CHARITON, IOWA (AP) -- The Natural Resources Department is reporting Iowa hunters harvested fewer deer in the latest season than the previous year.
Officials say Iowa hunters harvested 136,504 deer in 2009, a 5,750 drop from the numbers killed in 2008.
Despite the drop-off, officials said the numbers continue a five year trend of reducing the size of Iowa's deer herd.
Natural Resources deer biologist Tom Litchfield says hunters have done a good job in moving Iowa's deer herd toward population goals. He says he expects future hunting seasons to continue the trend.
Litchfield says counties near Des Moines and several along the Missouri River will take longer to meet the population objectives. He says the state must harvest deer where they are considered a problem and not just in the rural areas in attempts to lower the population.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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