Central Ohio – Wildlife District Oned1
During the 2024 white-tailed deer gun hunting season, State Wildlife Officer Nick Oliver, assigned to Champaign County, contacted a hunter who was not wearing the required hunter orange apparel. The hunter was issued a summons for not wearing a vest, coat, jacket, or coveralls that are either solid hunter orange or camouflage hunter orange.
In November 2024, State Wildlife Officer Brian Motsinger, assigned to Union County, received a call about a possible dead bobcat on U.S. Route 33. He responded to the call, confirmed a female bobcat had likely been hit by a vehicle, and collected the animal for proper disposal. Officer Motsinger maintains a good relationship with the Marysville High School Agricultural Department. Officer Motsinger showed the carcass to the school’s wildlife and fisheries class for a day as an educational tool before disposing of the bobcat’s carcass. Officer Motsinger received positive feedback from parents, teachers, school administrators, students, and strangers following the unique educational opportunity.
Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District Two
State Wildlife Officer Matt D. Smith, assigned to Huron County, contacted three squirrel hunters carrying rifles on Willard Wildlife Area. Soon after the hunters left, Officer Smith found a white-tailed deer nearby that had been harvested with a small caliber rifle. He contacted State Wildlife Officer Zach Hillman, assigned to Summit County, for assistance. Officer Hillman contacted the hunters and determined they had unlawfully taken the deer. Five summonses were issued to the group, and they were ordered to pay $1,835 in fines and court costs. The rifle and deer were forfeited, and all three hunters received a one-year suspension of their hunting privileges.
State Wildlife Officer Ryan Burke, assigned to Hancock County, received a call from an individual who found what they believed to be an injured wild goose in their yard. Officer Burke responded and discovered the bird was a domestic goose that was uninjured but had wandered away from its home. Officer Burke located the owner and returned the domestic goose to its home.
Northeast Ohio – Wildlife District Three
State Wildlife Officers Craig Porter, assigned to Jefferson County, and Nick Turner, assigned to Harrison County, responded to a report of an individual who had unlawfully harvested a white-tailed deer. Officers Porter and Turner determined the suspect had harvested an antlered deer at night with an unlawful implement. The deer and firearm were seized, and the subject was issued summonses for hunting outside of legal hours and using an unlawful weapon to harvest a deer. The individual was found guilty in Jefferson County Municipal Court and paid $445 in fines and court costs.
Wildlife officers from northeast Ohio participated in the 2025 Cleveland Boat Show. Officers cooked Lake Erie walleye samples for attendees at the Wild Ohio Harvest mobile kitchen. Boat enthusiasts enjoyed walleye tacos and walleye cakes grilled to perfection! The officers also shared yellow perch and walleye hatch results with guests as well as fishing resources for new anglers.
Southeast Ohio – Wildlife District Four
In November 2024, State Wildlife Officer Taylor Combs, assigned to Guernsey County, contacted two out-of-state hunters on Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area. The nonresident hunters had resident hunting licenses and deer permits and had driven a vehicle in a restricted area. Both individuals received summonses for purchasing resident hunting licenses by false affidavit, and the driver received a summons for driving in a nondesignated area. The driver was sentenced to 10 days in jail and ordered to pay $75 in court costs. The second individual was ordered to pay $325 in fines and court costs and lost hunting privileges in Ohio for two years.
In November 2024, State Wildlife Officer Anthony Lemle, assigned to Noble County, was notified of an unlawful trash dump. Trash had been thrown into a creek along a roadway. Officer Lemle identified a suspect, who was found guilty of stream litter in Noble County Court. The individual was ordered to clean up the trash, pay $290 in fines and court costs, and complete 25 hours of community service.
Southwest Ohio – Wildlife District Five
State Wildlife Officers Matt Roberts, assigned to Highland County, and Isaiah Gifford, assigned to Clinton County, along with Law Investigations Manager Ryan Garrison, recently recorded a podcast with Warden’s Watch. On the podcast, the officers discussed a prominent white-tailed deer poaching case that concluded recently. In that case, a subject was sentenced to pay $35,071.73 in restitution for an unlawfully harvested buck, the largest restitution value in Ohio’s history for a single white-tailed deer. The defendant was ordered to pay an additional $4,625 for a second buck taken unlawfully during the 2023 hunting season.
State Wildlife Officers Lucas Wildman, assigned to Clermont County, and Nick Oliver, assigned to Champaign County, attended the Greater Cincinnati Fly Fishing Show. This annual event promotes the sport of fly fishing for exhibitors, fly anglers, and the public. Fly tying and casting opportunities were available as well as vendors supplying fly fishing equipment. The officers spoke with the show’s guests and highlighted some of Ohio’s trout and steelhead fishing locations and answered questions about fishing rules and license information. The event, located in Loveland, drew approximately 1,000 attendees.
