Ohio Deer "Problem.."

[Woody Williams]

Hunters: Let us kill more deer But officials say that won't fix sprawl issue

By Liz Oakes Enquirer staff writer

Hunters say they have a solution for Hamilton County's growing number of deer-related car wrecks: Let them bag more bucks and does.

State wildlife officials, however, say there's no easy answer to the problem, which is worse here than anyplace else in Ohio and shows no signs of slowing down.

Wildlife officials estimate the state's deer population as of Oct. 1 at 700,000 - up 10 percent from the year before.

Although there is no official deer count for Hamilton County, there are more people hitting deer each year on the roads.

Hamilton County leads the state in deer collisions at nearly 800 a year in 2003, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Teresa Lunsford, 34, of Harrison, worries about the increasing deer population.

Her mother, Bonnie Lunsford, 51, broke two vertebrae after hitting a deer with her truck three weeks ago.

"They need to do something about the laws with the deer, because they're so rampant," Teresa Lunsford said.

On Interstate 74, "You see a lot of dead deer off the side of the road," she said.

Teresa Lunsford points to limits on deer gun season, which this year ran Nov. 29 through Dec. 5.

"Obviously, it's not enough," she said. "Or there are not enough deer hunters to bring the deer population down."

Mike Kiper, 54, a hunter who lives in Milford, is concerned, too. He used to take six or eight bucks a season when he lived in Alabama, where gun hunting lasts several months.

Since moving to Ohio in 1998, he says, he hasn't been able to bag a single animal but has seen plenty of hunters when he has gone out. "I was actually a little scared because of so many people in the woods," Kiper said.

But "I worry more about the safety of the drivers out there on the highway," he said.

However, extending the season and increasing limits on bagging the animals don't work, state wildlife officials say, especially in overcrowded urban areas that have developed land where deer used to roam.

"Neither of those are going to be really efficient tools," said Mike Tonkovich, state wildlife biologist.

Tonkovich said Ohio tried lengthening the gun season in 1995 and 1996 from one week to two weeks.

But the extra days accounted for just 2 percent of the total deer harvest, he said.

"The second week, you couldn't hardly find a hunter," said Mike Serio, a state wildlife officer who oversees hunting in Hamilton County.

In Hamilton County, hunters already are allowed to take six deer, wildlife officials say.

And high-tech solutions such as sterilization are years away.

"The issue is not the regulations or management," Tonkovich said. "Places you can hunt are going to be hunted hard. Regulation changes won't affect the big problem areas. It won't solve the problem of no access. We don't have any problems with deer in areas we can put hunters."

But outside of townships in Hamilton County, hunting is mostly limited to private land, officials say.

"Here in Hamilton County, you're never going to get (deer) under control because of limited access to hunting. They're starting to overpopulate," Serio said.

State officials say they're pushing parks and municipalities to include bow-hunting to help eliminate excess deer.

"Archery is very safe. Parks could have controlled areas and allow archers in there," Serio said.

Dayton this year began controlled hunting in its parks, and Indian Hill has been culling deer for several years with success.

In Cincinnati, " I get a lot of complaints from neighbors to these parks," Serio said.

He said people tell him, " 'These deer are a nuisance and something should be done.' But my hands are tied."

Hamilton County Park District has resisted the idea so far, officials say.

"Bow hunting is not efficient at significantly reducing deer population," said John Klein, land manager for the park district.

The park district currently uses sharpshooters to cull deer herds, which in some parks has reached more than 200 animals per square mile, Klein said.

The park district would have to change its bylaws to allow hunting, which would require a vote of the park board, Klein said.

And most municipalities in the county are hamstrung by anti-weapons ordinances, officials say.

"In most cases that includes bows," Tonkovich said. "Then it's town meeting after town meeting after town meeting."

In Indian Hill, for about seven years the city has allowed hunters who register with them. Hunters have taken 180 deer so far this year in the village.

"It's a win-win situation for hunters and the residents," said Indian Hill Officer Shawn Perdue.

"The problem isn't deer, the problem is human population density," Tonkovich said. "We're the problem, not the deer, where we're developing farmland and closing down hunting

[wildwindom]

We have more deer in erie county than you can dream of and we can still only take one deer it sucks.