Ohio's Wildlife Division employs too many explosives in its deer management profile

It was a classic line in a classic movie but speaks volumes regarding Ohio’s start-stop-redo deer-management program.

In the 1969 blockbuster “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the duo had just robbed a train, using a significant amount of pyrotechnics to accomplish their nefarious ends.

As the two men get up and dust themselves off, the Sundance Kid (portrayed by actor Robert Redford) looks to Butch Cassidy (played by actor Paul Newman) and rhetorically asks: “Think ‘ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”

The obvious answer is an unqualified “yes.” It’s also the same rhetorical Q&A response that more than a handful of Ohio deer hunters are cynically applying to the Ohio Division of Wildlife and its deer-management strategies, goals, rules, bag limits and other such accompanying truck.

For good reason, too, since the Wildlife Division just doesn’t get it. Instead, the agency has jumped into the cold waters of rejuvenating the state’s deer herd via revamped (but still proposed) 2015-2016 deer-hunting regulations, any number of which defy common sense.

Startling in oh-so-many ways, the Wildlife Division doesn’t even think the look of the proposed 2015-2016 deer regulation are all that different from the ones Ohio’s hunters dealt with during the 2014-2015 season.

That the Ohio Division of Wildlife abandoned – at least for now and almost assuredly forever if truth be told – the early two-day antlerless-only/muzzle-loading-only season and substituted it with the calendar-relocated youth-only/general firearms deer-hunting season is a sure sign of how agency officials are groping in the dark in an effort to make (most) everyone happy.

Likewise, for the agency’s chief to say that a five-day gap between the proposed two-day so-named “holiday” gun season and the start of a four-day muzzle-loading season is ample time for deer to calm down is pretty much proof positive the Wildlife Division is out of touch with reality.

After all, one of the reasons cited for the reshuffling of the deer season deck that (among other things) would move the youth-only season further back in the calendar, was to keep it at long-arm’s length from the general firearms deer-hunting season.

Ignored as well is that a tacked-on two-day late season falls immediately after Christmas Day properly leaves deer hunters scratching their heads in wonderment.

The day after Christmas: Really and seriously, Wildlife Division? Perhaps such a season makes sense for those hunters who have the good fortune to be able to walk out their back doors.

However, for any hunter who wants to head out for deer camp late on Christmas Day, the best advice would be to have on retainer a good divorce attorney. Surely one will be needed on returning to the home front and a family that was abandoned on this all-important and family themed holiday.

Then too there comes to mind the words of the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s deer-management administrator Mike Tonkovich.

At the Wildlife Division’s recently held Deer Summit  at the agency’s Akron office, Tonkovich more than implied how little different the 2015-2016 deer-hunting regulatory framework would look when stacked next to the just concluded 2014-2015 regulatory (supposed) twin.

Focus, rather, on the 2016-2017 season, Deer Summit attendees were told. That is when the Wildlife Division will roll out a totally redesigned deer-hunting model, complete with a zone/unit, Tonkovich noted.

In attempting to explain it all away, the Wildlife Division’s chief Scott Zody said during a teleconference with outdoors writers yesterday (Thursday, February 12) the agency’s proposals were tweaked a short while after after the deer summits.

Don’t want to incorporate too many changes all at once, was the way Zody put it.

Ho-boy, tweaking is a word of vast understatement. Especially since Zody’s take on the subject is polar opposite of what hunters were exposed to at the several concurrently held deer summits only a few weeks earlier.

And demonstrating further a believability disconnect is the notion of how the Wildlife Division all too often says one thing only to retract it later under the guise of fine-tuning.

A source in Columbus says the revisions really weren’t the Wildlife Division’s design anyway. Instead, the agency is being overly manipulated by politically hired and politically motivated minions within the parent Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Who –in turn, it’s being said – are seeing their puppet strings livened by state legislators and a governor hell-bent on dismantling as many Natural Resources divisions as possible.

All of which falls under the spreadsheet of speculation, more or less.

Still, where there is smoke there has to be at least a spark of some fire. And few people inside the Wildlife Division - coupled with some who have retired or left the agency as well as more than a few deer-hunting sportsmen and sportswomen - believe this is not the same agency it was a generation or even a decade ago.

