The two-day special youth hunting season concluded with 9,515 deer harvested on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19-20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Each fall, hunters 17 and younger take to the woods with a non hunting adult for a special weekend of deer gun hunting.

The top 10 counties for deer taken during Ohio’s youth season include: Tuscarawas (411); Coshocton (364); Muskingum (286); Holmes (277); Knox (272); Guernsey (250); Washington (247); Harrison (229); Licking (228); and Carroll (194).

The Division of Wildlife has issued 39,186 youth deer permits. Unused youth permits are also valid for all remaining Ohio deer hunting seasons.

Youth hunters checked 5,126 bucks, 3,461 does, and 928 button bucks. In 2021, hunters harvested 7,632 deer during the two-day youth gun season. The three-year average is 6,559 deer.

All of Ohio’s youth hunting opportunities are available to anyone who is 17 years old or younger during the season dates. Youth hunting seasons are also available for small game, wild turkey, and waterfowl. Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community Page for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops, and special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters.

Gun hunters of all ages can participate in the upcoming seven-day gun season, Nov. 28-Dec. 4. A bonus gun weekend will follow on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17-18; muzzleloader season will run from Jan. 7-10, 2023. Bowhunters can hunt until Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. All hunters, regardless of the implement, are required to wear hunter orange during the gun seasons. Find complete details in the 2022-23 hunting and trapping regulations.

Successful deer hunters can check their game using the HuntFish OH mobile app, available for free in the Android and Apple app stores. Users can also explore public hunting areas, purchase hunting licenses or deer permits, and so much more. Beyond the app, hunters can check game by visiting ohiogamecheck.com, calling 1-877-TAG-IT-OH (1-877-824-4864), visiting a license sales agent, or calling 1-866-703-1298 (landowner operator-assisted; fees apply).

• The ODNR Division of Wildlife has confirmed that three white-tailed deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease following the collection of 637 samples in the fall of 2022. During the 2022 deer hunting season, testing has been performed in the disease surveillance area of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties on hunter-harvested and road-killed deer, as well as through targeted sampling.

The three positive CWD cases confirmed this fall were all deer harvested by hunters. Two of the deer were confirmed in Wyandot County and one in Marion County. Two were harvested Oct. 8, and the third on Oct. 9. An early deer gun hunting season was held Oct. 8-10 in the disease surveillance area to limit the spread of CWD and monitor its prevalence. The Division of Wildlife is grateful to all hunters who have complied with testing requirements and submitted deer for sampling to help keep Ohio’s deer herd healthy.

Since the fall of 2020, 14 wild deer have tested positive for CWD, all in Marion and Wyandot counties. CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.

Within Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties, hunters are required to submit deer harvested during the seven-day gun season, Nov. 28-Dec. 4, for testing, and hunters can voluntarily submit deer for testing until the close of the deer archery season on Feb. 5, 2023. Sampling locations can be found at ohiodnr.gov/cwd. Outside of the disease surveillance area, hunters can have harvested deer tested by the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (614-728-6220).

The Division of Wildlife has extensively monitored and tested deer in the disease surveillance area since CWD was discovered in the wild in 2020. The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002. CWD has been detected in 30 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.

Until next time Good Hunting and Good Fishing!

https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2022/11/web1_Ken-Parrott-color-1.jpg
Harvest up from last year’s numbers

Water and Wings by Ken Parrott

Ken Parrott is an Agricultural Science teacher with Northmor High School.