Got coyotes? Get money!

Many Iowans who grew up on a farm in the 1950s and 1960s can tell stories of trapping pocket gophers and taking their feet to a courthouse to claim a wildlife bounty.

Winneshiek, Allamakee and Clayton counties still have wildlife bounties.  In Winneshiek County, there's one day a month set aside for people to bring coyotes and pocket gophers to the Courthouse.  Each coyote is worth $5.00; each pocket gopher brings 50 cents.

County Sanitarian Doug Groux, who administers the program, says he's had as many as 125 gopher feet brought in at one time.  Coyote redemption can be streaky, too.  Coyote hunts are organized at various times of the year, meaning a bunch of coyotes can suddenly appear all at once.

Groux says he paid around $300 in pocket gopher bounties and over $900 in coyote bounties in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.  In other words, Winneshiek County residents redeemed around 600 gophers and nearly 200 coyotes during that time.