Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, responded to a call of a Cooper’s hawk that was trapped inside the local TSC store. Officer Smith called a wildlife rehabilitator to assist him with capturing the bird. Store management had closed the store to protect their customers. Officer Smith and…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Jeff Tipton, assigned to Champaign County, patrols a portion of the Mad River, which is a popular trout fishing stream in Ohio. Officer Tipton meets people from all over the state, and some from out of state, who come to fish for trout. Officer Tipton also enjoys fishing…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 With the changing of the seasons and white-tailed deer moving more, state wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received a call about a young deer stuck in a wrought iron fence. The deer was startled and ran into the fence, where it got stuck between the bars. The Delaware…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the fall of 2019, state wildlife officer Tyler Eldred, assigned to Morrow County, received a complaint regarding two partially processed deer discarded along a county road. Officer Eldred responded and observed two deer that were shot with a rifle. While looking over the two animals, evidence was discovered that suggested…
DISTRICT 1 CO Doug Hermanson received sentencing information on a subject who was found to have shot an over-limit of bucks during the 2019 firearm deer season. The subject was ordered to pay a reimbursement of $2,000 and his hunting privileges were revoked for the remainder of 2020 and the following three seasons. COs Jeffrey Dell and Shannon Kritz patrolled…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Tony Zerkle, assigned to Fairfield County, received a call from a resident stating she observed a young raccoon in her yard with its head stuck in a can. The caller advised the raccoon ended up in a culvert under her driveway, and Fairfield County sheriff’s deputies were called…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the month of June, state wildlife officers worked projects at the Indian Lake spillway in Logan County after receiving complaints of people taking game fish, particularly bluegills, with cast nets. The officers issued 11 summonses during the projects, which resulted in $2,200 in fines and courts costs being paid. The…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Tony Zerkle, assigned to Fairfield County, recently teamed up with local members of Back Country Hunters and Anglers to clean up trash and maintain trails at Greenfield Lake Wildlife Area near Lancaster. Unfortunately, Ohio Division of Wildlife staff spend much of their time pursuing litter violations and cleaning…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the spring wild turkey hunting season, state wildlife officer Austin Levering, assigned to Knox County, responded to a potential hunting without permission complaint. Officer Levering arrived on scene and discovered wild turkey feathers and fresh boot tracks in the field. Upon further investigation, officer Levering discovered the adjacent property owner…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 While on patrol one night in November 2019, state wildlife officer Maurice Irish, assigned to Delaware County, observed a large buck cross the road in front of his patrol vehicle into a harvested corn field. A young buck and several does were also visible near the road. While officer Irish conducted…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the 2019-2020 deer hunting season, state wildlife officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, received a complaint about a deer that was caught in a snare. The deer was released unharmed. Further investigation found several untagged snares, and a dead deer in one snare. The snares went unchecked for a…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the deer gun season, state wildlife officer Matt Teders and state wildlife investigator Chris Rice were on patrol in Madison County. A group of hunters were observed exiting a woodlot. The officers contacted the group to check for license and bag limit compliance. Officer Teders recognized one of the individuals…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the deer gun season, state wildlife officer Josh Elster, assigned to Pickaway County, was contacted regarding a possible deer hunting violation. Two subjects were observed walking across a field carrying guns, and only one subject was wearing the required hunter orange. Officer Elster arrived and observed the subjects walking out…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 While on boat patrol at Indian Lake, state wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, observed an angler fishing from a golf cart that was backed up to the water’s edge. It was discovered that this 17-year-old angler was fishing without a license and did not have a valid driver’s…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 In February, state wildlife officer Chad Grote followed up on a complaint of geese dumped on private property in Marion County. The geese were dumped in a field just off the side of a road. Officer Grote spoke to a waterfowl hunter who lived across the road from the dumped geese….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Brad Kiger was on patrol in Franklin County when he observed a subject walking through a field during white-tailed deer muzzleloader hunting season wearing a hunter orange hat but not the required hunter orange vest. The hunter walked into the woods and sat down by a tree. Officer…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 During the fall of 2019, state wildlife officer John Coffman, assigned to Fayette County, contacted a group of three men all wearing hunter orange vests and walking along a fence line. Two men were carrying shotguns. The group was hunting rabbits and had harvested a couple. The third man said he…
Division of Wildlife Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District 2 During teal hunting season, state wildlife officer Reid Van Cleve, assigned to Ottawa County, was working at Metzger Marsh in Lucas County. Officer Van Cleve observed two hunters shoot at Canada geese during the closed season. When the two men were walking out of the marsh, officer Van Cleve contacted them…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Matt Teders, assigned to Madison County, recently participated in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the 120th consecutive year for the survey. The area where officer Teders participated in the count focused on the Little and Big Darby creek corridors. Officer Teders used his local knowledge to help the…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Adam Smith, assigned to Logan County, was on patrol and observed a subject taking several game fish with a cast net below the spillway at Indian Lake. Officer Smith contacted the individual and issued him a summons for the violation. The fish were all returned to the river…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 On the opening day of 2019 white-tailed deer gun season, state wildlife officer Chad Grote received a complaint from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office about individuals using vehicles to hunt deer. The sheriff’s office sent deputy D.J. Barron to the call. Officer Grote and state wildlife officer Nathan West also responded….
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Brad Kiger, assigned to Franklin County, received a call through the 1-800-POACHER (1-800-762-2437) line stating that a subject in Columbus had a dead deer in his yard. The caller went on to say that deer parts were scattered in the yard and along the curb. Officer Kiger stopped…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Jeff Tipton received multiple complaints about someone using a spotlight at night in Champaign County. Many of the nearby residences were concerned about poaching activity. In Ohio, it is unlawful to cast the rays of an artificial light into a field or woods for the purpose of locating…
Division of Wildlife Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District 2 In September, state wildlife officer Michele Butler, assigned to Erie County, received a call from a squirrel hunter at Resthaven Wildlife Area. The caller believed that someone was attempting to bait deer for the upcoming archery season. Officer Butler went to the location of the reported bait pile and found an…
Division of Wildlife Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District 2 On the opening day of teal hunting season, state wildlife officer Reid VanCleve, assigned to Ottawa County, was working at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area. Officer VanCleve observed two hunters in the marsh. As a wood duck flew over, one of the hunters shot and killed the duck. Wood ducks are not…
Division of Wildlife Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1 State wildlife officer Josh Elster, assigned to Pickaway County, was contacted by Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to assist with a traffic stop. Troopers informed officer Elster they had stopped a vehicle and discovered a deer head underneath marijuana plants in the trunk. The driver of the vehicle stated they were…
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