Far from it, they’ll note, saying the Wildlife Division used way too much dynamite is its previous efforts to reduce the state’s deer herd with better management and with fewer deer-damage complaints in mind.

Even so and for whatever reasons and for whomever in political power is helping to call the shots, the Wildlife Division’s 2015-2016 deer-hunting proposals are no less an extravagant overuse of regulatory explosives.

This has all got to come to a screaming halt if the Wildlife Division is ever again to regain the respect of its constituency base and the trust of its hard-working grunts in the field.

 

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

 

 

Ohio's wildlife officials go to the mat in support of their deer-hunting proposals

Ohio’s wildlife officials are standing firm that piggy-backing a two-day so-named “holiday” general firearms deer-hunting season only five days before the statewide four-day muzzle-loading deer-hunting season is good deer hunter management.

Similarly the Ohio Division of Wildlife says the reconfiguration of how many deer can be shot in which county is a planned effort in order to break trail for even more anticipated regulatory changes for the various 2016-2017 deer-hunting seasons.

These and other related deer-hunting topics were addressed during a teleconference conducted today, February 12,  by several Wildlife Division officials and various Ohio outdoors writers.

At hand are some sweeping alterations and course corrections in the regulations; much more so than at least one agency official noted a few weeks back at the Wildlife Division’s concurrent series of deer summits.

Among the significant proposed changes are:

·        Reduced bag limits in the majority of Ohio’s 88 counties.

·        Antlerless permits to be valid in only 10 of Ohio’s 88 counties and all of which are considered as being urban counties.

·        A statewide maximum limit on the number of deer that a person can shoot at six animals, down from the previous nine animals.

·        A suspension of the early, mid-October antlerless-only/muzzle-loader-only deer hunting season.

·        Moving the youth-only general firearms deer-hunting season to the mid-October weekend slot previously enrolled in the antlerless-only/muzzle-loading-only deer-hunting season.

·        The addition of a two-day general firearms deer-hunting season for December 26 and 27.

Standing firm that a five-day break between the proposed two-day holiday gun hunt and the muzzle-loading-only season is a right fine and capital idea is Scott Zody, the Wildlife Division’s chief.

“We want to provide two unique (deer) hunting opportunities,” Zody said during the teleconference. “We wanted to create as much time as possible between the two seasons.”

Of general importance, Zody and his staff said as well, is that the proposed revamped regulations will help assure a smoother and less complicated transition to a more intense zone/unit management system.

By prepping and pruning this year’s regulations the Wildlife Division also can better establish a goal of stabilizing the state’s deer herd rather than working toward rebuilding deer numbers.

At least not until a refined zone/unit management plan is established, said Zody.

Or in Zody’s words this year’s proposals will help make for a “soft landing” come 2016-2017 when the zone/unit management concept is cemented.

Zody did say the Wildlife Division “tweaked” its proposals following a recent and concurrent series of deer summits.

Consequently,  any comments related to an expectation of few changes - and made by Wildlife Division staff - were not attempts to misguide hunters.

“We’d rather tweak them now instead of later,” Zody said.

As for mothballing the mid-October antlerless-only/muzzle-loading-only season, Zody said shrink-wrapping this season doesn’t mean it is now confined to Ohio’s deer management history books.

“We’re just putting it back into the tool box and we can pull it back out if we need to,” Zody said.

In defending substituting the early muzzle-loading/antlerless-only deer-hunting season with a rescheduled youth-only/general firearms season Zody and his staff believe archery hunters won’t mind too much.

Especially since now they’ll have the option of shooting either bucks or does.  During the prior two-day antlerless-only/muzzle-loading-only season even archers were limited to shooting does and button bucks.

“Everyone will still have to wear blaze orange, of course,” Zody said.

As for antlerless tags in the 11 counties where they will be legal, the permits will continue to expire the day before the general firearms deer-hunting season. Their cost of $15 each remains, too, Zody says.

And deer hunting license costs – specifically those paid by non-resident deer hunters - was another issue that cropped up during the teleconference even though that subject is on the periphery of the deer management proposals.

Zody said increases to what non-resident deer hunters must pay to hunt in Ohio are components contained within Gov. John Kasich’s just-introduced biennium budget. This budget will be reviewed by and then acted upon by the state legislature.

