Photo by Bill Lea

Provide good hunting; reduce car-deer collisions: That basically sums up the Ohio Division of Wildlife's deer management program, which has been in place for over 40 years. As Ohio's urban sprawl has steadily incorporated more and more of the surrounding deer habitat, resident whitetail populations have moved to protected lands, where no hunting is allowed.

As the deer numbers increased, car-deer crashes increased, deer began multiplying out of control in suburbia and something has been eating bits of Aunt Molly's shrubbery at night. But it's the increasing incidence of deer-vehicle collisions that fueled the development of the Urban Deer Units.

Since the 1940s, the ODOW has monitored car crashes involving deer. In 1993 there were fewer than 450 complaints made to the ODOW about car-deer accidents, but by 2002 the number of complaints had soared to 1,400.

"Across the state, the areas where we have the biggest deer problems are around the urban areas," said Huss. "The reason is that urban areas have become giant deer refuges due to local ordinances restricting hunting. A lot of people believe that deer are moving into the cities, which isn't true. Instead, cities are incorporating and annexing areas of deer habitat that are suddenly in areas where hunting is against the law."

"The only real control on deer numbers in these areas are cars and trucks, literally," said Dan Huss, a District One wildlife biologist based in Columbus. But what is bad news for motorists and landowners is good news for the deer hunter.

"There are some good deer hunting areas in Ohio's Urban Deer Units," stated Huss. "Some of these areas offer good opportunities for deer when hunters can gain access."

Ohio's five Urban Deer Units allow hunters, after they have purchased a regular hunting license and at least one Special Deer Permit, to obtain up to four Urban Deer Permits. An additional antlerless deer may be taken for each Urban Deer Permit. Only one antlered deer can be taken per season, regardless of where it's taken or how many permits a hunter has.

Hunters in Zone A may take only one deer; in Zone B, no more than two deer may be taken, and in Zone C hunters may bag up to three deer. Special Deer and Urban Deer permits allow additional whitetails to be taken in each of these zones.

Urban Deer Units have the same deer-hunting seasons and regulations that are in place in other areas of Ohio. Hunters may use any legally allowed bow or gun on Urban Deer Units.

State hunting laws do not supersede local city, village or township prohibitions on hunting. Written permission must be obtained from private landowners on whose property you hunt.

Urban Deer Units not only represent the ODOW's newest attempt at controlling runaway whitetail populations but also offer the added benefit of providing metro-area deer hunters some of the best opportunities in the state. Hunters getting permission for the right property can reveal deer herds that haven't been hunted in years.

"The largest typical entered recently at the Buckeye Big Buck Club Banquet was a bow kill from Franklin County, and I believe it was taken inside Interstate 270," said Mike Rex, secretary/treasurer of the Ohio Big Bucks Club and member of the BBBC Hall of Fame. "The buck scored 185 4/8, and was taken by Mark Scheel."

Rex noted that age is the most important factor in trophy potential, and that chances for bucks to grow large racks are greater in most urban areas, owing to the lack of hunting pressure.

Here's a look at how our Urban Deer Units are sizing up for the 2005 hunting season: