Deer hunting changes revised after feedback

Division of Wildlife keeps youth season as is, adjusts extra days.

Administrators at the Ohio Division of Wildlife have always said they listen to what Joe Average Outdoorsman has to say. That was obviously the case after they made proposals back in February for the next deer season.

Following the series of open houses and an online comment period, the proposals changed ... and not just in a small way.

Here are the new proposed changes:

■ The youth deer-gun season is to remain in its current time frame of the third weekend in November. (The February proposals had it moving to October.)

■ The two extra days of gun hunting are Dec. 28-29, changed from Dec. 26-27. It was felt that having the deer-gun season the day after Christmas caused a conflict with family and travel plans.

■ The statewide muzzleloader season will be moved back to Jan. 9-12. The change provides extra time after the extra deer-gun days for deer to return to normal habits. The division said the new dates are still prior to the time most bucks start dropping their antlers.

One other new hunting season proposal has the fall wild turkey season opening on Oct. 10, two days earlier than the original proposal.

The Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on proposals at its next regularly scheduled meeting April 8. Visit wildohio.com for more information.

The Ohio Legislature passed a bill last week that should contribute to the cleanup of Lake Erie. The legislation prohibits the spreading of fertilizer and manure on frozen or saturated ground in the lake’s watershed.

“The Ohio House took an initial

Defeating algae:

step to address the problem of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie,” said Mike Shriberg of the National Wildlife Federation. “However, much work remains to be done to protect Ohio’s waterways, especially Lake Erie.

“The science is clear: phosphorus needs to be cut by at least 40 percent — and that level of reduction will not be achieved by this bill alone. If public officials in Ohio want to put an end to harmful algal blooms like the one last summer that left more than 400,000 people in Toledo without access to safe drinking water, then they must act swiftly to make this bill part of a larger suite of protections to curb farm runoff and other sources of phosphorus,” he added.

Reward offered:

The Ohio Division of Wildlife is asking the public for information about the fatal shooting of a bald eagle northeast of Eaton in Preble County. The incident occurred around Feb. 21.

A reward of $3,700 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspected poacher.

Bald and golden eagles are protected by the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Anyone with information regarding the eagle shooting should contact Brad Turner, the wildlife officer assigned to Preble County, at 937-3725639, ext. 5219 or call 1-800POACHER.