Photo provided by: Photo credit: Sherry Hanson
ROLLING — A total of 16 deer were collected during a recent limited-purpose bow hunt at Ogle Bay Park. Park officials said the hunt is an effective means of managing the deer population and will be considered in the future.
The hunt took place from November 6th to 8th in different areas of the park. Herb Faulkenberry, Oglebay’s vice president of sales and marketing, said 16 of the 20 hunters allowed to participate participated in the hunt. Foulkemberly said some people have been forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts due to illness, work schedules or childcare issues.
“I would like to thank the hunters who participated in this limited purpose bow hunt,” Faulkenberry said. “Their respect for the process and desire to do the right thing was evident in both their conversations and actions.”
Faulkenberry said 10 of the 16 deer collected during the hunt were female. Among the hunting regulations was that at least one of the three deer each hunter could collect must be a female deer.
The hunters donated 10 of the deer they collected to the West Virginia Hunters Help the Hungry program or the Oglebay Good Zoo. Each hunter also chose to actively participate in a research project conducted by WVU Extension Services. The park is awaiting the results of several diagnostic tests conducted to determine the herd’s overall health and nutritional status.
Mr Faulkenberry praised the hunters, saying they “genuinely care about the health of the herd.” He added that the 16 hunters showed that “rules matter” and “they wanted hunting to be perceived positively.”
He said the hunt was effective in managing the park’s deer population. When announcing his hunt in September, Oglebay said the park’s deer population is five times the optimal amount per square mile for the area.
“Reducing the deer population is a move in the right direction as we continue to work toward a balanced ecosystem in the park,” Faulkenberry said.
Faulkenberry said bowhunting is just one part of a long-term strategy to keep that ecosystem in balance. Park authorities want to ensure the long-term growth and health of all wildlife, flora and fauna.
To that end, Faulkenberry outlined further steps the park will take to manage the deer population. He said research is currently underway to find the best way to desensitize deer from human contact.
Part of that was adding a border collie to the park’s team, Foulkenberry said.
“Border collies are particularly suited to wildlife management work, providing a safe distraction for deer in public areas,” he said.
As for ways to curb deer feeding in the park, Faulkenberry said new signage, flyers and brochures will help visitors “understand the negative effects of hand-feeding wildlife.” It has been revealed that they are currently developing an educational program for the entire park, including: Also equipped with this new information, staff are “asked to be responsive when guests are feeding.”
“There are no law enforcement officers in Ogle Bay,” Faulkenberry said. “However, we believe that with education, people will understand and cooperate. If food is being discarded at a feeding site, we will remove those items as soon as possible.”
Since the announcement on September 18th, the hunt has been met with opposition from various parties. Triceba Law Firm filed a motion to halt the search, but Circuit Judge Jason Cuomo denied the motion in October, saying the petitioners lacked standing to sue. A change.org petition calling for an end to the hunt has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.
Despite these protests, Faulkenberry was adamant that targeted bowhunting is a method the park would revisit to manage the deer population. He said the successful hunt helped Oglebay develop a “high level of confidence in the process.”
That confidence comes from the “minimal impact” the culling had on the park, he said. Access to the park’s most popular areas was maintained throughout the hunting period.
“There were no noise or viewing issues,” he said. “Many local residents were asking when the hunt would take place, even when it was happening.”