This fall, the woods and meadows in the Lou Campbell State Nature Preserve won’t protect deer from hunters.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is hosting a lottery for bow and arrow hunters to win two weeks to hunt deer in 23 nature preserves across the state to curb excessive deer populations, said Gary Obermiller, north regional director for the division of natural areas and preserves. Sept. 26 will sound off the second year that ODNR has awarded hunters the right to hunt at Lou Campbell.

“Normally, hunting is not allowed in the nature preserve system, but we know we have a high number of deer that hang out in these preserves because there is no pressure on them,” Obermiller said.

To determine if an area has too large of a deer population, ODNR conducts research by monitoring plant devastation, the number of reported deer-vehicle collisions and complaints by residents.

“It is important that everything is in balance, although what constitutes overpopulation is something less than scientific,” said Scott Carpenter, public relations director for Toledo Metroparks. “The magic number really varies depending on the location you’re talking about. It comes down to the tolerance level of people who live near a deer habitat.”

Obermiller said that at the Lou Campbell preserve, ODNR is observing some over-browsing of a valuable flower called a soap wort gention. In some preserves, he said he’s seen acres of Ohio’s state wild flower, the large-flowered trillium, wiped out because of deer population. This, he added, poses problems for the ecosystem, and in some extreme cases, deer can exceed the population’s carrying capacity and start dying of starvation.

Last year the Lou Campbell preserve hunters killed four deer in a little over a month’s span.

“Would I say that it’s not a success? No, I wouldn’t. Any deer we take is a good thing and I would say you can’t measure the pressure you put on these animals,” Obermiller said. “These animals are accustomed to seeing people on the trail and when we put hunters in there, it keeps the deer moving and keeps them from hanging out in the preserve and makes them available to hunters outside the preserve.”

Providing food

Jim Schott is an archery hunter who has participated in the ODNR lottery and hunts for recreation and to provide his family with food. He has never bought a steak or beef at the store, he said.

He said the lottery is a great opportunity for hunters to connect with the land and the deer, because there will only be two hunters for every two weeks.

Jim Schott with children Sarah and Jacob Schott.

“As a hunter, I feel I’m making the road a little bit safer for someone,” Schott said. “It’s a win-win situation, from the person who sells me my archery equipment to the person who doesn’t hit the deer. If I hadn’t have killed that deer, maybe it would have jumped in front of a car.”

The Ohio State Highway Patrol recorded 127 deer-vehicle crashes in Lucas County since January 2008, said Sgt. Daniel Arend. This does not include unreported accidents or those assessed by the sheriff’s office, he said.

From Sept. 26 through Nov. 29, winners will have two select weeks at Lou Campbell and are allowed to harvest two deer, Obermiller said. The preserve will not close to the public, and hunters will keep far away from the trail to avoid coming in contact with people using the park. He added that security personnel will be present at the park.

Last year hunters in Ohio took more than 252,000 deer, including 855 from Lucas County, under a limit of seven deer per person. This year, hunters are allowed to harvest 12 deer, only one of which can be antlered, said Bob Ford, an ODNR Division of Wildlife specialist.

ODNR will take lottery entries until Aug. 15, Obermiller said.

“I hunt primarily because I enjoy the experience. Some people like to golf; some people like to bowl. I go hunting,” Schott said. “This is my golf, except when golfers are done golfing, they can’t eat their score card; I can eat my score card.”

Tony Szilagye, from the Western Lake Erie Group of the Ohio Chapter of Sierra Club, said that the club does not take a position against ODNR’s deer population control.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Sports.
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