The Iowa program, which we call TIP for Turn-In-Poachers, was started in August 1985. The private TIP organization was established by concerned sportsmen and women under the guidance of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau. Both groups recognized the need for an added dimension to fish and game law enforcement in the State of Iowa to aid in the fight against poaching.

TIP is an organized non-profit corporation with dedicated sportsmen and women from all over Iowa who serve as board members. Each board member represents a conservation organization from around the state, such as; Iowa Bowhunters Assoc., Izaak Walton chapters, Pheasants Forever chapters, Iowa Wildlife Federation, and others.

The responsibility for the TIP program is shared by TIP and the Department of Natural Resources. The department receives and records reports of fish or game violations through a toll-free telephone number (1-800/532-2020), routes the confidential information to DNR officers for investigation, and arranges reward payments to informants through the TIP board. In order for a TIP report/case to be eligible for a cash reward the investigating officer must have written at least one citation. A conviction is not necessary.

The TIP board establishes operating policies and also solicits private funds to support the program. All rewards paid to informants on successful TIP cases are private monies which the TIP board has collected through membership fees, private donations and sale of promotional items such as T-shirts and caps.

The department provides an employee to serve as TIP coordinator and the TIP "Hotline" (1-800/532-2020)) telephone number. The toll-free TIP number is monitored 24-hours a day for citizens to report information about crimes against fish or wildlife day or night. The department encourages citizens to use the toll-free line when reporting poaching information, however, they also emphasize that this is not a general information number.

TIP has set reward amounts, which are;

• $150 - small game, fish, birds and furbearing animals;
• $200 - wild turkey and raptors;
• $300 - deer, elk, moose, and black bear;
• $1,000 - threatened or endangered species or commercial poaching operations.

Some reward amounts may vary depending upon the details of the case.

Remember, poachers are thieves who are stealing our fish and wildlife resources. You, as a concerned citizen, can take an active role in helping our department put these fish and wildlife thieves out of business. If you witness or even hear of poaching activity call the TIP HOTLINE (1-800/532-2020) and report it immediately. The sooner you call the better our chances are of catching the violators.

The following report is an accounting of the Turn-In-Poachers (TIP) Program activity from the Iowa DNR Law Enforcement Bureau for calendar year 2007. The TIP Program is jointly administered by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources ’ Law Enforcement Bureau and TIP of Iowa, Inc. (a private organization).

• 211 TIP calls (1-800-532-2020) received during regular business hours were processed and investigated. Those calls were subsequently assigned to local State Conservation Officers for investigation and disposition. 182 TIP calls were processed and investigated in 2006.
• 18 TIP calls resulted in successfully investigated cases in which 40 citations were written. This 9 percent success rate is on the low end of the long-term average of past year’s success rates which have varied from 9 to 12 percent approximately.
• DNR Law Enforcement and Administrative Support Staff received, responded, and recorded the follwing volume of TIP calls (40 percent & 60 percent respectively).
• $12,000 was approved by the TIP Reward Committee for payment of rewards to informants on cases in 2007. $7,700 of this award was approved for payment on NON-TIP cases.
• 9,059 total TIP calls have been processed and investigated with a total of 2,178 citations issued. $167,875 in rewards have been approved by the TIP Reward Committee. (The TIP program began in August of 1985).

During the second full year (2007) $25,600 was contributed to TIP as voluntary donations by supportive sportsman and women who purchased either a small game or fishing license. These dollars are "earmarked" for transfer to the Turn-In-Poachers of Iowa, Inc. organization; which has worked in partnership with the DNR Law Enforcement Bureau for the past twenty-two years. Our department considers TIP to be a vital and necessary part of our overall fish and wildlife enforcement efforts here in Iowa.

Contact person for the TIP Program through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is Steve Dermand, Executive Officer, Law Enforcement Bureau, Wallace State Office Building, 502 East 9th Street, Des Moines IA 50319-0034; 515/281-4515 or check our website for more information at www.iowadnr.com.