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NO CHRONIC WASTE
DISEASE HERE
For the seventh straight year, testing
of Ohio's deer herd has found no
evidence of chronic wasting disease (CWD),
a degenerative brain disease that
affects elk, mule deer and white-tailed
deer.
According to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of
Wildlife, state and federal agriculture
and wildlife officials collected 1,021
samples last year from hunter-harvested
deer, primarily during the deer-gun
season that ran December 1-7. All CWD
testing is performed at the Animal
Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the
Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).
In addition to CWD, 966 samples, or 94.6
percent of the hunter-harvested deer
samples were also tested for bovine
tuberculosis. Results found no evidence
of this disease in Ohio deer.
Additional CWD samples are being taken
from road-killed deer, but those test
results are not yet available.
Since 2002, the Division of Wildlife, in
conjunction with the ODA's Division of
Animal Industry and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, has been conducting
surveillance throughout the state for
CWD, as well as epizootic hemorrhagic
disease and bovine tuberculosis. While
CWD has never been found in Ohio's deer
herd, it had been diagnosed in wild and
captive deer, moose or elk in 15 other
states and two Canadian provinces. Since
CWD was discovered in the western United
States in the late 1960s, there has been
no evidence that the disease can be
transmitted to humans.
Following is a list of deer checked by
hunters during the four-month
deer-hunting season. Numbers for 2007-08
are listed in parentheses ( ).
Adams - 4,231 (3,971); Allen -846 (855);
Ashland -3,329 (3,354); Ashtabula -6,448
(5,223); Athens -5,326 (4,858); Auglaize
-776 (806); Belmont -5,833 (4,955);
Brown -3,632 (3,409); Butler -1,569
(1,575); Carroll -5,997 (4,917);
Champaign -1,718 (1,783); Clark -897
(920); Clermont -3,439 (3,403);
Clinton -1,049 (1,033); Columbiana
-4,694 (4,293); Coshocton -9,564
(8,417); Crawford -1,248 (1,161);
Cuyahoga -681 (653); Darke -775 (787);
Defiance -1,540 (1,200); Delaware
-2,147 (2,109); Erie -1,020 (911);
Fairfield -3,009 (3,130); Fayette -377
(388); Franklin -893 (912); Fulton
-830 (731); Gallia -4,055 (3,963);
Geauga -2,762 (2,533); Greene -1,037
(1,153); Guernsey -7,916 (7,212);
Hamilton -1,717 (1,819); Hancock
-1,546 (1,598); Hardin -1,288
(1,438); Harrison -7,454 (6,334);
Henry -746 (600); Highland -3,227
(3,047); Hocking -4,921 (4,686);
Holmes -6,320 (5,802); Huron -2,383
(2,217); Jackson -4,157 (3,654);
Jefferson -5,831 (5,461); Knox -7,223
(6,686); Lake -901 (862); Lawrence
-3,123 (2,969); Licking -7,967
(7,523); Logan -2,224 (2,237); Lorain
-2,466 (2,394); Lucas -855 (714);
Madison -607 (510); Mahoning -1,808
(1,741); Marion -806 (881); Medina
-2,047 (1,864); Meigs -4,601 (4,482);
Mercer -627 (687); Miami -769 (707);
Monroe -5,120 (4,178); Montgomery -536
(551); Morgan 3,951- (3,853); Morrow
-2,196 (2,098); Muskingum -7,245
(6,857); Noble -4,596 (4,192); Ottawa
-369 (427); Paulding -926 (769);
Perry -4,683 (4,344); Pickaway -1,131
(1,238); Pike -2,620 (2,238); Portage
-3,075 (2,826); Preble -851 (784);
Putnam 716- (722); Richland -4,542
(4,129); Ross -4,104 (3,785); Sandusky
-839 (713); Scioto -3,479 (2,949);
Seneca -1,942 (1,985); Shelby -958
(1,004); Stark -2,199 (2,089); Summit
-1,368 (1,323); Trumbull -3,976
(3,585); Tuscarawas -8,814 (7,651);
Union -863 (901); Van Wert -611 (536);
Vinton -3,337 (3,025); Warren -1,523
(1,528); Washington -5,440 (4,650);
Wayne -2,234 (2,054); Williams -1,819
(1,669); Wood -872 (880); Wyandot
-1,830 (1,793); Total -252,017
(232,854)
Ohio Spring Turkey Hunting
Season Opens April 20
Youth-only hunt set for Saturday and
Sunday, April 18-19
COLUMBUS, OH - Spring wild turkey
hunting opens in all 88 Ohio counties on
Monday, April 20, according to the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)
Division of Wildlife. The season
continues through Sunday, May 17.
