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OHIO HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES
EXPAND UNDER 2006-07 REGULATIONS
Extra weekend of deer-gun hunting approved
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Species |
Opening date |
Closing date |
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Squirrel |
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Mourning dove |
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Geese |
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White-tailed deer
archery season |
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White-tailed deer
Early muzzleloader season |
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White-tailed deer
youth gun season |
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White-tailed deer
gun season |
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White-tailed deer
statewide muzzleloader season |
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Ruffed grouse |
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Wild turkey
fall season |
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Wild turkey
fall archery only |
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Youth upland season
for cottontail rabbit, ringneck pheasant, bobwhite
quail |
Oct 21 and 22
&
Oct 28 and 29
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Cottontail rabbit
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Ringneck pheasant
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Bobwhite quail
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Fox, raccoon, skunk
opossum, weasel |
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Ohio hunters will have expanded
deer hunting opportunities this fall, under new regulations and
season dates approved for 2006-07 by the Ohio Wildlife Council.
The additional weekend of deer-gun
hunting will fall on Saturday, December 16 and Sunday, December
17. The traditional week-long deer-gun season will begin on
Monday, November 27 and run through Sunday, December 3.
Deer-archery season will run from Saturday, September 30 through
Sunday, February 4, 2007.
Statewide muzzleloader season will
open on Wednesday, December 27, and run through Saturday,
December 30. Early muzzleloader hunts will 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.
Last year’s three deer-hunting
zones remain in place. A three-deer limit (Zone C) will cover 38
central, south, southeastern and southwestern counties. The 30
counties of Zone B will have a two-deer limit, and the 20
northwestern counties of Zone A will 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 set
for Saturday, November 18 and Sunday, November 19. Young hunters
can bag only one deer of either sex in any county of Ohio during
this special season. Any deer taken will be part of the young
hunter’s total season limit.
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 were passed for the disposal of
hunter-killed deer, elk and moose carcasses from CWD-affected
areas before they are brought back to Ohio. The regulations
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 can bring back antlers or antlers attached to
skullcaps as long as all soft tissue has been removed. Also
acceptable will be hides and capes without the head or lymph
nodes attached and finished taxidermy mounts from known CWD-infected
areas.
A pattern of corrupt activity
demonstrated by some commercial fishing operations has resulted
in approved regulations that will tighten the rules on the
industry. One change prohibits commercial fishermen from having
yellow perch from the Central and Western basins of Lake Erie on
their boat at the same time. Commercial fishing vessels are now
required to notify the Division of Wildlife at least 30 minutes
prior to docking with the fish they have netted. They are also
now required to have additional color coding for their nets.
September 1 will again mark the
kick-off date for the state’s fall hunting seasons - with the
opening of squirrel, dove, Canada goose, rail, moorhen and snipe
hunting.
Migratory waterfowl hunting rules
and season dates will be set in August within the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s 2006-07 framework, which will be supplied
later this summer.
© 2005 ODNR, Division of Wildlife
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