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…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 Last spring, state wildlife officer Tony Zerkle, assigned to Fairfield County, received a Turn In a Poacher (TIP) report of a possible wild turkey hunting violation. The caller advised he heard a gunshot and then saw a man run into his neighbor’s field, grab a turkey, and run back into the…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the fall, state wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, received a call from a concerned landowner regarding large amounts of deer parts that were dumped from a bridge into a creek near the Logan and Auglaize county line. This was the second year that animal parts had been…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In August, state wildlife officer Austin Levering, assigned to Knox County, received information that one of several mallard ducklings at Apple Valley Lake had fishing line wrapped around its leg and it could not walk or move effectively. Officer Levering arrived and discovered a large group of mallard ducks behind a…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In March, state wildlife officer Maurice Irish, assigned to Delaware County, received a call about an injured bald eagle. After confirming the injury, he safely captured the bird and transported it to the Ohio Wildlife Center where it was treated for its injuries. The eagle was released in June at Olentangy…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In August, wildlife officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, taught a hunter education course in Washington Court House. The local Masonic Lodge provided the location, snacks, and lunch for the students. Thirteen students made up the class of future conservationists. All students passed the course with excitement for the coming…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officers from central Ohio, including Chad Grote, Jade Heizer, and Brian Motsinger, along with outdoor skills specialist Jordan Phillips, recently attended ODNR Night at Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers, a minor league baseball team. Ohio Division of Wildlife staff helped teach kids how to shoot archery at…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Tony Zerkle, assigned to Fairfield County, was off duty and pumping gas when he observed a truck pulling a trailer that was missing a wheel and dragging on the axle. Officer Zerkle followed the drag marks of the trailer to see how far the driver had gone. After…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In May, state wildlife officer Antoinette Jolliff, assigned to Licking County, received a call from the Heath Police Department stating that a woman was having issues with an unknown bird in her garage. Officer Jolliff contacted the woman and learned that a mourning dove had built a nest on top of…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In June, state wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received a call about a possible injured peregrine falcon in downtown Columbus. Falcons have nested in the area for several years, and this year’s young birds recently fledged. This pair is popular and well-known by the Columbus downtown community. Three…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the 2020 white-tailed deer archery hunting season, state wildlife officer Maurice Irish, assigned to Delaware County, received a TIP call through the 1-800-POACHER (1-800-762-2437) line regarding a man who reportedly hunted deer without a valid hunting license or deer permit. It was provided that the man had killed a deer,…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In April, state wildlife officer Chad Grote, assigned to Marion County, received a call from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. A concerned citizen reported an injured bald eagle on the property that appeared to have trouble flying. Officer Grote and state wildlife officer Maurice Irish, assigned to Delaware County, responded and…
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