward, the 2024 figures show continued steady interest in the outdoors from Iowa’s hunters, anglers, and trappers.
