Hunters took 20,659 deer during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader season, December 27-30, with Tuscarawas County again leading the state with 934 deer checked. Last year, a preliminary total of 21,473 deer was taken during muzzleloader season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
In Ottawa County hunters have taken 23 deer so far this season compared with a total of 40 for the previous season.

The Erie and Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) will be hosting the 3rd Annual North Central Ohio Wildlife Management Conference on Saturday, January 31 at the EHOVE Career Center, near Milan, OH.  It is an opportunity for resource professionals and private landowners to learn and share information.
 
One of the keynote speakers is Michigan’s Ed Spinazzola, a Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) founder and member, author and wildlife food plot expert.  Ed will be talking about "Food Plot Basics to Cutting-Edge Site Layouts". Staff from Zink Calls (based in Port Clinton) will be conducting “Waterfowl University”.

FLW Outdoors announced its 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour presented by Berkley schedule with a restructured payback that offers larger awards deeper into the field. The tour will still feature top pro awards of $100,000 in each qualifier and a top pro award of $150,000 in the lucrative FLW Walleye Tour Championship while 50th place awards in each qualifier jump to $3,000 in the pro division.

Ohio deer hunters have donated more than 33,550 pounds of venison to local food banks so far this deer season, according to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
The 33,550 pounds equals approximately 134,000 meals for needy Ohioans. Last year, FHFH collected 20,902 pounds of venison through the entire year. With 17 of the 27 FHFH chapters reporting, 671 deer have been donated so far with plenty of deer hunting opportunity left in the 2008-09 season.