Iowa

Last updated April 2023

General info

Contact

Iowa DNR
Licensing Section
Wallace State Office Building
502 East 9th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034
Phone (515) 281-5918

Is a state permit required for banding?

Yes.

Iowa Code Title XI Natural Resources Chapter 481A Wildlife Conservation

481A.66 Banding or marking. It shall be unlawful for any person to capture birds or animals for banding purposes except that the commission may, after investigation, issue a permit to any person permitting the person to capture birds or animals for the purpose of banding or marking same for scientific study, but no such birds or animals may be killed or injured or retained in possession, but must be liberated safely and promptly. Such permit may be revoked at any time for cause. Each holder of such permit shall report to the commission once each month the number, kind of birds or animals banded, and the band numbers.

Permit application forms

  • Application Form
  • Renewal – same form
  • Threatened and Endangered – same form; Work with threatened or endangered species requires approval by the appropriate bureau and the authorization of the Director of the Department of Natural Resources or the Director’s designee.
  • Salvage

State lands

In your project proposal, be sure to state that you would like to work on state property. The permit biologist will contact the appropriate land managers to secure permission for you.

Prior notice

Check permit conditions. As a matter of good practice, it is always a good idea to consult the land owner or manager before working in a particular location, so as to avoid conflicts with management activities, prior scheduled uses of the property, with the general public, and to assure the safety of the researcher and field assistants.

Policies

Title 571, Chapter 111 of the Iowa Administrative Code

Endangered Species

These lists can change over time. Be sure to check with Iowa DNR.

Endangered:
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)
King Rail (Rallus elegans)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Threatened:
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)
Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)

Species of special concern:
Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)