Now the Ohio Division of Wildlife has announced that it's also looking at altering some of the state's deer hunting regulations as a result of a reduced deer population.
There are several semi-major changes proposed. They include:
- The elimination of antlerless-only permits in all 10 urban counties.
- A reduction in the statewide bag limit from nine to six.
- County-specific bag limits would also be reduced. Many areas of the state would become two-deer counties (though some counties will allow three deer to be taken and the statewide one-buck rule would remain in place).
- The elimination of the October antlerless-only muzzleloader season.
- Moving the youth-only gun season from November into mid-October.
Graphic courtesy of Ohio Division of Wildlife.
All of these regulations are in response to a growing concern amongst deer hunters that the state's efforts to reduce whitetail numbers have been too effective. Like many other Midwestern states, Ohio's kill totals peaked a few years ago and have been on a steady decline since.
In 2014, hunters tagged nearly 176,000 whitetails, a decline of roughly 15,000 deer from the previous season.
There are also two proposals that don't necessarily equate to fewer deer being killed.
The ODNR is also proposing a new two-day gun season that would occur Dec. 26-27 (the traditional gun season would run from Nov. 30-Dec. 6).
In the state's recent budget bill -- which is not part of the ODNR's proposed season structure -- non-resident hunting license fees would increase slightly from $125 to $129 but a non-resident deer permit would increase from $24 to $38 for a total license cost of $167.
What do you think about the proposed changes?
You can make your voice heard by providing official comments at public meetings in each district of the state. Those meetings will be held from noon - 3 p.m. on March 7 with a statewide public hearing set for 9 a.m. on March 19 in Columbus.
The Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on the structure during its April 8 meeting.
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