By Tom Cross-
The Ohio Division of Wildlife is finally set to open the new 1,825 acre Eagle Creek Wildlife Area. According to Wildlife District Five Supervisor Rick Rogers, much work had to be done before the wildlife area was opened to the public. First, an approval by the Ohio Wildlife Council on a set of regulations governing the wildlife area, boundaries needed marked, and new signage put up. Hunting and trapping at the new wildlife area will be by special permit only and for the most part reserved for youth hunting opportunities. Other activities like fishing, bird watching, and canoeing will be permitted year-round without the need for a special permit. The new wildlife area is located off North Pole Road near the covered bridge.
According to ODNR the first drawings will be held on Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon. Hunts are available for the youth deer gun season and two-week hunting and trapping sessions, from Nov. 25, 2019 to Jan.19, 2020. The drawings will take place at the Indian Creek Wildlife Area headquarters, 4258 Snowhill Rd., Fayetteville, OH 45118. The drawing will start promptly at noon.
Five permits for youth deer gun season, Nov 23-24, will be drawn first. Only five permits are available for the youth gun season and the permit will allow one non-hunting adult to accompany up to two youth hunters (17 or younger).
After the youth drawing, permits will be issued for two-week sessions and allow the permittee and a designated partner access for hunting and trapping any legal game (except beaver and otter) in season during that session. Five permits will be issued for each two-week session. The first permit drawn will be for a mentor and mentee. All other permits will be issued in the order drawn. All applicants are required to have an Ohio resident hunting license to enter the drawing.
Applicants wishing to enter the drawing as a mentor and mentee are required to meet the following:
• “Learn to” (recruitment) hunts: Mentor: A person who is at least 21 years of age and applies for a “learn to” hunt for an opportunity to teach a learner to hunt. Mentors are required to be fully licensed for the species they are applying to hunt, and must have purchased an Ohio hunting license, Ohio deer permit, Ohio turkey permit, or Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp, respectively, for more than three consecutive years.
• Learner (Mentee): A person learning to hunt alongside a mentor.
To qualify for a deer, turkey, or waterfowl hunt, learners must not have held an Ohio deer permit, Ohio turkey permit, or Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp, respectively, for more than three consecutive years, or registered a deer or turkey harvest as a landowner within the last three years.
To qualify for all other species, learners must not have held an Ohio hunting license or an Ohio apprentice hunting license for more than three consecutive years.
A drawing for the second hunting session from Jan. 20 to Feb. 29, 2020 will take place promptly at noon on Saturday, Jan. 18. This drawing will also be held at the Indian Creek Wildlife Area headquarters.
Drawings for the 2020 youth spring turkey season will be next year.
For more information contact Wildlife District Five at (937) 372- 9261.
This Wednesday evening, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. ODNR will host an open house for the future of the much debated Shawnee State Park Golf Course. Plans are to close the course and redevelop it into – they don’t know yet? That is why the open house is being held to hear your thoughts on what the 180-acre golf course should be repurposed for.
According the ODNR Director Mary Mertz, Parks & Watercraft have plans that will “offer more opportunities for recreation that will not only benefit Scioto County but all of Ohio, to increase tourism, enhance the economy, and enable more visitors to enjoy this beautiful area”
The open house will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Shawnee State Park Lodge, 4404 State Rt. 125, West Portsmouth.
This from my good friend Mile Ranley who volunteers with Adams/Brown Sportsman Club Quail Forever Chapter of the recent youth hunt held at the Indian Creek Wildlife Area in late October. He reports a great turnout for the hunt and an awesome experience for the youth involved and a few pheasants were bagged. Those young hunters received gun and field safety instruction, hunting gear, and most of all memories that will last a lifetime. This event was done in conjunction with the Brown County Coon Hunters and with ODNR Division of Wildlife.
