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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2019
JACKSON COUNTY, Iowa – A Miles, Iowa man has been charged with digging up Ginseng after being caught on state managed property with a bag full in September.
On September 2, 2018 Jerry Woodhurst, 56, was located on state managed property in Jackson County by DNR conservation officers near a bag of freshly dug Ginseng. An officer confronted Woodhurst, who initially denied having any involvement. Woodhurst later admitted to digging up the 108 Ginseng roots and failing to leave the entire plant intact, as required by law. Officers located the area where Woodhurst had been digging and found 47 plant tops on the ground.
Woodhurst has since been charged with five (5) counts of digging Ginseng within a state managed area, and five (5) counts of not leaving the tops of the Ginseng plants intact, totaling a fine of $1,950.
The Iowa DNR was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
Media Contact: Andrew Keil, DNR Conservation Officer, Andrew.Keil@dnr.iowa.gov or (563) 590-1945.
Polk City, Iowa - The Olofson Shooting Range, at Big Creek State Park, has scheduled more than 70 outdoor skills programs open to the public in 2019, including hunter education, hand gun basics, taxidermy, Dutch oven cooking, how to use a trail camera and more. Programs begin on Jan. 16 with a course on cleaning and storing guns.
Programs are held in the evening and registration is required. Classes are listed online at https://register-ed.com/programs/iowa under different category headings, like Iowa Hunter Education Classroom Course, Iowa Advances Skills and Opportunities, Hunter Education Camps, and more. Click on the category to see the class listing, dates and availability. Most of the classes at Olofson are under the Iowa Advanced Skills and Opportunities category. Be sure to double check the class location before registering. The site will be updated as additional classes, workshops, mentored hunts and other opportunities are confirmed.
Facilities at the Olofson Shooting Range underwent a nearly 18 month and $1 million total rebuild, resulting in a facility that has incorporated modern range safety design with a classroom capable of hosting diverse outdoor skills programs. The rebuild was completed in September 2017.
The Olofson Shooting Range is just off Hwy. 415, at 11652 NW Nissen Dr. northwest of Polk City. It’s open Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Call the range at 515-795-4000.
Media Contact: Ajay Winter, Manager, Olofson Shooting Range, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 515-669-7201.
SIOUX CITY – The trout stocking and family trout fishing event scheduled for this Saturday, Jan. 12 at Bacon Creek has been postponed due to unsafe ice conditions.
The stocking and family fishing event has been rescheduled for January 26 at 1:30 pm.
Media Contact: Ben Wallace, Fisheries Biologist, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 712-657-2638.
MILO, Iowa – DNR conservation officers responded to a tree stand fall in rural Warren County on Saturday, January 5 around 9:30 a.m.
Clifford Brant was transported by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines after falling approximately 30 feet while trying to take down his tree stand. Brant was finished hunting and had climbed down from the stand to drop off his hunting equipment and then returned to the stand and removed the top strap when he began to fall. He was unable to grab onto a nearby tree branch and fell, losing consciousness for some time.
Brant had several broken ribs and a punctured lung but is expected to make a full recovery.
The DNR reminds hunters to practice the ABCs of tree stand safety:
- Always remove and inspect your equipment
- Buckle on your full-body harness
- Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground
Media contact: Nate Anderson, DNR Conservation Officer, Nate.Anderson@dnr.iowa.gov, (515) 238-4849
WAPELLO COUNTY, Iowa -- The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office was called to Ottumwa Regional Hospital on January 4, 2019, around 7:45 p.m. for a female with a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Deputies discovered that Janet Wright, 73, had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head while in her kitchen cleaning her stovetop. Wright heard a loud noise and felt pain to the back of her head when she discovered she was bleeding heavily and immediately drove herself to the hospital. Doctors later removed a bullet from the back of her head.
After further investigation, Wapello County Deputies arrested Lee Joseph Ryals, 34, who had been staying in a camper at 8716 100th Ave. At approximately 7:00 p.m., Ryals fired a gun at a deer from the front deck of the residence. The round missed the deer, traveled across a field and across 100th Avenue before striking Ms. Wright in the head.
The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office charged Ryals with Possessing a Firearm as a Felon and Reckless Use of a Firearm; both charges are Class D felonies. The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office referred the illegal hunting incident to the DNR conservation officers.
On January 5, 2019, DNR Conservation Officers conducted an investigation into the incident that occurred the previous evening. Conservation officers learned that Ryals was allegedly intoxicated when he shot at the deer, which was determined to be fired from a 30-30 rifle. Conservation officers also discovered that the round that struck Wright traveled 123.5 yards before it entered her home through a living room window, traveling the length of the house before striking her in the back of the head.
DNR Conservation Officers subsequently have charged Ryals with hunting without a hunting license, shooting at a deer after legal hunting hours, attempting to take a deer illegally, and possession of a prohibited rifle while hunting deer.
Media contact: Matt Rush, DNR Conservation Officer, Matt.Rush@dnr.iowa.gov, (641) 777-7805.
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