Welcome to the Big Outdoors. News Radio seven hundred w l W Cincinnati, home of the Cincinnati Reds and the best Bengals coverage. Chip Hard here and uh want last one, Tom Cross. Uh he's back in the woods again, which is actually a good place for him. And uh it's it's very calming for the wildlife out there when when he's in the woods because uh uh he has no chance whatsoever, but hopefully he is catching this on his way in. Do you like that, Danny?
That's very good.
All no harm will come to his quarry today. Correct. Jim Samuel, welcome back to the Big Outdoors and uh you uh you. You visit with me a couple of times of years, particularly when there's important subjects and and I have to and I need to turn to you. You are a member of the Ohio Wildlife Council. And for the for those that are not familiar, what does a person that is on the council, what is the responsibility that you have to the sportsman of Ohio.
We'll chip, good morning, thanks for having me back on the show. The Wildlade Council is an eight member board. We are appointed by the Governor of Ohio and our job is to assess the rules on seasons, dates, bag limits, things like that that come from the Division of Wildlife, and we vote to approve or not approve those rules. And it really I see our role though, as to try to be a voice for sportsmen in that rule process.
So I try to get out and you talk to you talk to a lot of different groups around the state. When I'm in a council meeting, I try to respond to the rules and with what I'm hearing from from hunters and anglers and trappers around the state, and you.
Know, maybe make a rule better.
And and and uh, you know, keep keep everything going going.
Well for for Ohio's hunters and anglers.
Well, before we get onto the subject of the day, which is tremendously important, what are you finding more sportsmen uh, participating in providing a voice or an opinion on the rules coming down the road than you did, say, three or four years.
Ago at one hundred percent?
You know, obviously there sadly there are fewer hunters and not the same number of anglers across Ohio. But as far as folks speaking up about rules and things like that, yes.
It's it's been a tremendous increase.
I've been on council for seven years and really just you know, just this last meeting we had, it was the largest penants I've ever seen in a meeting.
Uh. And you know, only.
The second time that that we've hit our maximum numbers of public speakers allowed. And then when you get to the comment periods where where hunters and anglers can comment either uh, you know, either going online or showing up the meetings uh and making public.
Comments about the rules. Uh.
You know, we've I have not seen anything like it in my seven years. But you know, in the last let's say a year and a half, folks have really been getting engaged.
And that's important.
It is because you know, for for as long as I can remember, the sportsman was always like, uh, you know, a silent partner, so to speak, and maybe just because they didn't feel that their their voices were heard, or maybe just maybe even just a little bit lack of days ago. But I'm glad that that has turned itself around because as they're as you mentioned, you having fewer hunters but about the same number of fishermen. You know, what, what rules are proposed and inevitably are passed. You know,
people need to be knowledgeable about that. It's like taking part in the political process.
Absolutely. And you know, we've also had some really important issues coming up. You know, we just went through the five year process for changing the waterfowl zones in uh in Ohio, and you know that, to me, that was probably the best process I've seen thus far in my years on council.
A lot of a lot of interaction.
Uh. The division modified their their proposal several times based on the reaction of hunters and it, you know, and people have more data. You know, the more data you have probably the more accurate we can be. So I think it's great to see a lot of you know, sort of citizen scientists hunters out there who gather their data and bring it to the division and to council, and we see a really good process.
Uh. In the outcome, Well.
I'm hoping I played my part and others out there as outdoor communicators have played their part and I and I do hope, and I not hope. I know they'll continue to do. So we are going to hit a break, Jim, so you said tight, and we come back. We're going to take on the biggest topic of the day facing deer hunters in Ohio. So you said, tight, Chip Hart, I guess. Jim Sanuel, Ohio wild Left Council, seven hundred
WLW Cincinnati, seven hundred WLW Cincinnati, stick around. It's gonna be as always, a hell of a fun day at the Big One and sports and sports and sports Gary Jeff Walker up at uh oh right after the news at the bottom of the hour. He'll take you to nine. Uh what's that guy? What's that? What's that lawyer's name? Danny Mike Shoot it, I've got Allan, Mike Allen, Michael
k Allen. It could be junior. But then he'll take you at noon and uh ken Brew and then sports, sports and the sports and more sports cards and let them rip. Jim Samuel, welcome back with the Ohio Wildlife Council the subject of the day. And I'll tell you what I have heard more about this, seen more social media posts on this about the EHD that has you know, struck Ohio. Of course we still have that area up kind of northwest central northwest Ohio with the cw D subject,
and you know, continued watching that. So what was it three or four? Three or four weeks ago we had new rules come out of the council on I guess an adjustment to deer that can be taken in the southeast area.