"Based on brood observations, hunters
can expect statewide harvest numbers
that are similar to last year," said
ODNR wildlife biologist Mike Reynolds.
"However, counties in southern Ohio that
experienced a 17-year cicada emergence
last summer may see a noticeable
increase in jakes this spring due to
high brood survival."
Hunters harvested 20,389 wild turkeys
during last year's youth and spring
turkey seasons.
Reynolds added that Ohio's current wild
turkey population is around 200,000. He
anticipates as many as 75,000 people,
not counting private landowners hunting
on their own property, will enjoy Ohio's
popular spring wild turkey season.
A special youth-only turkey hunt for
those ages 17 and younger will be held
on Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19.
Young hunters must have their hunting
licenses and spring wild turkey permits
in order to participate and must be
accompanied by a non-hunting adult 18
years of age or older. The young
hunter's turkey season is open statewide
with the exception of Lake LaSuAn State
Wildlife Area in Williams County. Legal
hunting hours are a half-hour before
sunrise to sunset each day during the
two-day youth season.
The wild turkey is Ohio's largest game
bird. It stands 3 to 4 feet tall and may
weigh up to 27 pounds. Legal hunting
hours for the regular spring season are
one-half hour before sunrise until noon.
Hunters are required to have a hunting
license and a spring turkey-hunting
permit and can take one bearded turkey
per day. A second spring turkey permit
can be purchased, allowing hunters to
take a limit of two bearded wild
turkeys.
Shotguns using shot, longbows and
crossbows may be used to hunt wild
turkeys. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys
over bait, to use a live decoy or
electronic calling device, or to shoot a
wild turkey while it is in a tree. A
wild turkey must be properly tagged and
taken to an official check station by 2
p.m. on the day it is harvested.
8/11/2008
Ohio's White-tailed Deer Hunters
Have a Successful Season
Hunters kill over 250,000 deer for
the first time
A total of 252,017 deer were killed
during Ohio's 2008-09 hunting season,
according to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of
Wildlife. This season's total surpasses
the 2006-07 record total of 237,316.
The final number for deer killed in the
2007-08 season was 232,854.
"I was very pleased with the season.
Hunters continued to put heavy pressure
on the antlerless deer," said David M.
Graham, chief of the Division of
Wildlife. "In spite of a record harvest,
work remains to lower the deer
population, particularly in eastern
Ohio."
Graham adds, the solution is not longer
seasons or larger bag limits, but access
to growing deer herds. It is not
realistic to rely on a limited number of
hunters to hunt and harvest more deer.
The Division of Wildlife along with
local and state landowner organizations
needs to work with landowners to find
places for people to hunt. This will
continue to be a priority for the
Division of Wildlife and its partners in
2009.
Counties reporting the highest number of
deer checked during the season were:
Coshocton-9,564; Tuscarawas-8,814;
Licking-7,967; Guernsey-7,916;
Harrison-7,454; Muskingum-7,245;
Knox-7,223; Ashtabula-6,448;
Holmes-6,320 and Carroll-5,997.
The deer-gun season resulted in the
greatest portion of the overall harvest
with 117,468 deer taken. Archery hunters
took a total of 85,856 deer. Deer killed
during the early muzzleloader season
(566), youth-gun season (9,699), the
extra deer-gun weekend (16,744), and the
statewide muzzleloader season (20,966)
added to the overall total.
Ohio ranks sixth nationally in annual
hunting-related retail sales and fourth
in the number of jobs associated with
hunting-related industries. Each year,
hunting has a $1.5 billion economic
impact in Ohio. Deer hunting accounts
for 90 percent of all hunting that
occurs in the state.
Hunters were encouraged to kill more
does this season and donate extra
venison to organizations assisting
Ohioans in need. The Division of
Wildlife collaborated with Farmers and
Hunters Feeding the Hungry to help pay
for the processing of donated venison.
Hunters who gave their deer to food
banks were not required to pay the
processing cost as long as the deer were
taken to participating processors.
