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EXTRA WEEKEND OF STATEWIDE
DEER-GUN HUNTING PROPOSED
Ohio Wildlife Council hears 2006-2007 proposed deer
hunting regulations
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Ohio deer hunters may have the
opportunity to hunt with a gun two additional days this fall,
and archery season could run three more days to include an extra
weekend day under regulations recently proposed to the Ohio
Wildlife Council.
The additional weekend would fall
on Saturday, December 16 and Sunday, December 17. Regular
deer-gun season would begin on Monday, November 27 and run
through Sunday, December 3. Archery season would run from
Saturday, October 7 through Saturday, February 3, 2007.
Statewide muzzleloader season would open on Wednesday, December
27, and run through Saturday, December 30. Special area
muzzleloader hunts would be open Monday, October 23 through
Saturday, October 28 at Salt Fork, Shawnee and Wildcat Hollow.
Muzzleloader hunts at these areas are by special permit only,
with a random drawing held prior to the season for a limited
number of antlered and unlimited number of antlerless permits. |
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The proposal keeps the same deer
zones as last year. 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.
The youth deer-gun season is
proposed for Saturday, November 18 and Sunday, November 19.
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.
During the 2005-2006 season, which
concluded January 31, hunters bagged a preliminary record of
more than 207,000 deer. Approximately 475,000 people hunt
white-tailed deer in Ohio.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has never been found in
Ohio’s deer herd. Still, to minimize the risk of CWD appearing
in Ohio, reasonable measures are proposed for the disposal of
hunter-killed deer, elk and moose carcasses from CWD-affected
areas before they are brought back to Ohio. The proposed
regulations would require the meat from an animal from a CWD-infected
area to be de-boned and wrapped with no part of the spinal
column or head attached. Hunters could bring back antlers or
antlers attached to skullcaps as long as all soft tissue was
removed. Also acceptable would be hides and capes without the
head or lymph nodes attached and finished taxidermy mounts from
known CWD-infected areas.
Open houses are scheduled for noon
to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 5 in each of the state’s five
wildlife districts. These forums will provide the public with an
opportunity to view and discuss proposed hunting and trapping
regulations with state wildlife officials. Directions to the
meetings can be obtained by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE or
online.
A statewide hearing on the
proposed rules is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 9, at
the District 1 wildlife 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 5 meeting.
Proposed bag limits and Deer
Hunting Zones would be as follows:
Zone A -- Hunters could take only one deer during the
2006-2007 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,
Wood.
Zone B -- Hunters could take only two deer during the
2006-2007 seasons, which could be a deer of either sex. 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, Wyandot.
Zone C -- Hunters could take no more than three deer
during the 2006-2007 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, Washington.
© 2005 ODNR, Division of Wildlife
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