To prepare for the season, there are several hunter education courses scheduled in the area beginning soon, according to the ohiodnr.com Web site.
A home study course is set to begin Wednesday and a classroom course is schedule for Nov. 12, 13 and 15 in Fostoria. To register, call (419) 595-2868 or (419) 435-1941.
A classroom session is scheduled for Saturday in Sycamore. To register, call (419) 294-7014. Another classroom course is set for Nov. 9-10 in Bellevue. To register, call (419) 625-7557. And still another is set for Nov. 10 in Carey. Call (419) 927-4018 to register.
Coon Hunters fish fry
The Sandusky River Coon Hunters are planning a fish fry and feather party at 5 p.m. Nov. 3 featuring all-you-care-to-eat Alaskan walleye. Tickets are $6 adults and $3 children. The Coon Hunters clubhouse is South TR 131 next to Walnut Grove campground.
Park programs
The Seneca County Park District is hosting a “Nature Walk Bird Talk” hike 8 a.m. Nov. 3 at Garlo Heritage Nature Preserve. Take along your field guides and binoculars.
Toddlers ages 12-36 months are invited to a program at 11 a.m. the same morning at Garlo Heritage Nature Preserve. The children are to be learning about “fall things.”
Families are invited to an “owl prowl” family program 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at Howard Collier State Nature Preserve.
For more information, call Linda Rose at (419)
435-3915 or e-mail scpd_pro
'>grams@yahoo.com.'>grams@yahoo.com.a>
EAB meeting Nov. 7
Ohio and Michigan experts are inviting anyone interested in the latest emerald ash borer news to a meeting 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Nov. 7 in Waldo, between Marion and Delaware.
The seminar is to be held at All Occasions Catering, 6869 Waldo-Delaware Road.
Now that more than a third of Ohio’s 88 counties are under quarantine because of the exotic, invasive killer of ash trees, the need for research-based information has become even more important, said Amy Stone, an educator with the Lucas County office of Ohio State University Extension and coordinator of the Ohio State University EAB Outreach Team.
Among the topics are a research update, the potential economic impact, ecological Impacts, rates of ash decline, resistant ash and insecticide treatments.
Registration is $55. The deadline to register is Nov. 2. To sign up, go to lucas-cms.ag.ohio-state.edu/emerald-ash-borer-research-seminar and click on the “online registration form” or contact Barbara Northrup at (419) 578-6783.
For more information on EAB, visit ashalert.osu.edu.
Wild boars targeted
Ohio hunters are encouraged to harvest any feral swine they encounter in the wild to help limit the spread of the destructive species, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Known in Ohio as “wild boars,” they also are called free-ranging European wild boar, Russian wild boar, wild pigs, wild hogs or razorbacks. These “eating machines” damage agricultural crops, degrade wildlife habitat and consume the eggs of ground-nesting birds, as well as reptiles, amphibians or just about anything else they come across, according to state wildlife biologists.
They carry diseases that can infect domestic livestock, wildlife and people.
The non-native members of the domestic swine family are increasing their distribution in Ohio.
Wild boars have been reported in Belmont, Guernsey, Noble, Morgan, Monroe, Athens, Hocking, Vinton, Washington, Gallia, Lawrence, Scioto, Butler, Preble, Logan, Champaign, Auglaize and Knox counties. Visit the division’s Web site to view a general location map.
Lots of acorns
Ohio’s fall crop of acorns is very good this year. It provides a vital food source for more than 90 forest wildlife species. Statewide, white oak acorn production is up 10 percent, while red oak acorn production is up 2 percent over 2006 figures, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The Division of Wildlife is participating in a multi-state, ongoing research project to estimate regional acorn production throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Wildlife biologists hope to use the acorn production information gathered in the study to forecast wildlife harvest and reproductive success rates on both a local and regional basis.
Acorn production is cyclical, with some trees producing acorns nearly every year, while others rarely ever produce. This year, Division of Wildlife employees scanned the canopies of selected oak trees on 38 wildlife areas in the state to determine the percentage of trees that produced acorns and the relative size of the acorn crop.
Today’s meetings and reminders:
* Oct. 30, 5 p.m., “Fall in the Preserve” hike, Steyer Nature Preserve, Seneca County PD, (419) 435-3915, s'>scpd_programs@yahoo.com.
* Oct. 29-Nov. 25, archery-only fall turkey-hunting season.
* Nov. 2, 6-8 p.m., family night at Camp Glen, register by Oct. 31, (419) 447-8711.
Vicki Johnson is the outdoors reporter for The Advertiser-Tribune