Counties being served by this program
can be found online at http://fhfh.org/.
Anyone interested in forming a chapter
in an area not served should contact
FHFH.
Ohio's first modern day deer-gun season
opened in 1943 in three counties, where
hunters killed 168 deer. In 1956, deer
hunting was allowed in all 88 counties
and hunters killed 3,911 deer during a
one-week season.
Open houses will be held on Sunday,
March 1 in each of the state's five
wildlife districts to provide the public
an opportunity to view and discuss
proposed hunting and trapping
regulations with state wildlife
officials. Directions to the open houses
can be obtained by calling
1-800-WILDLIFE or visiting wildohio.com
on the Internet.
A statewide hearing on all the proposed
rules will be held at 9 a.m., Thursday,
March 5 at the wildlife division's
District One Office, located at 1500
Dublin Road in Columbus. After
considering public input, the Ohio
Wildlife Council will vote on the
proposed rules and season dates during
its April 2 meeting.
ODNR TO OPEN 25 STATE NATURE
PRESERVES TO SPECIAL ARCHERY HUNTS
Permits to participate in controlled
hunts to be awarded by lottery
(COLUMBUS)--- An increasing deer
population, resulting in extensive
damage to native plant communities, has
led the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR),
Division of
Natural Areas and Preserves
to coordinate special archery deer hunts
at 25 state nature preserves across the
state.
High quality habitats at these state
nature preserves, including Eagle Creek,
Fowler Woods, Goll Woods and Lake
Katharine, have been negatively impacted
by over-browsing deer. For example,
several acres of large flowered
trillium-Ohio’s state wildflower-have
nearly disappeared at Lake Katharine
State Nature Preserve because of
foraging deer. Similar situations occur
at 24 other sites.
“Conducting special management hunts
enables the division to protect native
plant communities in Ohio’s best natural
areas,” said Steven Maurer, chief of the
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves.
“An added benefit is that Ohio’s hunters
are given an opportunity to explore high
quality areas and assist ODNR with
critical land management activities.”
There will be six (6) two-week
archery hunts beginning November 2
through January 24, 2009. Hunters may
harvest two (2) deer but must harvest an
antlerless deer first. Antlerless deer
permits are allowed.
To apply for the special archery hunt
lotteries, applicants must send in a
postcard with their name, address,
daytime phone number and the hunt name
(such as Lake Katharine Archery Hunt),
along with a $5 processing fee. Do not
send cash-checks and money orders (also
note hunt name on check) must be made
out to Ohio Division of Natural Areas
and Preserves. Processing fees are not
refundable.
Please submit a separate postcard and
$5 processing fee for EACH hunt. Mail
entries to the Ohio Division of Natural
Areas and Preserves, 2045 Morse Road,
Bldg. F-1, Columbus, OH 43229. Lottery
entries must be received by September 6,
2008. Successful archery hunt applicants
will be notified by mail.
list of all special preserve archery
hunts by COUNTY
STATE NATURE PRESERVE
Adams Johnson Ridge Archery Hunt
Adams Whipple Archery Hunt
Ashtabula Pallister Archery Hunt
Ashtabula Rome Archery Hunt
Athens Desonier Archery Hunt
Clinton Culberson Woods Archery Hunt
Columbiana Sheepskin Hollow Archery Hunt
Fairfield Christmas Rocks Archery Hunt
Fulton Goll Woods Archery Hunt
Hardin Lawrence Woods Archery Hunt
Highland Miller Archery Hunt
Hocking Little Rocky Hollow Archery Hunt
Hocking Sheick Hollow Archery Hunt
Huron Augusta-Anne Olsen Archery Hunt
Jackson Lake Katharine Archery Hunt
Licking Blackhand Gorge Archery Hunt
Lucas Lou Campbell Archery Hunt
Portage Eagle Creek Archery Hunt
Richland Fowler Woods Archery Hunt
Seneca Howard Collier Archery Hunt
Seneca Springville Marsh Archery Hunt
Warren Caesar Creek Gorge Archery Hunt
Warren Halls Woods Archery Hunt
Wayne Johnson Woods Archery Hunt
Williams Mud Lake Archery Hunt
Proposed bag limits and Deer Hunting
Zones
for the 2008-09 season
Zone A Hunters could take only
one deer during the 2008-2009
seasons, which could be a deer of either
sex.
