SF 2312 and Iowa BHA: How We're Responding to an Attack on Public Access

Iowa BHA continues to closely monitor the legislative progress of SF 2312 (formerly SSB 3134). The bill is a direct threat to the ability of the State to acquire more public land by implementing restrictive purchasing caps that will only allow state agencies to pay a fraction of a property’s value when attempting to acquire future public property. Simultaneously, the bill eliminates the ability of private landowners to deduct the sale of their land to state entities; thereby, disincentivizing the sale of property for public use. 

Iowa BHA stands firm in its commitment to expanding public opportunity for Iowa’s hunters and anglers. We encourage you to contact your senator to voice your opposition to this legislation and future legislation that seeks to reduce to opportunity of Iowans to acquire new places to hunt, fish, trap, shoot, and generally enjoy what nature has to offer.

"SF 2312, seeks to cap the price that the Iowa DNR may pay when purchasing land. In the letter of opposition, CSF pointed out several of the issues associated with this language, including the challenges it creates as the DNR seeks to provide quality hunting and angling access for the Hawkeye State’s sportsmen and women. Proponents of this type of legislation claim to be acting on behalf of young farmers and ranchers who they believe are at a disadvantage when having to “compete” against the government to purchase land. However, this misrepresentation conflates other controversial land acquisition practices such as Eminent Domain with the willful sale of land. Here, land acquisitions are conducted with landowners who willingly chose to sell their land to the DNR, many of whom cherish the idea that their properties will be conserved for the benefit of their fellow Iowans. On the other hand, those who wish to sell their lands to beginning farmers and ranchers maintain the right to do just that, a concept that, when scrutinized, severely damages the logic on which legislation like SF 2312 is built.  -Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation