News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2010

Ohio Wildlife Council Hears 2010-11 Hunting Regulations Proposals
Regulations on white-tailed deer to be heard at February 3 meeting

COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio sportsmen may notice a few changes in next year's hunting and trapping regulations, based on proposals presented January 6 to the Ohio Wildlife Council by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

September 1 is again proposed as the kick-off date for the state's fall hunting seasons--with the opening of squirrel and dove hunting. Other proposed hunting and trapping rules and season dates will be similar to those now in effect, with only slight changes to fall and spring hunting dates.

Young hunters age 17 and under should again be able to hunt statewide for rabbit, pheasant and all other legal game in season during two designated weekends, October 16 -17 and 23 - 24. Spring youth turkey season is proposed for April 16 – 17, 2011.

The remainder of the proposals concerning Ohio's white-tailed deer hunting will be heard during a separate Wildlife Council meeting on February 3.

A statewide hearing on all the proposed rules will be held at 9 a.m., Thursday, March 4 at the wildlife division's District One Office, located at 1500 Dublin Road in Columbus.

Open houses will be held on Saturday, March 6 in each of the state's five wildlife districts to provide the public an opportunity to view and discuss proposed hunting and trapping regulations with state wildlife officials. Directions to the open houses can be obtained by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE or visiting wildohio.com on the Internet.

After considering public input, the Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on the proposed rules and season dates during its April 7 meeting.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The proposed hunting and trapping seasons table is included. Those species in the table identified with an * are subject to federal guidelines that will not be available until the summer of 2010. The dates and bag limits listed should be considered the most likely option, but not a final proposal.

 PROPOSED 2010-2011 HUNTING & TRAPPING SEASON DATES

Species	Opening date	Closing date	Bag Limit
Squirrel	September 1	January 31	6 daily
Mourning dove *	September 1 *	To Be Announced	15 daily *
Ruffed grouse	October 9	January 31	2 daily
American woodcock *	October 9 *	November 22 *	3 daily *
Wild turkey fall season	October 9	November 28	1
Youth upland season for cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail	October 16 and 17 and October 23 and 24
Cottontail rabbit	November 5	February 28	4 daily
Ring-necked pheasant, Chukar	November 5	January 9	2 daily
Bobwhite quail	November 5	November 28	4 daily
Fox, raccoon, skunk opossum, weasel hunting & trapping	November 10	January 31
Mink & muskrat trapping	November 10	February 28
Lake Erie Marsh area – mink, muskrat, skunk, raccoon, opossum, & weasel trapping	November 10	March 15
Beaver trapping	December 26	February 28
River otter trapping	December 26	February 28	1 in Zone B 3 in Zone C
Wild turkey youth season	April 16 and 17, 2011
Wild turkey spring season	April 18, 2011	May 15, 2011	2
Crow – Fri, Sat, Sun only	June 4, 2010 June 3, 2011	March 13, 2011 March 12, 2012
Coyote	No Closed Season
Woodchuck	No Closed Season