HC Conservation Director dishes on how to prep for the fall hunting season, best places to hunt

BY ANDY KURTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

Fall season hunting is just around the corner. Henry County Conservation Director John Pullis sat down with the News to discuss the fall season, the best areas to hunt at in the county, and hunter?s safety courses.

September brings the start of cottontail rabbit season as well as fox squirrel and gray squirrel season (started Sept. 5). In October, many seasons are starting including the rooster pheasant and bobwhite quail seasons, which start on Oct. 31. But, young hunters will have their own weekend for rooster pheasant hunting on Oct. 24 and 25, before the season starts one week later.

Pullis says one of the best parks for hunters under 16 to go to is Heron Marsh, which is 45 acres and open only to the youth hunters.

?They need to be with a licensed adult,? Pullis explains about the youth hunting area. ?We do not allow the adult to carry a weapon.?

In the state of Iowa, once youth hunters reach the age of 16, they have to buy a hunting license and must have passed hunter?s education, unless they are hunting on private property.

Heron Marsh is active during many seasons, including upland bird seasons such as turkey, pheasant and quail seasons. There is also a waterfowl blind, so kids can go duck hunting if they are interested.

Another popular area in Henry County is Gibson Recreation Area. Gibson is a multi-use area that is open all the time to hunting. Pullis explained that hunters are responsible for recognizing when other hunters are near, and that the only regulation is on permanent stands.

?They can?t fix anything permanently to a tree,? said Pullis, who also said that they allow for climbers and ladder stands to be used.

When asked whether the hunters are allowed to let their stands stay up over night, he said that they are allowed to, but if the stand gets used or taken by someone else, the park isn?t responsible.

Ketchum Switch is an area that is 270 acres and was donated by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The name ?Ketchum Switch? came about because of an old railroad switch that used to be there.

?It was a spot where the land met the railroad, so the topography was zero,? explained Pullis. ?The trains would pull off on the switch and let the cattle off, and feed the cattle.?

Ketchum Switch has overhead power lines that run north to south and east to west, dividing the area into four quadrants. Hunters may purchase a one-week permit to have exclusive use of the quadrant. Because Ketchum is DOT property, the county uses it as a limited public access spot.

?It provides more of a quality hunt, instead of just going on public land,? says Pullis, who says public land can sometimes get too crowded.

Ketchum is used for upland birds and deer hunting, among other things. There are two ponds, one big and one small, which are stocked so they allow fishing.

Other areas of note are Faulkner?s Access, which is a hillside-like area that deer move into, and Hoaglin Woods, which used to be a pasture and is now open to public hunting. Oakland Mills, because it was once a state park, is not open to public hunting, except during population management seasons, which are mostly for deer hunting.

Pullis says, while there are ways of measuring how many young hunters use an area, the best way may be to look at the number of enrollments in the hunter?s safety classes.

He says the class numbers, which are usually in the 40s or 50s, stay pretty consistent. However, one trend he sees going upward is the number of parents who take the classes with their kids. Pullis says that parents often volunteer to sit with their kids in class, and if they?re going to be there they ?might as well take it.? The licenses are good for life, and Pullis says you never know when you might want to use it.