The zone includes 20 counties: Allen,
Auglaize, Darke, Defiance, Erie, Fulton,
Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery,
Ottawa, Paulding, Preble, Putnam,
Sandusky, Shelby, Van Wert, Williams,
and Wood.
Zone B
Hunters could take no more than
two deer
during the 2008-2009 seasons, of which
only one could be an antlered deer.
The zone includes 30 counties: Ashland,
Ashtabula, Butler, Champaign, Clark,
Clinton, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Fayette,
Geauga, Greene, Hancock, Hardin, Huron,
Lake, Logan, Lorain, Madison, Mahoning,
Marion, Medina, Portage, Seneca, Stark,
Summit, Trumbull, Union, Warren, Wayne,
and Wyandot.
Zone C Hunters could take no
more than three deer during the
2008-2009 seasons, of which only one
could be an antlered deer.
The zone includes 38 counties: Adams,
Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll,
Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton,
Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Gallia,
Guernsey, Hamilton, Harrison, Highland,
Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson,
Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Meigs, Monroe,
Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry,
Pickaway, Pike, Richland, Ross, Scioto,
Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington.
2008-2009 DEER HUNTING
REGULATIONS PROPOSED
Proposal: Zone C hunters may use
antlerless deer permits during deer-gun
week
COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio archery and Zone
C (listed here) deer-gun hunters may
again have the opportunity to take
additional doe deer this fall if a
proposed regulation is accepted by the
Ohio Wildlife Council in April,
according to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of
Wildlife.
Under the proposal, hunters could
again buy additional antlerless deer
permits at reduced prices for hunting in
an urban zone, participating in a
controlled hunt, or hunting during the
September 27 to November 30 portion of
the archery season. The Division is
proposing the deadline for using the
anterless permit be extended to December
7 for those hunting in Zone C. Cost of
the antlerless deer permit remains at
$15.
As was the requirement last year,
hunters must purchase a regular deer
permit before purchasing anterlerless
deer permits. The permit system remains
otherwise unchanged from last year:
hunters may still take up to one
additional antlerless deer in Zone A, up
to two additional antlerless deer in
Zone B and up to three additional
antlerless deer in Zone C.
However, use of the antlerless deer
permit during the first part of the
archery season and deer-gun week in Zone
C would not count against the hunter’s
zone bag limit, under the proposed rule.
The sale of these permits will cease
after November 30 so hunters need to
commit early to buying and using the
extra reduced-cost opportunity.
“We are very pleased with the outcome
of last year’s deer season, especially
the effectiveness of the reduced-cost
antlerless deer permit,” said Dave
Risley, who oversees wildlife management
and research for the division. “The
reduced-cost permit provided an
incentive to take more does during the
early archery season. This has helped
our deer population management plan to
reduce the overall deer population.”
Archery season would run from
Saturday, September 27 through Sunday,
February 1, 2009. The popular youth
deer-gun season is proposed for Saturday
and Sunday, November 22-23. Regular
deer-gun season would run Monday,
December 1 through Sunday, December 7.
An additional deer-gun hunting weekend
is proposed for Saturday and Sunday,
December 20 -21. Statewide muzzleloader
season would run Saturday, December 27
through Tuesday, December 30. Special
area muzzleloader hunts would be open
Monday, October 20 through Saturday,
October 25 at Salt Fork, Shawnee and
Wildcat Hollow. Muzzleloader hunts at
these areas will no longer require a
special permit and hunters may use
either deer permit for this hunt. The
bag limit remains at one deer of either
sex with any antlered deer harvested
counting toward the one-buck yearly
limit for the year.
The proposed regulations maintain the
same deer zones as the last three years.
A three-deer limit (Zone C) would cover
38 central, south, southeastern, and
southwestern counties. The 30 counties
of Zone B would have a two-deer limit,
and the 20 northwestern counties of Zone
A would have a one-deer limit. A hunter
may take only one buck in Ohio,
regardless of zone, hunting method or
season.
During the youth deer-gun season,
young hunters would be permitted to bag
only one deer of either sex in any
county of Ohio. Any deer taken would be
part of the young hunter’s total season
limit.
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20 years and the appearance of what seems
to be an outfitter behind every tree, we
still to this day, take your hunt personal.