Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During an Ohio Division of Wildlife controlled dove hunt at a wildlife area, state wildlife officer Josh Elster, assigned to Pickaway County, contacted a subject sitting near a numbered stake. Officer Elster checked for the subject’s hunting license and controlled hunting permit. The subject did not have a permit to hunt…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In May, state wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, received information that a person was taking more than the daily bag limit of six saugeyes from the Great Miami River at Indian Lake. While on patrol a few days later, officer Smith found the suspect fishing in the same…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 On the opening day of early waterfowl hunting season, state wildlife officers Chad Grote and Tyler Eldred, assigned to Marion and Morrow counties, respectively, worked at Big Island Wildlife Area alongside wildlife law operations manager Josh Shields. They contacted multiple hunters and issued summonses for hunting teal before sunrise, hunting…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received information about discrepancies in a hunter’s information during the 2021-22 white-tailed deer hunting season. Officer Kiger issued citations for hunting without a deer permit, providing false information on a game check, and failure to game check and attach the confirmation…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, received a call from a landowner experiencing beaver damage on their property. Officer Coffman verified it was a beaver causing the damage and connected the landowner with a local trapper who was able to remove the nuisance animal. If you are…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Matt Teders, assigned to Madison County, received a call in the winter that a bald eagle had been captured in a trap. Officer Teders responded and observed an adult bald eagle with one leg and one wing captured in leghold traps. The landowner assisted officer Teders in…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In July, state wildlife officer Jade Heizer, assigned to Fairfield County, and wildlife officer supervisor Tony Zerkle received complaints about five coyote carcasses that had been dumped in a tributary of Clear Creek. While there is no closed season or bag limit on coyotes in Ohio, dumping and litter laws state…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 Over Memorial Day weekend, state wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, received information about two anglers keeping undersized saugeyes at Indian Lake. Indian Lake’s daily limit is six saugeyes with a minimum length of 15 inches. Officer Smith responded to the call and discovered the anglers had 16…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Antoinette Freet, assigned to Licking County, attended the Partnering Anthropology with Science and Technology (PAST) Foundation Minecraft: Girls Who Lead summer camp. The program provides girls the tools to reach their full potential to explore the world of STEM. Officer Freet spoke at the event about being…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Matt Teders, assigned to Madison County, received a report of an orphaned white-tailed deer fawn this spring. Officer Teders safely captured the fawn and coordinated with a wildlife rehabilitator to evaluate its condition. The fawn was healthy and alert. Officer Teders released the fawn back into the wild….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State Wildlife Officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, was patrolling Deer Creek Wildlife Area when he received a tip that two individuals were cast netting for non-forage fish out of Deer Creek. Officer Coffman was able to contact the individuals, who were found to have netted all the fish in…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 This spring, state wildlife officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, assisted at Deer Creek Wildlife Area with controlled burns on state-owned lands. Spring burns are a great way to manage warm season grass fields that are key habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Burning removes old grasses, and allows…
Division of Wildlife • Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the winter, state wildlife officer Matt Teders, assigned to Madison County, observed flashlights shining along an access lane while he was on night patrol at Deer Creek Wildlife Area. Officer Teders approached the area and found two individuals whose car was stuck in the snow. Officer Teders requested the…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the statewide white-tailed deer gun hunting season last year, state wildlife officer Josh Elster, assigned to Pickaway County, was contacted about a butchered deer carcass, pizza box, and other trash observed along a road. The pizza box had a receipt with personal information attached. Officer Elster checked the harvest records…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Chad Grote, assigned to Marion County, and wildlife officer supervisor Josh Shields attended the dedication of the Mallett Family Tract near Big Island Wildlife Area in April. The 415-acre tract was dedicated as public land for hunting, fishing, birding, and outdoor recreational opportunities. It was purchased in partnership…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Austin Levering, assigned to Knox County, received information that a suspect had failed to game check a harvested white-tailed deer. After talking with the suspect, the individual was found in violation of harvesting a buck without properly game checking the harvest. The suspect was issued a summons for…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the 2021-22 white-tailed deer hunting season, state wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received information regarding a deer violation. It was determined that the hunter purchased a hunting license after harvesting a deer. While talking to the hunter, officer Kiger explained the laws and requirements for legal hunting….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In February, state wildlife officer Maurice Irish, assigned to Delaware County, presented a two-hour course to Otterbein University students enrolled in the wildlife, fish, and wildlands science major. Topics covered included an overview of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, a wildlife officer’s authority and duties, as well as specific case studies….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In November, state wildlife officers Austin Levering and Tyler Eldred, assigned to Knox and Morrow counties respectively, investigated a hunting without permission complaint reported by a landowner. The landowner’s trail camera had captured images of several individuals dragging a white-tailed buck deer at approximately midnight. Officers Levering and Eldred contacted the…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 A wildlife officer performs many duties, including interacting with future leaders in natural resources and agriculture. State wildlife officer Brian Motsinger, assigned to Union County, recently participated in a FFA interview panel for next year’s officers. Officer Motsinger was very impressed with the students, especially their knowledge and ability to lead….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, was dispatched to a call in Champaign County regarding a hawk being stuck in the grille of a car on Thanksgiving morning. Officer Smith responded and determined it was a red-tailed hawk and still alive. Officer Smith used a golf club to…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Chad Grote, assigned to Marion County, recently attended an annual youth event conducted by the Waldo Sportsman’s Club. Many families attended, and youth and adults alike were able to try many different disciplines of shooting sports. Some of the younger attendees greeted officer Grote, who they remembered from…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received information that a suspect was hunting white-tailed deer without a license and permit. Officer Kiger contacted the individual, who admitted to purchasing a deer permit after harvesting a deer, but stated he had a hunting license. Officer Kiger and the individual…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 On the opening weekend of early waterfowl hunting season, state wildlife officers Adam Smith and Houston Wireman, assigned to Logan and Champaign counties respectively, were contacting waterfowl hunters on Indian Lake when they observed a small vessel heading into a nearby channel with two individuals on board. The individual on the…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 Last winter, state wildlife officers Tyler Eldred and Chad Grote, assigned to Morrow and Marion counties respectively, received several contacts from the public regarding a coyote hunt. One caller noticed illegal activity on social media. An investigation revealed that three individuals had pursued and killed a coyote with the aid of…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In October, State wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, attended a tree planting event at Sawmill Wetlands Education Area. The event was organized by the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, an Ohio Division of Wildlife partner. The trees were purchased by Accenture, and Del-Co Water helped transport the…
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