By Dan Armitage, OCJ Outdoor Writer
Deer hunters looking for hunting spots this season should check out the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves’ offerings. The agency is holding special deer hunts in eight state conservation areas and nine scenic river corridors across Ohio during the 2024-25 hunting season. These locations are considered areas where deer populations pose a threat to native plant communities. The conservation area system protects some of the state’s rarest and most valuable ecosystems. Over-browsing, in which deer feed on leaves and plants, can negatively impact many sensitive habitats and has been linked to the increasing prevalence of non-native, invasive plant species. The division is offering both rifle and bow-and-arrow hunts this year.
Boch Hollow and Stage’s Pond Nature Preserves offer special gun hunts. Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve offers bow and arrow, gun, and muzzleloader hunting. The remaining hunts in Caesar Creek, Davey Woods, Goll Woods, Hueston Woods, and Lawrence Woods Nature Preserves are archery only.
Hunters must attend a mandatory meeting for each reservation they plan to hunt. After each meeting, hunters have the opportunity to purchase a $5 ticket to enter the reservation’s special hunt drawing. Hunters who wish to register for hunts at multiple locations must attend multiple meetings and purchase additional tickets. Registration forms will not be accepted by mail.
After the draw, successful entrants will be asked to stay for a pre-hunt briefing. Other special hunting requirements include:
• Hunters must have a valid 2024-2025 hunting license to purchase tickets.
• Names are drawn at random and those selected are assigned a specific time to hunt. For bow hunts, an orientation session is held immediately after the drawing.
• Hunters are allowed to hunt with a partner. The partner’s presence at the draw or orientation is not required.
• Hunters interested in hunting with rifles, muzzleloaders and bows and arrows on Lake Katharine must purchase separate raffle tickets for each event.
Some hunts this year will be “antlered deer only” hunts, while others will only allow antlered deer hunting after harvesting an antlerless deer. Harvesting helps control the deer population. Other special arrangements will be discussed at the orientation meetings following the draws. This year’s hunting locations and dates are as follows:
Boch Hollow (Hocking County) – Weapon
• Mandatory meeting: Saturday, August 24, 11:30 a.m.
• Meeting point: 7211 Bremen Rd., Logan, 43138
For more information, contact Conservation District Manager Levi Miller at (740) 380-8919 or [email protected].
Caesar Creek (Warren County) – Late Season Archery
• Mandatory meeting: Saturday, August 24, 12 noon
• Meeting point: Preserve parking lot, 4080 Corwin Rd. Oregonia 45054
For more information, contact Reserve Manager Eric Sagasser at (937) 418-8710 or [email protected]
Davey Woods (Champaign County) – Archery
• Mandatory meeting: Saturday, August 24, 4 p.m.
• Meeting point: Nature Preserve parking lot, 7661 Lonesome Rd., St. Paris
The Department of Natural Areas and Conservation Areas also offers special deer bow hunts at nine locations along the scenic Little Miami, Stillwater, and Big and Little Darby rivers. These locations provide excellent hunting conditions while reducing the impact of deer browsing on native plant life.
Hunters must attend a mandatory meeting for each Scenic Riverland Hunt they are interested in. At each meeting, hunters have the opportunity to purchase a $5 ticket to enter the special Scenic Riverland Hunt drawing. Hunters wishing to apply for hunts at multiple locations must attend multiple meetings and purchase multiple tickets. Mailed application forms are not permitted. Permits for the controlled hunts will be awarded in in-person drawings. Names will be randomly drawn and those selected will be allowed to choose a two-week hunting period. An orientation meeting will be held immediately following the drawing to explain the special provisions for the hunts. Successful applicants will be permitted to hunt with a partner; the partner does not need to attend the drawing or orientation meeting. Hunters must present a valid 2024-2025 hunting license to purchase tickets. If you are presenting a digital copy, please note that internet access may not be reliable at all drawing locations. Consider saving an electronic copy directly to your phone or bringing a paper copy with you.
Here are the hunting locations and drawing dates:
The meet and draw for the Stillwater River hunts will be held at the Barn at Stillwater Prairie, 9750 State Route 185 in Covington. The draw will be held on Thursday, August 15th at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will be available from 5:30 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.
• Abshire-Graves (Darke County) – This 22-acre site is located on the Stillwater River off State Route 185 in Versailles.
• Cool-Davis (Miami County) – This 20-acre site is located at the northeast corner of the State Route 185 bridge over the Stillwater River in Miami County.
The meeting and drawing for the Big and Little Darby Creek hunts will be held at the Plain City Youth Agriculture Building in Pastime Park at 370 N. Chillicothe Street in Plain City. The drawing will be held on Thursday, August 22nd at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased between 5:15 and 6:20 p.m.
• Terra Nova (Union County) – This 24-acre site is located on Big Darby Creek on North Lewisburg Road in North Lewisburg.
• Milford Center (Union County) – This 90-acre site is located on Big Darby Creek between Middleburg-Plain City Road and North Darby Coe Road, just southeast of Collins Road.
• Agnes Andreae and Little Darby Forrest Reservations (Madison County) — Both sites are located on Little Darby Creek. This hunt is conducted in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy and covers a total of 232 acres west of the village of West Jefferson on State Route 29.
The meet and drawing for the Little Miami River hunts will be held at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Caesar Creek Visitors Center, located at 4020 North Clarksville Road in Waynesville. The drawing will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 29. Tickets can be purchased between 5:15 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• Deerfield Gorge (Warren County) – This 136-acre site is located on the Little Miami River on King Avenue in Maineville.
• Caesar Creek (Warren County) – This 70-acre Caesar Creek site is located on the Little Miami River on County Road 30 (Middletown Road) in Waynesville.
• Hall’s Creek Little Miami River Access (Warren County) – This 37-acre Hall’s Creek site is located on the Little Miami River on Mason Morrow Millgrove Road in Morrow.
• Roxanna (Greene County) – This 53-acre site is located on the Little Miami River off US Route 42 in Spring Valley.
For more information on hunting seasons and regulations, call 800-WILDLIFE or visit wildohio.gov.
Natural resources officer candidates begin their training
Fourteen dedicated cadets have begun training to become the newest Natural Resources Officers of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Parks and Watercraft. Selected from a pool of 594 applicants, the newest cadets will undergo a rigorous five-month training program at the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Peace Officer Basic Training Academy. Upon successful completion, they will begin specialized field training that focuses on essential skills such as water rescue, ATV operation, boat navigation in confined spaces and natural resource law.
After graduating in January 2025, the cadets will be assigned to specific state parks. Here are the future Natural Resources Officers and their hometowns: David Asterino, Dayton; Dawson Bennett, Columbiana; Levi Bollen, New Brighton, Pennsylvania; Dakota Braun, Athens; Adrianne Cox, Nelsonville; William Daneker, Kent; Abigail Day, Sardinia; Eric Gaskell, Uniontown; Skyler Hayes, Little Hocking; Andrew Horan, Fairport, New York; Avery Langenderfer, Bucyrus; Kenton Nester, Rockbridge; Kyle Polack, Valley View, and Matthew Polcyn of Strongsville.
Natural resource officers play a critical role in overseeing Ohio’s state parks, forests, preserves and waterways. Their responsibilities include law enforcement, public service, education and public outreach.
Winning photos from State Parks
Buck Creek State Park is the setting for this year’s top photo in the Ohio State Parks Photo Contest. The top three spots were selected by a panel of ODNR staff, while park enthusiasts voted on additional winners in the public vote. The first-place photo, titled “Sunrise over the Reservoir,” shows a frosty sunrise at Buck Creek State Park, taken by Andrew Grimm of Urbana.
Second place goes to Stacia Waddle for her photo “Stairway to Heaven,” taken in Hocking Hills State Park. The image captures the ethereal light filtering through the trees. Waddle, from Columbus, takes photos with her phone as a hobby while hiking. She says, “The best camera is the one you have in your hand.”
“Staring Into the Sunset” by Tony Everhardt of Walbridge, Ohio, took third place. It captures the exact moment an owl sets its gaze on the sunset at Maumee Bay State Park. Everhardt takes hundreds of photos each week as a hobby, with a particular interest in the wildlife and nature in Ohio’s state parks.
People’s Choice award winners, whose photos received the most votes, include Ernest Barnhart of Kettering, Kody Beer of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, Krystin Evans of Greenwich, Lauren Grant of Senecaville and Michelle Rowland of Columbus.