If the package is approved a non-resident hunter would see his (or her) general hunting license cost $129, up from the present $120. Meanwhile, a newly created non-resident either-sex deer tag would cost $99.

Under current law, non-residents pay the same as do Ohio residents for an either-sex tag, or $24.

And, yes, says Zody, the Wildlife Division can administratively create a non-resident antlerless-only deer tag, good for any of the proposed 11 counties where such a license would be permitted.

Zody did emphasize that hunters need to voice their concerns, support and opposition to the Wildlife Division’s deer-hunting proposals.

"Apathy is the greatest enemy of sportsmen," Zody said.

Interested persons have several venues including visiting one of the game hearing open houses scheduled for noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 7. Each of the agency’s five wildlife district offices will host an open house.

Petitioners also can contact the Wildlife Division via telephone (800-WILDLIFE) or via e-mail at wildinfo@dnr.state.oh.us.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
- JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

Major shift with Ohio's proposed 2015-2016 deer-hunting regulations

For an agency which said the 2015-2016 deer-hunting regulations would closely mirror those employed during the 2014-2015 deer-hunting season, the Ohio Division of Wildlife proposed shot is actually pretty wide of the mark.

Maybe even off the target entirely.

Proposed are some substantial shifts that come before the expected major overhaul of deer management/regulations that everyone anticipates for the 2016-2017 deer-hunting session.

As set forth Wednesday (February 11) before the eight-member Ohio Wildlife Council, there are no fewer than six substantial changes and as proposed by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

These proposals are:

·        Reduced bag limits in the majority of Ohio’s 88 counties.

·        Antlerless permits to be valid in only 10 of Ohio’s 88 counties and all of which are considered as being urban counties.

·        A statewide maximum limit on the number of deer that a person can shoot at six animals, down from the previous nine animals.

·        A suspension of the early, mid-October antlerless-only/muzzle-loader-only deer hunting season.

·        Moving the youth-only general firearms deer-hunting season to the mid-October weekend slot previously enrolled in the antlerless-only/muzzle-loading-only deer-hunting season.

·        The addition of a two-day general firearms deer-hunting season for December 26 and 27.

The major shift in the bag limits for counties will mean – if approved by the Wildlife Council – that four deer can be killed in only each of the following counties: Cuyahoga, Summit, Lucas, Hamilton, Franklin and Delaware.

Reductions to three deer per county (but where the use of one antlerless tag is permissible) envelope just four Northeast Ohio counties: Lake, Lorain, Stark, and Portage.

Geauga County will join a significant number of other counties in northwest, southeast and southwest Ohio where just two deer may be taken and where antlerless tags are not acceptable.

Significantly is the placement of such here-to-fore “deer rich” counties into the maximum two-animal bag limit. Among them are Guernsey, Coshocton and Muskingum.

Such heavyweight trophy deer counties as Adams and Brown in southwest Ohio are three deer maximum counties but where antlerless tags are not acceptable.

Proposed deer-hunting dates are:

·        Archery deer-hunting season - September 26 to February 7.

·        Youth-only/general firearms deer-hunting season – October 10 and 11.

·        General firearms deer-hunting season – November 30 to December 6.

·        “Bonus” general firearms deer-hunting season – December 26 and 27.

·        Statewide muzzle-loader-only deer hunting season – January 2 to 5.

The Wildlife Division will conduct a teleconference with outdoors writers this afternoon (February 12) beginning at 2:30 p.m. As detailed in an electronic message to the journalists, the agency intends to explain the proposals and what was involved in establishing them.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net

 Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

Ohio Division of Wildlife no longer will do business with supporter of HSUS

With little fanfare but with some nudging by concerned hunters and anglers the Ohio Division of Wildlife is dropping a survey-gathering business due to its support on the nation’s leading anti-everything organization.

Wildlife Division chief Scott Zody says the agency is reeling in its use of SurveyMonkey.com as the portal for collecting data used by fish and wildlife managers.

What SurveyMonkey.com has in its portfolio is a mechanism in which participating clients can voluntarily contribute a portion of their due bill to the Humane Society of the United States, among other (and less threatening) charitable organizations.

