Central Ohio – Wildlife District One
State Wildlife Officer Austin Levering, assigned to Knox County, received a complaint of a person raccoon hunting on private property without permission. Officer Levering contacted the hunter, and further investigation revealed that the hunter entered several other private properties without written permission. The subject was issued a summons for hunting without permission. The subject was ordered to pay $240 in fines and court costs at Mt. Vernon Municipal Court.
State Wildlife Officer Tyler Eldred, assigned to Morrow County, located a vehicle at Delaware Wildlife Area that matched a complaint regarding the use of unauthorized open fires for burning trash. Officer Eldred contacted the suspect and discovered an open fire burning debris in use. A summons was issued for building or using an open fire on land owned by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The suspect was found guilty in Marion Municipal Court and paid $238 in fines and court costs, received 30 days in jail suspended, and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District Two
State Wildlife Officer Matt D. Smith, assigned to Huron County, received information regarding a suspicious white-tailed deer harvest. Officer Smith determined that a hunter had harvested two antlered deer and game-checked the second buck under a second individual’s name. Officer Smith issued the suspect summonses for harvesting more than one antlered deer and taking or possessing a deer unlawfully. The suspect was found guilty in Norwalk Municipal Court, paid $421, and received a one-year hunting privileges suspension. Two years of nonreporting probation and 20 days jail time suspended were also issued. The venison was forfeited to the Ohio Division of Wildlife and will be donated to food banks around Huron County.
State Wildlife Officer Michele Butler, assigned to Erie County, was informed about a white-tailed deer that appeared to be injured in the middle of a field during a snowstorm. Officer Butler responded and approached the adult doe, which didn’t appear to be injured. Instead, there was a slick layer of ice under the snow that caused the deer to keep falling. Officer Butler used a rope to pull the deer off the ice and onto nearby grass. The deer stood up and ran away unharmed.
Northeast Ohio – Wildlife District Three
State Wildlife Officer Scott Traver, assigned to Stark County, received a request to assist Muskingum Watershed Conservation District’s Atwood Ranger Specialist, Jimmy LeMonte, with a wildlife violation. Ranger LeMonte informed Officer Traver that a harvested white-tailed deer had been left unattended and without a tag on MWCD property. Officer Traver arrived at the location and identified a party of eight individuals hunting in the area. Officer Traver located a suspect and determined a permit was not attached to the deer that was left unattended as required by law. The suspect was issued a summons for failure to tag and paid fines and court costs of $225 for the violation.
State Wildlife Officer Michael Greer, assigned to Cuyahoga County, was contacted after a juvenile bald eagle, unable to fly, was found in a backyard near Euclid Creek Reservation. Officer Greer safely captured the young eagle and transported it to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center for evaluation. A day later, another juvenile eagle was rescued nearby. It was determined that the eagles originated from a nest which had blown down after a windstorm, and the site was abandoned by the parent eagles. The Lake Erie Nature and Science Center provided immediate care and evaluation to both raptors, then transported them to Back to the Wild wildlife rehabilitator in Castalia. The two young eagles were successfully fostered by resident eagles and released into the wild.
Southeast Ohio – Wildlife District Four
In the summer of 2024, State Wildlife Officer Ryan Donnelly, assigned to Athens County, and State Wildlife Officer Lucas Wildman, assigned at-large in southeast Ohio, contacted two anglers fishing from the dock at Penrod Lake in Waterloo Wildlife Area. Officer Wildman contacted the two people to check for fishing licenses and discovered that neither individual had a fishing license. They were each issued a summons for fishing without a valid license and paid $190 in fines and court costs.
Southwest Ohio – Wildlife District Five
State Wildlife Officer Brad Buening, assigned to Mercer County, recently spoke to 250 students at Jackson Center Elementary School. Officer Buening spoke with the students about Ohio’s native wildlife and answered questions.
State Wildlife Officer Isaiah Gifford, assigned to Clinton County, and Law Operations Manager Eric Lamb observed an individual fishing with young children. As the anglers prepared to leave, Officer Gifford and Officer Lamb discovered the individual had improperly discarded water bottles, a can, and food wrappers near the lake. Officer Gifford issued a summons for litter to the suspect. The individual was found guilty of the offense and paid a $75 fine and $170 in court costs.
