Bow hunters take 32 deer from Quail Hollow
LAKE TWP. – Bow hunters who won a lottery to cull deer inside the Stark County-owned Quail Hollow Park have taken only a fraction of the park’s problematic deer.
Stark Parks Police Chief Justin Laps said that as of Dec. 9, 32 deer were killed as part of the program, which is aimed at reducing the deer population.
Hundreds still roam the 701-acre park.
“I still see a lot of deer, but so far (the program) has been successful. The numbers have been about what we suspected,” he said. “We suspect this is going to be a multi-year process.”
This was the first year the park was opened to deer hunting, but only to the select 45 Stark County residents who won a lottery to participate. They also had to hit a 10-inch target from 20 yards with either a compound bow or a crossbow to qualify. Laps said more than 300 people applied.
Laps expects that the program will continue annually.
Stark Parks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources launched the Quail Hollow Park Controlled Bow Hunting Program because the park is overrun with deer.
From Oct. 2 to Feb. 6, bow hunters are shooting deer in hopes of maintaining a healthy herd and stemming the destruction the animals do to the park and nearby properties.
Deer foraging for food have damaged fences and eaten away at area residents’ gardens. Hungry deer also have feasted on crops in area farm fields.
Officials are also concerned that, with so many deer and so few natural predators, starvation could become an issue over the winter, Laps said.
Wildlife officials contend that a healthy population accounts for anywhere between 15 and 28 deer per square mile. A Malone University study conducted in January showed the deer density in Quail Hollow — where hunting has not been permitted before — to be 212 to 360 deer per square mile.
No one is permitted to hunt on the property with a gun.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife announced recently that 70,413 deer were harvested this season during deer-gun week, an 8% increase over the previous year.
But that doesn’t include the number of deer killed by bow hunters at Quail Hollow, said Jamey Emmert, ODNR spokeswoman.
“We don’t track the harvest success of the program there,” she said.
The Quail Hollow program is specific to Stark Parks. The state assisted the county agency with the program.
Laps said that after the bow hunting program is completed in February, Stark Parks and the ODNR’S Wildlife Division will conduct an additional deer survey. The survey will involve evaluating the impact on the population “and determine what we need to do in the 2022-2023 to get the population down to a healthy carrying capacity,” he said.
Reach Lori at 330-580-8309 or lori.steineck@cantonrep.com.on Twitter: @lsteineckrep