Yet while the Wildlife Division said it would never allow so much as a nickel to fall into the coffers of the HSUS the simple fact that SurveyMonkey.com supports the anti-everything organization is still too much for many Ohio anglers, fishers, and trappers.

So much so that the Zody says the Wildlife Division is dropping SurveyMonkey.com and instead will buy survey-collecting software that will entirely bypass the business.

Here is Zody’s electronic response to those who’ve expressed disappointment (even outrage) that the WQildlife Division would work with a business that supports an organization whose sole purpose for existence is the elimination of sport hunting, angling and trapping.:

“We have used SurveyMonkey to send surveys to hunters, anglers and participants in our education programs for the past several years. Online surveys have helped to save thousands of dollars related to design, printing, mailing, return mail and data entry of printed surveys.

“Our initial goal was to find an inexpensive, easy to use method to get feedback from a wide range of customers. After considering several options, we selected SurveyMonkey based on several criteria including survey creation, analysis and administration of the survey, help and support, and ease of use.

“The basic use of SurveyMonkey is free, as opposed to purchasing survey software subscriptions that cost thousands of dollars annually. Because of the ease of use and low cost, SurveyMonkey is the standard survey tool used by state agencies throughout Ohio and by fish and wildlife agencies across the U.S.

“At the end of any SurveyMonkey survey, there is an option for those taking a survey to donate or support a suite of charities ranging from the American Red Cross to the Boys and Girls Club of America (Complete list here: https://contribute.surveymonkey.com/choose-your-charity#more ).

“Participation in donating to any of the charities is at the discretion of the survey-taker. We did receive feedback from our survey takers that they did not appreciate the option to donate to HSUS.

“We researched these concerns, and made the decision to purchase an enhanced account with SurveyMonkey ($300) to direct our survey users back to our homepage (www.wildohio.gov) instead of the charity page.

“Based on the recent feedback from our customers regarding the use of SurveyMonkey we are currently working to halt the use of that service.

“We are now bringing all open surveys to a close and researching new survey software options. Once we purchase new software, we will resume gathering important input from our customers.

“Thanks for asking about this.”

-         Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

-         JFrischk@Ameritech.net

-         Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

UPDATED Death appears imminent for a stand-alone Ohio Division of Watercraft

A hurried job of rehabilitating the fourth floor of Building C on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ sprawling Fountain Square campus this past week may be insightful regarding whether the Watercraft Division remains a stand-alone agency or if it will be gobbled up by its much larger sibling: the Ohio Division of Parks and Preserves.

Already the Parks and Preserves Division has successfully feasted on the former Natural Areas and Preserves Division, swallowing the latter whole but leaving behind a few crumbs largely staffed by retired former DNAP officials.

And Forestry’s once small tribe of commissioned officers has also seen its law enforcement-entitled personnel now wearing Parks and Preserves Division uniforms.

With neither fanfare nor explanation the Watercraft Division as a stand-alone departmental unit appears to be sailing toward mothballing, its assets controlled by Parks and its personnel shoehorned into the latter’s existing brick-and-mortar regional homes.

Of concern to Watercraft Division watchers is how the politically appointed ODNR - and even Parks - officials will handle the vitally important Waterways Safety Fund.

That concern has begun to liven Ohio's boating constituency.  Their concern - as it is for other tribes whose interests fall under the spell of other departmental divisions - is how the chief of command continues to fail to keep fellow travelers in the loop.

When the Natural Resources Department began efforts at consolidation it never bothered to explain it all o the Waterways Safety Council. And though this group of volunteers is an advisory body only without the regulatory muscle of the Ohio Wildlife Council, Waterways Safety Council members were still (and understandably so) miffed by the ODNR's lack of sensitivity, sources say as well.

Even more worrisome, some of these sources say, is to whether ODNR officials also are greedy enough to eye the Wildlife Division and its even larger Wildlife Fund and annual budget. This annual budget stands at roughly $60 million, give or take.

What is know is that the fourth floor of Fountain Square’s Building C is being renovated in such a way as to accommodate the Watercraft Division’s stable of top administrators.

Some critics say this is all being handled in a “hush-hush/sealed lips” fashion.

Other observers are taking note how the idea of the Parks and Preserves Division controlling the Water Division and its Watercraft Safety Fund purse is nothing new; being based upon recent history of an administration that desires money-saving generalist agencies rather than specialized units with their own unique duties and constituencies.

These observers note how the Parks unit is now dictating operations at the assembly of state preserves as well as commanding the Forestry Division’s commissioned officers.

In an internally iniated move, Forestry Division rangers became Parks and Preserves rangers who must continue to observe law enforcement duties at Ohio’s 21 state parks and their more than 200,000 acres.

Of great concern to critics are how a number of existing Watercraft Division field offices is being shuttered and how their flags are being transferred to various nearby Parks and Preserves offices.

Among the moves is the farming out of Watercraft’s office in Sandusky to the Parks and Preserves’ field office at East Harbor State Park, possibly being housed within the bowels of the old Catawba State Park building, said one observer who asked that his/her name not be used.

“The big question is how they are going to manage the Waterways Safety Fund,” the source said. “Like the Wildlife Fund, it is tied to federal money and can only be used for specific things.”

Thus it is required by statute that Waterways Safety Fund dollars obtained via federal grants cannot be used to “build picnic tables or to pay an officer to enforce park laws,” the source said also.

A chief worry of many departmental critics is that the current crop of ODNR political appointees and their accompanying underlings have – and indeed, are – eyeing the Wildlife Division’s Wildlife Fund.

“At least the (ODNR) hacks are not meddling with Wildlife (at) this time,” the source said, continuing. “Since the governor stripped Watercraft’s officers of the ability to do their jobs, maybe there was nothing left to do with them.”

Even so, it appears the ODNR has found good use of its Columbus-based maintenance staff. These state employees were kept busy last week remodeling the fourth floor of Building C, the structure that previously harnessed the work of the Parks and Preserves Division alone.

“It sure does indicate where this agency (ODNR) is headed,” said another source who also requested that her/his name not be used for fear of departmental retribution.

“This administration is bent on consolidation,” the second source said also. “No one is holding this administration accountable.”

Yet while teaming up to save dollars is often a good thing it is not the only thing. Each ODNR division is unique, and their commissioned officers are called upon to understand the nuances of their respective agency peculiarities, other sources have consistently maintained.

Part of the issue, these two sources and disgruntled present and former ODNR employees believe and have expressed privately, is that current Parks and Preserves Chief Gary Obermiller also had been the Watercraft Division chief.

Besides these duties the 28-plus-year Natural Resources’ veteran official is a departmental director, overseeing the Parks and Preserves Division. And Obermiller also once headed up the department’s Office of Law Enforcement.

However, Obermiller’s extensive departmental job resume only spells trouble ahead, ODNR critics continue to champion.

They contend under Obermiller the current departmental goings-on points toward further absorption of divisions into a regulatory and management black hole from which the Watercraft Division – and ultimately other divisions like Wildlife - cannot escape.

How all of this plays out in the coming months, only heaven, Gov. John Kasich and Natural Resources Director James Zehringer, knows.

 

Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jun 12, 2014

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

 

 

 

"Four and No More" or how I survived the 2014-2015 deer-hunting season

“Four and no more” was the mantra I fell unto when I used up my forth Ohio either-sex tag on January 22.

It also was my third deer shot in Lake County, a former Ohio Division of Wildlife-considered Urban Deer Zone stronghold.

Even with intense municipal allowances to permit the taking of deer in such urban environments the numbers of animals either remains stubbornly strong or else may even be growing. At least in some locations, as my detailed and extensive daily hunting activity reports show, anyway.

For several years – and almost immediately after each hunt situation – I record the various morning or afternoon hunt observations. This data tabulation includes such topics as the hunt date, whether it was an a.m. or a p.m. hunt, hours spent, along with how many adult bucks, adult does, fawn bucks and fawn does, and “unknown antlerless” deer are seen.

Besides these notations the sheet also enfolds such requests as the number of coyotes (two this past year) and wild turkeys (three this past season) seen while on stand along with “comments.”

That last one I use to record details about weather conditions and if there was any nearby human activity (an important detail when hunting in an urban environment where it could impact a deer making an approach to the baiting station.)