Absolutely. So we're talking about epizootic camorrhagic disease EHD.
And this is this is an issue.
That I you know, never seen anything like it, especially as you said, social media and response from the not just the hunting public, but you know, all folks involved in in you know, outdoor activities. But yeah, so it's really hitting Southeast Ohio very hard. Three counties in particular, Athens, Washington, and Miggs. Just to put some numbers on this, so far in twenty twenty five, there have been over eighty
two hundred reports of dead and sick beer. Compare that to let's say twenty twenty two or twenty twenty four where we had other outbreaks. You know, you get fifteen hundred, maybe two thousand reports. Eighty two hundred this year and more than sixty percent of that has been reported just from those three counties. So pretty serious issue down there. We had a a wild Buff Council meeting kind of scheduled, not the normal schedule. We had a meeting that the
division called down there. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Athens. We went to the district headquarters down there, so we were in the impacted area. I think that was great because we were able to have a lot of folks come and have their voice heard. The rule that the division proposed was to lower the bag limit from three deer to two deer in those three hardest hit counties and to have that rule take effect before deer gun season. So happy to see the division and
folks taking this seriously. A lot of comments not just from council but especially most importantly from the locals in the area was they were happy to see movement, what actually would like to see the rule tighten even more. A number of folks even called for closing the deer season in some counties. But I do think we're going to see some changes to that proposed rule. The Division is looking at dropping it down to one deer in some of those impacted counties and maybe expanding it beyond
just those three. So I think it's really good that we're moving in that direction. Hunters still have until October sixteenth.
To make their to make comments, so you.
Know, if you want to have your voice heard, get out there. Go online to the Division of Wildlife to their rules section. You know, you can enter your comments online or you can do it and do it in writing by email.
Okay. And so the rule change if it goes into effect, regardless of whether it's two deer or one, that that happens for the gun season, correct or is it December first? Of my memory serves me correctly till the end of the season.
Yes, sure, correctly.
You know, some of us really hoped that it could have been implemented earlier, because, as we all know, more folks are bow hunting these days. Yes, as it is now, the rule would go into a fact December first, which is you know, opening of deer non season, and then that would be an effect for for the whole rest of the deer season.
Yeah, boy, I got let's see. You know, I've watched that map evolve just from the postings you know online, you know, from from the division.
Uh.
And I think there's another source or to you know, the sharing and all that, and that that map just continued to get more blotched with red uh and and and it was really incredible that, you know, and how short of a period of time that that you know, it was it was growing like leaps and bounds. So we're going to take this up to a greater extent
after the break. So Jim Samuel sit tight, Chip Hart The Big Outdoors News Radio seven hundred w l W, Cincinnati Back at the Moment Radio seven hundred w l W Cincinnati, Home of the Best Bengals cover Jim the Cincinnati read. Uh Jim Samuel Hawai a Wildlife Council as we were talking off air that you know, I don't think it's I don't think that this uh the AHD EHD is over yet, but it may have peaked I
know on my property in particular. Probably just let's just take a stretch of maybe seventy five acres along a creek bed. I found a ten point buck. This goes back three weeks, and then two weeks later we found five does. And it's kind of interesting because never before, in in prior situations with EHD, was I finding does. So it's like and the and the bucks of course they were they were in velvet when they seemed to be really hit and you know, I don't know as
uh just my I guess opinion. You know, once that the the antlers hardened. It seemed, you know, and there that that animal was directing all of its energy back to its body and particularly maybe the immune system that it moved on from bucks to dose because a lot of I guess, uh, the bucks I've seen it were found, uh you know, they've been out there a little while so and of course it doesn't seem like the buzzards
really hit them that hard either. It was like they knew something was wrong, but eventually, you know, they had their breakfast.
So yeah, that that that is an interesting thing to me that we don't see the we don't see the buzzards and coyotes going after these these diseased beer. But yeah, you know, as you said, you know, maybe it's hit its peak.
