Ohio
Hunters Harvest more than 75,000
Deer
during Weeklong Gun Season
Coshocton
County leads deer harvest for the third consecutive year
COLUMBUS,
OH – Ohio hunters checked 75,408 white-tailed deer during the
weeklong gun hunting season, Dec. 2-8, according to the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
”With
the muzzleloader season and almost two months of archery hunting yet
to come, Ohio hunters have many more opportunities to harvest a
deer,” said Scott Zody, chief of the ODNR Division of Wildlife.
Hunting
is the best and most effective management tool for maintaining Ohio’s
healthy deer population. Hunters have harvested 162,720 deer so far
in the 2013 hunting seasons, compared to 171,867 at the same point
last year, a 5 percent difference.
The
ODNR Division of Wildlife remains committed to properly managing
Ohio’s deer populations through a combination of regulatory and
programmatic changes. The goal of Ohio’s Deer Management Program is
to provide a deer population that maximizes recreational
opportunities, while minimizing conflicts with landowners and
motorists. This ensures that Ohio’s deer herd is maintained at a
level that is both acceptable to most, and biologically sound.
Until
recently, the populations in nearly all of Ohio’s counties were
well above their target numbers. In the last few years, through
increased harvests, dramatic strides have been made in many counties
to bring those populations closer toward their goal. Once a county’s
deer population is near goal, harvest regulations are adjusted to
maintain the population near that goal.
Archery
season remains open through Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014. The muzzleloader
season is Jan. 4-7, 2014.
Counties
reporting the highest number of checked deer during the 2013 gun
season: Coshocton (2,658), Muskingum (2,604), Tuscarawas (2,604),
Guernsey (2,401), Ashtabula (2,334), Harrison (2,133), Carroll
(2,019), Knox (1,966), Licking (1,887) and Belmont (1,851). Coshocton
County also had the most deer checked in the 2012 deer gun season
(3,119)
Ohio’s
first modern day deer-gun season opened in 1943 in three counties,
and hunters harvested 168 deer. Deer hunting was allowed in all 88
counties in 1956, and hunters harvested 3,911 deer during that
one-week season.
Hunters
are encouraged to donate deer to help the needy in their area. The
ODNR Division of Wildlife is working with Farmers and Hunters Feeding
the Hungry (FHFH) to help pay for the processing of donated venison.
Hunters who donate a deer to a food bank are not required to pay the
processing cost as long as funding for the effort is available. More
information about this program can be found online at fhfh.org.
Other
opportunities for hunters to donate venison can be pursued through
Safari Club International’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program.
Information about this program can be found at
safariclubfoundation.org. Whitetails Unlimited chapters also use
local funds for programs such as venison donation. Go to
whitetailsunlimited.com to find a local chapter and make a donation.
Deer
hunting in Ohio continues to be a popular activity for many who enjoy
the outdoors. Ohio hunters checked 218,910 deer during the 2012-2013
season. Ohio ranks fifth nationally in resident hunters and 11th in
the number of jobs associated with hunting-related industries.
Hunting has a more than $853 million economic impact in Ohio through
the sale of equipment, fuel, food, lodging and more, according to the
National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Hunting in America: An
Economic Force for Conservation publication.
More
information about Ohio deer hunting can be found in the 2013-2014
Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.com.
ODNR
ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural
resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at
ohiodnr.gov.
Editor’s
Note: A list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during
weeklong 2013 deer-gun hunting season is shown below. The first
number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for
2013, and the 2012 numbers are in parentheses.
Adams:
1,343 (1,554); Allen: 380 (393); Ashland: 1,162 (1,240); Ashtabula:
2,334 (2,052); Athens: 1,745 (1,983); Auglaize: 299 (362); Belmont:
1,851 (2,127); Brown: 932 (1,094); Butler: 312 (350); Carroll: 2,019
(2,062); Champaign: 414 (487); Clark: 198 (226); Clermont: 667 (835);
Clinton: 250 (348); Columbiana: 1,726 (1,686); Coshocton: 2,658
(3,119); Crawford: 528 (543); Cuyahoga: 31 (30); Darke: 170 (312);
Defiance: 744 (882); Delaware: 393 (620); Erie: 176 (171); Fairfield:
827 (1,040); Fayette: 103 (111); Franklin: 113 (176); Fulton: 341
(413); Gallia: 1,420 (1,747); Geauga: 509 (598); Greene: 224 (318);
Guernsey: 2,401 (2,620); Hamilton: 202 (244); Hancock: 338 (558);
Hardin: 544 (512); Harrison: 2,133 (2,370); Henry: 326 (346);
Highland: 1,041 (1,347); Hocking: 1,456 (1,966); Holmes: 1,494
(1,837); Huron: 1,029 (1,006); Jackson: 1,156 (1,439); Jefferson:
1,494 (1,830); Knox: 1,966 (2,159); Lake: 126 (207); Lawrence: 1,002
(1,286); Licking: 1,887 (2,271); Logan: 653 (755); Lorain: 678 (764);
Lucas: 131 (158); Madison: 127 (141); Mahoning: 750 (664); Marion:
348 (410); Medina: 555 (596); Meigs: 1,482 (1,764); Mercer: 219
(318); Miami: 211 (241); Monroe: 1,337 (1,695); Montgomery: 109
(162); Morgan: 1,445 (1,712); Morrow: 640 (844); Muskingum: 2,604
(2,927); Noble: 1,454 (1,647); Ottawa: 88 (86); Paulding: 499 (551);
Perry: 1,362 (1,726); Pickaway: 343 (500); Pike: 818 (973); Portage:
568 (608); Preble: 274 (323); Putnam: 255 (327); Richland: 1,182
(1,418); Ross: 1,167 (1,512); Sandusky: 208 (224); Scioto: 1,099
(1,138); Seneca: 747 (803); Shelby: 371 (456); Stark: 883 (833);
Summit: 140 (163); Trumbull: 1,298 (1,237); Tuscarawas: 2,604
(2,860); Union: 301 (352); Van Wert: 214 (290); Vinton: 1,424
(1,583); Warren: 285 (406); Washington: 1,606 (2,163); Wayne: 724
(784); Williams: 838 (906); Wood: 213 (254); Wyandot: 690 (812).
Total: 75,408 (86,963).
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