I’d like to take credit for this sheet’s thoroughness but it was developed by the wildlife management unit of the Kirtland-based (Ohio) Holden Arboretum. I have long been one of about 80 to 100 people granted permission to deer hunt at the arboretum, which in some cases includes jumping through a number of additional hoops required by the location’s local police chief.

Anyway, a look back this past all-hunting-seasons’ tabulations shows I hunted one location in Geauga County, two locations in Ashtabula County and four sites in Lake County (one location in one township and three sites in one village). A further look shows that of the seven locations, four failed to produce a single deer sighting.

And at all but one of these seven sites I maintained feeding stations. Also, I helped with the other by periodically dropping off bags of apples for the hunting landowner to use too.

The number of hunting trips to each location varied from one and two to as many as 23 visits. The bulk of these visitations were late afternoon/early evening events (30) with the remaining 22 trips being morning hunts.

Hunts lasted from as few as one hour to as many as 11.5 hours.

Perhaps telling is the increasing number of morning hunts; likely the result of my retirement not quite two years ago.

Note as well that of the four deer I shot (one fawn doe, two adult does, and one buck that had lost both antlers) the number taken was equal between morning and evening hunts (two each).

A further look shows that all four deer were taken with my Wicked Ridge crossbow, though I did take an unsuccessful poke at an antlered buck with a newly acquired single-shot .45-70 caliber rifle during Ohio’s general firearms deer-hunting season.

Perhaps one more noteworthy number is that 19 of the 29 deer observed were seen during morning hunts. So too the bulk of the antlered deer observed (eight) were noted in the morning as well (five).

Yeah, eight is not a whale lot of antlered deer seen but, then again, 29 deer for 52 trips totaling 156.5 hours is not an especially large figure, either.

Broken down even further the number of observed deer were eight antlered animals, 11 adult does, and 10 fawns/button bucks.

It must be noted here as well that I hunt exclusively from a fabric ground blind. This condition is mandated by my wife, a physical therapist and all of the several doctors/specialists I have to see.

I suspect that if I had hunted from a tree ladder stand the number of deer observed would have increased significantly.

Maybe one of these days I’ll also keep track on the number of 50-pound sacks of shelled corn I buy from the Rome (Ohio) Feed Mill and the number of bags containing second-grade apples I purchase from Sage’s Apples in Chardon Township.

Then again, probably not as I’m sort of afraid to know just how much money I sink into this “hobby” when I also factor in the need each season to buy at least one replacement ground blind and at least one replacement trail camera, $15 for each mechanical broadhead I launch, the accompany arrow plus a bundle of other necessities needed to get the job done.

Oh, and if you’re going to complain that I shot four deer, you have to remember that three of them were taken in urban areas where landowners maintain a love/mostly hate, relationship with deer.

Besides, not only do my wife and I benefit in having a bunch of venison in our freezer we also have a daughter, son-in-law and their five children that we help by supplying them with wild game.

On that score if the Ohio Division of Wildlife ever issues hunting tags for woolly mammoths I’ll be first in line to buy one.

Of course this would mean I’d have to go and sell my current 4x4 ATV and buy a proper low mileage Hummer H1. Oy vey.

 

Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

 Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.

 

 

 

 

Ohio's 2014-2015 deer harvest likely the state's new normal

The 175,745 animals shot during Ohio’s various 2014-2015 deer-hunting seasons is the state’s new white-tail deer normal harvest figure.

With the conclusion of Ohio’s long archery deer-hunting season one-half hour after sunset, Sunday, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife says the (preliminary) 175,745 number falls within the agency’s expectation of an approximately eight-percent harvest decline from the 2013-2014 all-seasons’ deer kill of 191,455 animals.

Further, says the Wildlife Division’s deer-management administrator, Ohio’s hunters will henceforth likely produce an annual harvest of between 175,000 and 200,000 animals.

“That would be my guess,” says Mike Tonkovich, the agency’s deer management point man.

Thus the hills of 2009 when Ohio deer hunters giddily smacked 261,260 animals and the valley of 1999 with a harvest of 126,770 white-tails are the opposite polls almost certainly never to be seen again, Tonkovich says.

 “Just like every other state, Ohio’s harvest will be on a roller-coaster ride,” Tonkovich says.

