By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

XENIA, Ohio — Each year in Ohio hundreds of farmers report crop damage from deer. They wish someone would hunt their land to keep the deer population at a minimum.

Similarly, there are thousands of hunters who wish they had permission to hunt privately owned farms, but simply don’t know which landowners need help in harvesting the deer.

Now, thanks to a newly designed Web-based hunter access program, landowners may review a database of sportsmen and select hunters they could allow to hunt on their properties. The program, designed to trim the herds of deer that cause extensive crop damage, is the brainstorm of the Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

“The deer population reached critical stage several years ago,” said Chris Henney, director of legislative relations for the OFB. “There are a lot of solid examples of crop damage.”

The OFB would like to see Ohio’s deer herd radically trimmed from 750,000 bucks and does to only 250,000. The Division of Wildlife isn’t going to allow that to happen, but has passed hunting regulations for next year to increase the deer harvest, which reached a record 252,017 deer during the 2008-09 hunting season.
“The OFB is hoping this pilot program will be in place this fall,” Henney said. “If it’s successful, we’ll see how we can grow it, since 95 percent of Ohio land is private. There has to be more hunter access, and farmers have to allow hunting on their property.
Everyone has a role to play in reducing the deer population.”
Tuscarawas County is expected to debut a pilot program. Many wildlife officers in the state are thrilled at this Web-based hunter-landowner idea.

“We’re all at a point where there are limiting factors for harvesting deer, and one of those is hunting access,” said Rick Rogers, ODNR wildlife officer in Warren County. “Farmers are reluctant to permit those they don’t know on their land. This concept has many benefits and it’s a step in the right direction.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” said Matthew Hunt, ODNR wildlife officer representing Greene County. “I know there’s a lot of landowners and hunters who want such access to property. This is a win-win situation.”

Rogers added that he’s been bombarded with calls for help. “I talk to sportsmen daily and they all say the lack of access to private property hurts,” he said. “This will turn out beneficial to landowners, and a valuable tool for the sportsman.”

In 1970 the statewide deer population was estimated at 17,000; the current estimate is 675,000. According to the Division of Wildlife deer cause $2 billion in damage nationwide, including $100 million in agricultural crop damage, $750 million in damage to the timber industry and more than $250 million in home landscape and nursery damage.

The Division’s tentative plans are to have hunters complete an online profile that could include hunting experience, preferred type of hunting and a willingness to harvest antlerless deer and to submit to a background check.