Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District Two
State Wildlife Officer Ethan Bingham, assigned to Williams County, received a call from the Williams County Sheriff’s Office about a common loon in a yard. Officer Bingham captured the loon, which appeared to be healthy and unharmed. Loons need a large body of water to take off and fly. The loon was transported to Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, where it was released on a lake.
State Wildlife Officer Eric VonAlmen, assigned to Wood County, observed four individuals fishing below the dam at Mary Jane Thurston State Park. After fishing, the anglers left behind the trash they had accumulated as they prepared to leave. Two individuals placed plastic bait containers into the river, and a trash bag was thrown into the weeds. All four suspects received a summons for stream litter, and each paid a $150 fine.
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Central Ohio – Wildlife District One
State Wildlife Officers Mark Williams and Chad Grote, assigned to Franklin County and Marion County, respectively, investigated a suspicious white-tailed deer harvest report from the 2023-24 hunting season. The officers found that one person had harvested four deer, which is more than the county bag limit of three deer. A second individual had tagged one of the deer. The latter was issued a summons for using a permit on a deer harvested by another person, and the former was charged for harvesting more than the bag limit. They were each fined $160 and paid $115 in court costs.
State Wildlife Officer Brian Motsinger, assigned to Union County, attended a fishing event for families. Officer Motsinger explained the importance of buying a fishing license and how the money generated from licenses goes back into the sport. He also talked about fishing as a family hobby and gave a brief lesson in knot tying.
Northeast Ohio – Wildlife District Three
In December 2023, State Wildlife Officer Zach Hillman, assigned to Summit County, contacted a group of duck hunters along the Cleveland shoreline who had successfully harvested seven mallards. The Lake Erie Nature and Science Center needed mallard duck wings to rehabilitate wild mallards that had suffered flight feather damage. Through a process called feather imping, damaged feathers are replaced with healthy ones from donor duck wings. Officer Hillman explained the situation to the group of hunters, who donated wings from the ducks they had harvested. Officer Hillman delivered the wings to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, where they will be used to help mallards with wing damage return to the wild.
State Wildlife Officer Matt Madgar, assigned to Geauga County, received information regarding a hunter who harvested several white-tailed deer before purchasing a deer permit. Officer Madgar found that over a period of three years the individual only purchased deer permits after a harvest. The hunter was found guilty in Geauga County Court of hunting without obtaining the proper permit, was ordered to pay $1,157 in fines, and had hunting privileges revoked for one year. A buck mount and venison were forfeited.
Southeast Ohio – Wildlife District Four
State Wildlife Officer Jerrod Allison, assigned to Coshocton County, received several complaints of people driving in unauthorized areas of Woodbury Wildlife Area and damaging gates. In March, Officer Allison obtained pictures and videos of an individual taking a cable gate apart and driving into an unauthorized area. The suspect was identified and issued a summons for driving in an unauthorized area. The suspect paid $175 in fines.
In June, State Wildlife Officer Scot Gardner, assigned to Washington County, received nearly 20 black bear reports in three days. Officer Gardner confirmed that there were at least two bears, though many of the reports were likely of the same bear in the Vincent area. Officer Gardner talked to area residents and advised them to leave the bear alone and give it space to safely travel through the area. Most bears seen in Ohio are young males, which can travel great distances in search of new habitat. In the absence of a resident female, transient male bears are not likely to remain in an area for an extended time.
Southwest Ohio – Wildlife District Five
State Wildlife Officer Mathew Bourne, assigned to Clark County, recently handled a call from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. A deer ran into the sallyport at the jail while the doors were closing. Officer Bourne successfully captured the deer and released it in a safer location.
State Wildlife Officer Mathew Bourne, assigned to Clark County, received a complaint that an individual was digging ginseng without landowner permission in Highland County. Officer Bourne, along with State Wildlife Officer Gus Kiebel, assigned to Adams County, responded to the property and located a vehicle and two suspects. The officers contacted the individuals, who were in possession of a bag of ginseng which had been dug on the landowner’s property without permission. Two digging tools and 152 ginseng roots were seized from the individuals. Both individuals were found guilty in Hillsboro Municipal Court, where they were ordered to pay $500 in fines and $271 in court costs. The ginseng was forfeited and will be returned to the landowner.