“I’m not going to fault anyone for wanting to harvest the numbers we did in the recent past but there are today many hunters who want quality even more than they do quantity.”

The bottom line is that the 2014-2015’s all-seasons’ harvest is wedged between the 155,124 deer taken during the 2001-2002 all-seasons’ kill and the 204,652 deer killed during the 2002-2003 all-seasons’.

Yes, just one year later Ohio’s deer hunters popped nearly 50,000 more deer.

The thing is, says Tonkovich, “the deer population was ready to be harvested in 2002,” and consequently the Wildlife Division had to act accordingly in order to establish a healthy and under control herd size.

So now that the pendulum is swinging (or has swung) back to a smaller deer herd size, a new normal harvest is likely being reflected in the 2014-2015 all-seasons’ kill figures. More or less, says Tonkovich.

 

“There are always going to be fluctuations in the harvest; more dynamic than static,” Tonkovich says.

Here is a list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during Ohio’s 2014-2015 hunting season. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2014-2015, and the 2013-2014 numbers are in parentheses.

Adams: 3,278 (3,847); Allen: 1,027 (1,057); Ashland: 2,903 (2,931); Ashtabula: 4,418 (4,981); Athens: 3,317 (4,053); Auglaize: 786 (788); Belmont: 3,128 (3,953); Brown: 2,596 (2,526); Butler: 1,391 (1,503); Carroll: 3,406 (4,203); Champaign: 1,317 (1,243); Clark: 755 (779); Clermont: 2,689 (2,830); Clinton: 915 (883); Columbiana: 2,996 (3,669); Coshocton: 5,727 (6,270); Crawford: 1,081 (1,033); Cuyahoga: 725 (681); Darke: 730 (589); Defiance: 1,724 (1,576); Delaware: 1,586 (1,516); Erie: 951 (760); Fairfield: 1,931 (2,245); Fayette: 380 (292); Franklin: 790 (719); Fulton: 736 (859); Gallia: 2,564 (2,899); Geauga: 1,859 (1,849); Greene: 849 (956); Guernsey: 4,181 (5,307); Hamilton: 1,743 (2,069); Hancock: 1,116 (908); Hardin: 1,149 (1,207); Harrison: 3,448 (4,533); Henry: 697 (642); Highland: 2,662 (2,714); Hocking: 2,856 (3,513); Holmes: 3,625 (3,958); Huron: 2,064 (2,139); Jackson: 2,560 (2,769); Jefferson: 2,565 (3,286); Knox: 4,191 (4,529); Lake: 897 (793); Lawrence: 1,791 (2,238); Licking: 5,281 (5,711); Logan: 1,885 (1,917); Lorain: 2,401 (2,342); Lucas: 655 (736); Madison: 493 (451); Mahoning: 1,991 (2,207); Marion: 819 (833); Medina: 2,013 (1,937); Meigs: 3,125 (3,336); Mercer: 583 (625); Miami: 835 (881); Monroe: 2,162 (2,623); Montgomery: 780 (687); Morgan: 2,822 (3,080); Morrow: 1,537 (1,549); Muskingum: 4,748 (5,547); Noble: 2,419 (3,091); Ottawa: 488 (402); Paulding: 1,072 (1,047); Perry: 2,495 (2,731); Pickaway: 806 (804); Pike: 1,880 (2,096); Portage: 1,968 (2,005); Preble: 1,020 (1,070); Putnam: 759 (687); Richland: 3,141 (3,242); Ross: 2,921 (3,087); Sandusky: 935 (773); Scioto: 2,148 (2,705); Seneca: 1,677 (1,641); Shelby: 1,118 (1,103); Stark: 2,625 (2,578); Summit: 1,436 (1,428); Trumbull: 3,185 (3,592); Tuscarawas: 4,883 (5,774); Union: 904 (826); Van Wert: 576 (491); Vinton: 2,503 (3,133); Warren: 1,244 (1,344); Washington: 2,954 (3,298); Wayne: 1,923 (1,908); Williams: 1,790 (1,903); Wood: 1,077 (729) and Wyandot: 1,568 (1,410). Total: 175,745 (191,455).

 

Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 100 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.