Ohio Mixed Bag: Tiffin man, six others convicted in multi-year poaching investigation

Tiffin, Ohio — Wildlife officers in northwest Ohio recently concluded a multi-year poaching case against Owen Schumm of Tiffin in Seneca County.

The case began with a TIP call to Seneca County Wildlife Officer Brock Williamson, according to the ODNR Division of Wildlife. During the course of the investigation, other suspects were also found in violation of wildlife laws.

According to the Division of Wildlife, Schumm was convicted of killing geese with a rifle, killing non-game birds (killdeer, woodpecker), possession of untagged deer parts, and taking more than the daily limit of doves.

Schumm was sentenced to 240 days in jail, all suspended, and received a two-year license revocation along with hefty fines, court costs, and restitution.

In all, seven individuals were convicted on 15 state poaching charges and one federal charge, resulting in $9,122 in fines, court costs, and restitution.

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Dawes Arboretum Adding New Space

Newark, Ohio — The Dawes Arboretum broke ground on its $17 million Welcome Center on Aug. 21. The brand-new approximately 29,000-square-foot Welcome Center will centralize accessibility and sustainability. It will serve as a greeting hub and point of information for The Arboretum’s visitors, members, and donors.

New amenities include a cafe, indoor and outdoor seating areas, a larger gift shop, exhibit spaces, and triple the number of restrooms.

This project was fully funded by The Arboretum’s endowment, trustees, and staff.

In the new Welcome Center, visitors will be able to find ADA-accessible bathrooms, an adult changing station, ramps, an accessible reception counter, and a scenic outdoor deck accessible for all. The designer of this project is MA Design.

Lake Erie’s Algal Bloom Spreads Across 480 Square Miles

Sandusky, Ohio — Western Lake Erie’s algal bloom has spread across 480 square miles, its largest footprint of the summer, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) latest bulletin.

That’s up from roughly 380 square miles a week earlier. The bloom stretches from Stony Point, Michigan, down past Marblehead and out toward the Lake Erie islands.

NOAA warns that toxins concentrate in the green scum that collects along shorelines and tells people to keep themselves and their pets out of it.

Separately, a Bowling Green State University researcher found bloom toxins showing up in air samples, not just in the water.

Federal forecasters had called for a moderate season, pegging this year’s bloom at 3.5 on a severity scale where anything above 5 counts as severe.

Second Amendment Foundation Marks Anniversary Of 52 Years

Bellevue, Wash. — Aug. 26 marked exactly 52 years of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) leading the charge in defending, securing, and restoring the constitutional rights of Americans, according to a news release from the organization.

Founded in 1974 by Alan M. Gottlieb, who now serves as the organization’s executive vice president, SAF remains the leader of legal action aimed at dismantling infringements of the Second Amendment.

“For the past 52 years, SAF’s goal has remained unchanged – to ensure Americans could freely exercise their Second Amendment rights without fear,” Gottlieb said. “Lawmakers across the United States, however, have done their best to determine what constitutional rights citizens can, and cannot, exercise. That is absolutely not how the Constitution works, and it’s the reason we fight these injustices and infringements in courtrooms on a daily basis.”

For more than five decades, SAF has joined forces with individuals, companies, and other liberty-based organizations in the fight to ensure our right to keep and bear arms remains for generations. Since its founding, SAF has been instrumental in landmark legal victories, including the monumental McDonald v. City of Chicago Supreme Court decision, which flung open courtroom doors around the nation by applying the demands of the Second Amendment to the states as well as to the federal government. No longer could state governments violate the rights of their citizens any more than the federal government could. The overwhelming majority of present-day Second Amendment litigation is against state and municipal actors and is made possible by the McDonald decision.

For more information visit SAF.org.

WTU Donates For Shooting Sports Month

Warren, Ohio — Whitetails Unlimited announced its involvement in National Shooting Sports Month, in partnership with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Whitetails Unlimited continues to be a strong advocate for the preservation of the shooting sports and granted $533,741.97 to shooting sports organizations in the past fiscal year. The grants help fund NASP, USA Clay Target, S3DA, and many other teams around the country, as well as many other shooting sports organizations.

Created to encourage participation in shooting sports and emphasize firearms safety, National Shooting Sports Month took place throughout the month of August.