MOUNT VERNON — Knox County is in the state’s breadbasket when it comes to white-tail deer. The deer-gun season, which ended Sunday, reaffirmed that.
Of the 116,798 deer killed, 3,068 were taken in the county. That total is good for ninth statewide. Tuscarawas County led the state with 5,862 killed; Harrison County checked in at 4,136; Coshocton County registered 4,043 kills; Guernsey County was fourth at 4,017; and rounding out the top 5 was Washington County at 3,753. Licking County checked in sixth with 3,597 deer taken; Holmes County was seventh at 3,138; Athens County had 3,068 deer killed for eighth; and Jefferson County was 10th at 2,840 deer killed.
“We have the perfect mix of agriculture and habitat,” Knox County Wildlife Officer Mike Miller said. “When you get into southeast Ohio, it is mostly woods and not as much agriculture. The counties east of here have the mixture of habitat and agriculture it takes, as well as the population that goes along with it. It makes for a good situation.”
While the total kill statewide was up over 13,000, in Knox County, hunters killed more than a thousand more in the same time span than in 2007.
“That number should actually be a little bit more, but with it being up 1,000 over the same time period last year, it is a good thing,” said Knox County Wildlife Officer Mike Miller. “The Division (of Wildlife) would like to see the herd in the county reduced because we are 60 percent over our goal. We have quite a few agricultural crop damage complaints from property owners, so this is definitely a good thing. The increase is probably due to the use of the antlerless deer tags hunters could purchase. It was a good week for hunting. Except the first day when it was a little cold and wet, it was a good week.”
Despite the totals being up this season, Miller said the complaints were down. Most complaints were for trespassing.
“If you look back, say, eight years ago, I would usually have 18 or 20 trespassing calls alone from the sheriff’s office on the opening day of deer season,” said Miller. “This year on opening day, I had six calls from the sheriff’s office. Some of that drop is due to the fact that the trespassing penalty has increased. Five or six years ago, it went from a minor misdemeanor to an M3 for your first incident. Also, the dynamics of deer hunters have changed because we have more opportunities. That extra two-day weekend has really changed when people are hunting. They have time now. We also have seven days for deer-gun season and the archery season expanded about the same time. Another factor is that now you can kill six deer instead of one or two.
“The whole week I only had two complaints of road hunting. Other than that, trespassing was the main complaint. I had a few complaints of people hunting after hours. Other than that, the rest were common violations — no blaze orange and not having their shotguns plugged.”
Hunters have a few more opportunities to bag a deer. The extra two-day deer-gun season will be held Dec. 20 and 21, and then muzzleloader season run Dec. 27 through 30. Also, archery season continues through Feb. 1.
“If (the rest of the season) holds true to normal, we should harvest between another 450 to 500 deer in those two extra days, and then another 420 or so during the week-long muzzleloading season after Christmas,” said Miller. “If the weather stays favorable and people are able to get out and go, we should see about another 1,000 deer taken. That would be a good thing.”
WATERFOWL SEASON TAKING FLIGHT: Several Geese and Migratory Bird seasons are hitting their stride. Hunters should be aware of a few things before heading out.
“The waterfowl season is getting ready to begin again, and I have had a lot of questions about the boundaries here in the county, the split between the North Zone and South Zone,” said Miller. “Basically, from Ohio 95 to Ohio 13 to Ohio 3 North is the boundary line. Everything north of that line is in the North Zone and everything south is in the South Zone. If you’re hunting waterfowl, you need to pick up a copy of the migratory bird regulations for the 2008-09 season and pay attention to the season dates.
“For the North Zone, ducks come into season Dec. 20 through Dec. 28. In the South Zone, the season is Dec. 6 through Jan. 18. You’ve got quite a big difference, so you’ve got to watch those dates and know what side of the road you are hunting on, basically.
“For geese, in the North Zone, the season runs Dec. 17 to Jan. 11, and in the south Zone, it runs Dec. 6 through Jan. 25,” continued Miller. “For scaup, there are special seasons. In the North Zone from Dec. 20 to 28, there is a bag limit of one. In the South Zone from Dec. 6 to 25, you can have two, and then Dec. 26 to Jan. 18, you can only have one. Hunters really need to pay attention while hunting waterfowl.”
FINDING THE PERFECT GIFT: Still looking for Christmas gift ideas? The Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Wildlife have several free or low cost options for the hunters and outdoorsman on your list.
“With Christmas coming up, the Division (of Wildlife) has some nice publications that people can get for free,” Miller said. “They are on dragonflies, moths and butterflies, reptiles and amphibians, also on mammals, and also on birds of prey. We also have some cds available that have bird sounds, which is great for people wanting to learn birds for identification. We have those for almost all of the species in the state of Ohio. Also, the Ohio Biological Survey has some excellent gifts also.
“If you’re looking for some stocking stuffers or free gifts, you can check into those on the Division of Wildlife web site (www.wildohio.com) or call 1-800-WILDLIFE and get a copy of our publication list. Those are some pretty good gift ideas that are free and beneficial if you are interested in that kind of stuff.”
Q: There are signs on the gates at Foundation Park that state “Live animal traps in use.” What type of animals are being trapped, and who is trapping them? — Richard DeGryse, Mount Vernon
“The city has had problems with beavers,” said Miller. “The Knox County Career Center planted a lot of new trees out there and the city has already lost a few to the beavers. The city is doing some trapping to try and catch some of the beavers. They talked to me about three weeks ago about it. ... There is nothing to be concerned about. The city didn’t even need to put signs up to warn anybody, but they did.
“The thing that people need to remember is that it is against the law to tamper with the traps. If you’re not happy that the city is trapping beavers, you cannot touch any of those traps. If you do, you could be prosecuted.”
If you have a question you would like Mike Miller to answer, submit it to . Questions are answered on a first come, first serve basis.
