toledoblade.com --

Ottawa Hills and the other Toledo-area suburbs aren't the only parts of northwest Ohio being affected by deer.

Venerable East Harbor State Park in Ottawa County, Ohio's oldest state park, has experienced excessive plant damage. Even some pine trees have been chewed, and they're not a part of a deer's natural diet.

Aggravating the situation is that many of the park's deer migrate to a farm across the road, increasing the odds of deer-vehicle collisions.

The deer have destroyed multiple crops at the farm in recent years, according to Ted Johnson, president of a local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation called Lakeshore Longbeards.

Based in Port Clinton, Mr. Johnson's chapter is conducting a special pair of archery hunts at the park under the auspices of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' wildlife division.

The first hunt will be on Nov. 14 and 15. It will be for youths ages 17 and under.

The second will be on Nov. 21 and 22 for hunters who use wheelchairs or are otherwise physically impaired.

The hunts are strictly bow and arrow because the acreage is too limited for firearms, he said.

The park has an estimated herd of 75 deer, about twice what state officials believe it can support.

The turkey federation's local chapter was chosen to coordinate the hunt because of its past experience with hunts involving youths and hunters with mobility challenges, Mr. Johnson said.

Ina Brolis, the park's manager, was not available for comment.

Twelve people have been chosen for the youth hunt and nine for the mobility-impaired hunt. Each will be allowed to bag as many as two deer, meaning that as many as 42 deer could be killed.

The hunts were held at the park for the first time last year. Those hunts were unsuccessful became of heavy rain, Mr. Johnson said.

"Deer don't readily move in bad weather," he said.

In Ottawa Hills, up to 50 deer could be culled in 2010. The village, along with Sylvania, Maumee, and Perrysburg, has been dealing with what appears to be an overpopulation of deer.

On Nov. 23, Ottawa Hills councilmen are expected to vote on a proposal to change the village ordinance so that a firm could be hired to selectively kill deer. The cost has been estimated between $25,000 and $30,000.

Hunting has been banned in the village since 1940.

The Nov. 23 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m., was moved to St. Michael's In The Hills Episcopal Church, 4718 Brittany Rd., to accommodate what is expected to be a large crowd.

Contact Tom Henry at:
thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079.

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