It isn’t often in Ohio that someone is cited for hunter harassment, but it happened during the recent deer hunting seasons in Shelby County.
A woman who was yelling at a hunter in a tree stand was found guilty under Ohio’s law, which protects a hunter’s rights when the hunter is in the act of legally hunting. The woman, who pleaded guilty to harassment charges paid $155 in fines and court costs.
According to the Ohio Division of Wildlife (DOW), the hunter complained he was being harassed. Shelby County Wildlife Officer Tim Rourke responded to the complaint and was told by the hunter that a neighbor approached the property line dividing her property from the one which he was on. While in his tree stand, he said she yelled obscenities at him. Rourke advised the hunter not to say anything to the woman and to continue hunting.
When Rourke contact the woman at her residence, she told him she believed the hunter was watching her in her home from his tree stand. She admitted she approached the property line and screamed at the hunter in an attempt to get him down from the tree stand and leave the area.
The wildlife officer explained to her that the hunter was in his rights to hunt where he was and that he had not done anything unethical or irresponsible. Upon conclusion of his investigation, Rourke informed the woman about Ohio’s hunter harassment law. He then cited her for the hunter harassment violation.
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A hunter education class beginning at 9 a.m. will be held next Saturday (March 11) at the Allen County Sportsmen & Farmers Association located at 1001 S. Kemp Road. A continental breakfast and lunch will be furnished. For more information, call Ron Parr at 419-231-5488.
The Club will host a turkey shoot on March 19. Breakfast begins at 10 a.m. with the first shoot going off at 12 p.m. For more information, call Bill Stratton at 419-236-9082.
Matt Shumar, program coordinator for the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative, will be the featured speaker at the club’s monthly meeting slated March 30. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. For More Information, contact Stratton at 419-236-9082.
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Six Limaland bodies of water will be among 64 Ohio public lakes and ponds that will be stocked with catchable rainbow trout this spring.
Those lakes and the counties they are located in, plus scheduled stocking dates are: Davis Lake, Auglaize County, April 1; Schoonover Lake, Allen County, April 13; Lima Lake, Allen County, April 19; Van Wert Reservoir 1, Van Wert County, April 19; Tawana Lake, Shelby County, April 20 and Giertz Lake Hancock County, May 6. The daily catch limit for inland lakes is five trout.
Releases were scheduled to begin Friday and will continue through May 21. These trout average 10-13 inches and are stocked annually by the Ohio Division of Wildlife on a put-and-take basis. This is a user-pay, user-benefit program since the trout are raised in state hatcheries, which are funded by sales of fishing licenses along with funds from the federal Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) program.
Information about the trout releases, including updates to the schedule due to weather and stocking locations, is available at wildohio.gov or by calling 800-WILDLIFE (945-3543).
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If you want some fun shooting, think about participating in the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) monthly air rifle and air pistol events that take place on five Saturday’s at Camp Perry.
Competition is held for all ages and experience levels at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at the camp, located just outside of Port Clinton. This is a first class facility with the U.S. Olympic Trials for air rifle and air pistol being held there for the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. People who have never shot there before are in for a treat. I shot there during 2013 and had a blast with a group of outdoor writers who were touring the Camp Perry facility.
The public can participate at the center on marksmanship nights, which are held year-round. For more about the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center, visit http://thecmp.org/air/cmp-competition-centers/. The facility is named after celebrated American marksman, Gary Anderson.
The matches get underway Saturday (March 11) and also will be held April 15, May 20, Sept. 16 and Oct. 14. Participants can be ranked among other competitors from across the country. Staple events fired include a Junior 3×20, Junior 3×10, Novice Prone, 60 Shot Air Rifle Standing and 60 Shot Air Pistol. Eligible events for the Monthly Match League include: Pistol 60 Shots (No PPP), Rifle 60 Shots, Sporter 3×20 and Precision 3×20.
For more on the monthly matches and registration info, visit http://thecmp.org/air/cmp-competition-center-event-matches/monthly-air-rifle-and-air-pistol-matches/.
Al Smith is a freelance outdoor writer. He may be contacted at [email protected] or and you can follow him on Twitter @alsmithFL
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