|
More than
65,000 Deer Checked during Gun Hunting Season
COLUMBUS, OH – Hunters checked 65,485 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s
2014 gun hunting season, Dec. 1-7, according to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR).
Rifles using specific straight-walled cartridges were allowed during
Ohio’s deer-gun season. Gun hunters took advantage of the new
opportunity and checked 5,360 deer with straight-walled cartridge
rifles.
Hunters have checked 148,830 deer so far in all 2014 hunting seasons,
compared to 162,720 at the same point last year. Hunters harvested
75,408 deer during the 2013 deer-gun season.
Until recently, the populations in nearly all of Ohio’s counties were
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, and the effectiveness of
these herd management efforts are reflected in the number of deer
checked this season. Once a county’s deer population is near goal,
harvest regulations are adjusted to maintain the population.
Counties reporting the highest number of checked deer during the 2014
gun season: Coshocton (2,308), Muskingum (2,084), Tuscarawas (2,074),
Guernsey (1,788), Ashtabula (1,730), Knox (1,727), Licking (1,655),
Harrison (1,491), Carroll (1,477) and Belmont (1,428).
Hunting is the best and most effective management tool for maintaining
Ohio’s healthy deer population. During the 2013-2014 hunting season,
Ohio hunters checked 191,459 deer. 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.
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.
Find more information about deer hunting in the Ohio 2014-2015 Hunting
and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.gov. An updated deer harvest
report is posted online each Wednesday. Archery season remains open
through Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015. The muzzleloader season is Jan. 2-5, 2015.
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.
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 2014 deer-gun hunting season is shown below. The first
number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2014,
and the 2013 numbers are in parentheses.
Adams: 1,134 (1,343); Allen: 348 (380); Ashland: 1,160 (1,162);
Ashtabula: 1,730 (2,334); Athens: 1,360 (1,745); Auglaize: 278 (299);
Belmont: 1,428 (1,851); Brown: 940 (932); Butler: 308 (312); Carroll:
1,477 (2,019); Champaign: 434 (414); Clark: 195 (198); Clermont: 685
(667); Clinton: 285 (250); Columbiana: 1,245 (1,726); Coshocton: 2,308
(2,658); Crawford: 515 (528); Cuyahoga: 24 (31); Darke: 241 (170);
Defiance: 871 (744); Delaware: 422 (393); Erie: 219 (176); Fairfield:
708 (827); Fayette: 142 (103); Franklin: 124 (113); Fulton: 336 (341);
Gallia: 1,220 (1,420); Geauga: 470 (509); Greene: 213 (224); Guernsey:
1,788 (2,401); Hamilton: 165 (202); Hancock: 443 (338); Hardin: 487
(544); Harrison: 1,491 (2,133); Henry: 334 (326); Highland: 1,004
(1,041); Hocking: 1,195 (1,456); Holmes: 1,349 (1,494); Huron: 921
(1,029); Jackson: 968 (1,156); Jefferson: 1,120 (1,494); Knox: 1,727
(1,966); Lake: 138 (126); Lawrence: 779 (1,002); Licking: 1,655
(1,887); Logan: 672 (653); Lorain: 646 (678); Lucas: 105 (131);
Madison: 154 (127); Mahoning: 555 (750); Marion: 340 (348); Medina: 567
(555); Meigs: 1,270 (1,482); Mercer: 206 (219); Miami: 250 (211);
Monroe: 1,056 (1,337); Montgomery: 130 (109); Morgan: 1,207 (1,445);
Morrow: 671 (640); Muskingum: 2,084 (2,604); Noble: 1,031 (1,454);
Ottawa: 121 (88); Paulding: 509 (499); Perry: 1,160 (1,362); Pickaway:
330 (343); Pike: 701 (818); Portage: 451 (568); Preble: 272 (274);
Putnam: 315 (255); Richland: 1,159 (1,182); Ross: 1,106 (1,167);
Sandusky: 261 (208); Scioto: 761 (1,099); Seneca: 710 (747); Shelby:
397 (371); Stark: 759 (883); Summit: 122 (140); Trumbull: 983 (1,298);
Tuscarawas: 2,074 (2,604); Union: 313 (301); Van Wert: 283 (214);
Vinton: 1,032 (1,424); Warren: 321 (285); Washington: 1,409 (1,606);
Wayne: 639 (724); Williams: 831 (838); Wood: 389 (213); Wyandot: 749
(690). Total: 65,485 (75,408).
|
|
|
|
