OHIO NEWS: Granville Cull Successful

The village could begin seeing a reduction in the amount of residential landscaping damaged by deer if the bowhunting program continues to make gains as it did this year, says Clerk of Council Mollie Prasher, who oversees the program.

Bowhunters well more than doubled the deer harvest in the second year of a program designed to cut down on damage to landscaping.

A total of 47 hunters killed 95 deer this season during the four-month bowhunting season that ended Feb. 1. That compares with 37 taken by 17 hunters last year, when the program started 1 1/2 months into the season.

"This was a great outcome," said Mayor Melissa Hartfield. "The village staff did a great job."

Prasher said she believes the yield can be increased steadily over the next few years, with a positive effect on preserving landscaping. More hunters can be enrolled and residents have offered additional land on which they can hunt, she said.

"We haven't even begun to tap the market for hunters," she said. Prasher said she'd like see a deer harvest goal of 120-125 next year.

In addition to limiting the deer repopulation rate, bowhunting is also driving deer from the village into Granville Township or Newark to the east, Prasher said.

Contributing to the program's success this year, Prasher said, was the lifting of a state requirement limiting the number of deer a hunter could take in a single day to two.

In two of the areas where the largest number of deer were killed, the near east side and Fern Hill, residents also reported seeing a decrease in the number of deer.

Although some residents have objected to the program because of human safety or their concern for wildlife, there were very few complaints from residents, Prasher said. There were a few instances in which wounded deer wandered on neighboring properties, she said.

When requested by neighbors, the village posted "hunting zone" signs on properties being hunted.

"That alleviated their concerns," she said.

Source: Newark Advocate