Hopefully it has.
You know, the rain and cooler temperatures we had a week or so ago was was good, but really it won't be over until you have that first frost and it kills off the midges that are that are the ones that spread the disease. But you know, to your point about you know, immunities or how the deer are reacting, you know, it's interesting you see a lot of fawns because of the lost from that they get from from from the dough that a lot of fauns have been appear to be you know, immune or making it through
this bad area. But the other important thing about why we're looking at reducing bad bad limits and a lot of people I know a lot of hunters who have land and over in those impacted areas Athens, Washington County where they're just you know, they're not going to hunt it all this year or they're definitely not going to take does. And the reason is this Southern deer don't
really get impacted by EHD. They've they've got an immunity to them because you know, just the different temperatures down there,
there's more exposure. So so the focus on not taking does, especially in that hardest hit area, is if they've you know, if there's a dough that you're seeing in Athens or Washington or Megs or maybe Morgan County that has made it through this this pretty serious outbreak, it's a really good chance that that that dough has immunity, and those are the ones you want to see breeding and uh, you know and bringing the new fawns in next spring
so that hopefully that immunity can spread throughout the herd. And you know, the whitetail in Ohio can become more immune to EHD like the like the whitetail are in the southern part of the country.
Again, I never really thought about it or heard it. But do they really know that there is an immunity that a deer can acquire to fend off something like this. I haven't talked to a biologist about it, but you know, I'll put that on my list to catch up on. You know, it's it's a year round type of discussion.
Yeah, I am certainly not the expert on that, but I have heard from the experts. So when we had our council meeting in Athens, we had two physicians come and testify. We had a veterinarian testify also with us that day was the state veterinarian, doctor Summers from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and all of them well, and then also Doc Meckling, a great veteran of the Ohio
Wildlife Council, who of that marian himself. All of them have talked about, you know, the immunity response that some deer have to EHD, and and again the ones we want to protect are those dose so that when they're putting out the faunds, you know, next spring. We hope the ones that have some immunity are the ones that are building up the herd for the future.
In the right bucks to handle the job, right, I hope, So I would look forward to that, and that can't hurt at all. So we're going to hit a break here in just a second. But what's your council schedule going forward?
So again, there's that comment period for all hunters until October sixteenth, and then we will have our next meeting on October twenty second. I think that's probably when we'll take a final vote on this and.
Look forward to have you know, a new rule in effect very soon.
Okay, well, hey, could you sit tight and hang in there for a couple more minutes and have a couple of questions also going forward?
Absolutely?
All right, sit tight. Jim Samuel my guest with the Ohio Wildlife Council, seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati, Back in the moment, Andy, We're back the Big Outdoors News Radio seven hundred WLW. Since name, I guess has been Jim Samuel. He visits with me, oh a couple times a year especially in times of necessity or maybe just to catch up. So Jim, if an individuals, if a sportsman has an issue, can it come directly to the council or does it need
to go through the Divisional Wildlife. I'm kind of curious because I've never.
Asked technically it needs to go to the Divisional Wildlife. Obviously, I am more than happy, and I know every other council member is more than happy to have hunters reach out to them. I talk to a lot of groups and individual hunters myself. I take their feedback so that when I'm speaking a council usually I'm parroting what I'm hearing from a lot of folks out there. But yeah, you can go to the website for the Division Wildlife and right there you can send an email to council members.
And again, we love to hear, we love to hear from folks, but probably the most effective thing is for folks to be getting there getting their comments and their thoughts directly to the Divisional Wildlife because they're the experts, they're the ones that put these rule packages together. We're just here to kind of assess it and you know, hopefully maybe massage it a little bit again based on the feedback we're getting from hunters.
Yeah, and from what happens around the whole state, not just maybe an isolated situation or I guess subject matter right exactly. All right, Jim, we thank you for your time and we'll wait that final decision and I'm sure i'll have it in my hands probably an hour after it happened. So with that, thanks very much, and we'll catch up down the road.
Thanks, good luck to you and all your listeners out there in the woods.
Fantastic, But that I'm out of here. Gary Jeff is next after the Neonest Hippard the Big Outdoors seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati, Be safe in the woods and safe on the one