2008-2009 DEER HUNTING REGULATIONS PROPOSED
Proposal: Zone C hunters may use antlerless deer permits during deer-gun week
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COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio archery and Zone C (listed below) deer-gun hunters may again have the opportunity to take additional doe deer this fall if a proposed regulation is accepted by the Ohio Wildlife Council in April, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Under the proposal, hunters could again buy additional antlerless deer permits at reduced prices for hunting in an urban zone, participating in a controlled hunt, or hunting during the September 27 to November 30 portion of the archery season. The Division is proposing the deadline for using the anterless permit be extended to December 7 for those hunting in Zone C. Cost of the antlerless deer permit remains at $15.
As was the requirement last year, hunters must purchase a regular deer permit before purchasing anterlerless deer permits. The permit system remains otherwise unchanged from last year: hunters may still take up to one additional antlerless deer in Zone A, up to two additional antlerless deer in Zone B and up to three additional antlerless deer in Zone C.
However, use of the antlerless deer permit during the first part of the archery season and deer-gun week in Zone C would not count against the hunter's zone bag limit, under the proposed rule. The sale of these permits will cease after November 30 so hunters need to commit early to buying and using the extra reduced-cost opportunity.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of last year's deer season, especially the effectiveness of the reduced-cost antlerless deer permit," said Dave Risley, who oversees wildlife management and research for the division. "The reduced-cost permit provided an incentive to take more does during the early archery season. This has helped our deer population management plan to reduce the overall deer population."
Archery season would run from Saturday, September 27 through Sunday, February 1, 2009. The popular youth deer-gun season is proposed for Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23. Regular deer-gun season would run Monday, December 1 through Sunday, December 7. An additional deer-gun hunting weekend is proposed for Saturday and Sunday, December 20 -21. Statewide muzzleloader season would run Saturday, December 27 through Tuesday, December 30. Special area muzzleloader hunts would be open Monday, October 20 through Saturday, October 25 at Salt Fork, Shawnee and Wildcat Hollow. Muzzleloader hunts at these areas will no longer require a special permit and hunters may use either deer permit for this hunt. The bag limit remains at one deer of either sex with any antlered deer harvested counting toward the one-buck yearly limit for the year.
The proposed regulations maintain the same deer zones as the last three years. 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.
During the youth deer-gun season, 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 2007-2008 season, which concluded February 3, hunters bagged more than 230,000 deer. Approximately 475,000 people hunted white-tailed deer in Ohio this year.
Open houses will be held on Sunday, March 2 in each of the state's five wildlife districts to provide the public an opportunity to view and discuss proposed hunting and trapping regulations with state wildlife officials. Directions to the open houses are available online or can be obtained by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE.
A statewide hearing on all the proposed rules will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 6 at the wildlife division's District One Office, located at 1500 Dublin Road in Columbus. After considering public input, the Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on the proposed rules during its April 2 meeting.
Proposed bag limits and Deer Hunting Zones
FOR THE 2008-09 SEASON:
Zone A -- Hunters could take only one deer during the 2008-2009 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, and Wood.
Zone B -- Hunters could take no more than two deer during the 2008-2009 seasons,
of which only one could be an antlered deer. 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, and Wyandot.
Zone C -- Hunters could take no more than three deer during the 2008-2009 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, and Washington.