COLUMBUS, OH -- Ohio's squirrel season will open on September 1, providing hunters with an opportunity to take as many as six squirrels each day, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. State wildlife biologists report an average squirrel population across the state this year.
A long-time tradition for many hunters, Ohio's squirrel season will offer an abundance of fox and gray squirrels and ample hunting opportunities across the state. Legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset daily.
The season closes January 31. Squirrel season will be closed during the one-week statewide deer gun season that begins December 1 and runs through December 7 and on the following areas during the Special Area Primitive Deer Season, October 20-25: Salt Fork State Wildlife Area, Shawnee State Forest and Wildcat Hollow.
"Hunters should be able to locate concentrations of squirrels around trees with abundant hickory nuts and acorns this fall," said Mike Reynolds, forest wildlife research biologist with the ODNR Division of Wildlife. "Look for fresh shell cuttings that indicate squirrels have been feeding in the area."
The strength of the fall mast crop provides biologists a good indicator of squirrel abundance the following season. Good mast crops mean an abundance of winter storable food that in turn means good squirrel over-winter survival and reproductive success.
The 2002 statewide mast crop index was down 15 percent from the 2001 index. The mast crop index was stable in the northeast region of the state, but declined in all other regions.
"Squirrel hunters were very successful in 2002 and harvest per hour was well above the long-term average in both fox and gray squirrel range," said Reynolds. "However, the number of squirrel hunters contacted and the hours they hunted have declined in bag-check surveys in recent years."
To improve estimates of the number of squirrel hunters and the total squirrel harvest in Ohio, hunters will be asked if they hunt squirrels when purchasing their hunting license this year.