By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A deer stands in Shawnee Lookout Park Friday near where 20 deer were harvested on the first night of a deer management program. (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

CLEVES - Fighting frigid temperatures and snow flurries Thursday night, Hamilton County park rangers roamed the hills of Shawnee Lookout Forest, shooting 18 does and two young bucks from atop a Dodge pickup.

The methodical, 10-hour hunt was aimed at thinning the county's deer population. The hunts, the first ever in Hamilton County parks, are a necessary step to bring herds to manageable levels, to safeguard the environment and to reduce deer-car crashes, officials say.

By early March, the five specially trained sharpshooters hope to kill 500 deer, mainly does, at Shawnee and Mitchell Memorial forests near Cleves and Miami Whitewater Forest near Harrison.

All the meat will be donated to the needy. Venison from Thursday night's kill is being processed at an Addyston plant and should provide 3,200 meals, according to park officials.

Twenty deer "gets us well on our way ... toward the goal of reducing the deer herd. Five hundred is a lofty goal. Even if we get 200 or 300, it will still be a successful first year," said John Klein, the district's land manager.

Hamilton County Park District Ranger Sgt. Mark Brooksbank (left) and Land Manager John Klein on the shooting platform on the pickup used in the deer hunt. | ZOOM |

He recently completed 25 hours of sharpshooter training with four other park rangers - all certified police officers.

"It's not a fun program," he said of Thursday's kill. "We're greatly improving the biodiversity of the parks. That's why we're doing this."

Hamilton County park commissioners unanimously approved the deer-shooting program in November. Hundreds of deer are living on each square mile of the targeted parks. The healthy number is 20 deer per square mile.

Ohio's deer population is exploding, jumping by more than 40 percent since 1998 to an estimated 575,000. The increase is blamed on a sharp decrease in natural predators, primarily coyotes and wolves.

Travelers are paying the price for the surge in the number of deer. In 2001, the state recorded 31,586 deer-car collisions, about 17 percent more than in 2000. Insurance officials said the crashes caused about $63.2 million in damage.

The deer are raiding the food sources and nesting grounds of smaller animals, including birds, chipmunks and squirrels, while their own numbers go unchecked.

Hamilton County officials are "just trying to lower the population as best they can," said Dan Frevert, a wildlife supervisor with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "The population has continued to grow unchecked. We have to rely on hunting to provide some kind of natural population control. Otherwise, we're relying on automobiles, which is not a good situation."

Although some animal rights activists have criticized the hunts, Cincinnati's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Cincinnati Nature Center, and other organizations have said shooting is the most efficient, humane way to reduce herds.

At dusk Thursday, park rangers gathered at Shawnee to secure the park and make sure all patrons were gone. Then they began prowling its 1,100 acres in three vehicles. Two trucks were equipped for picking up dead deer, and another had a special platform for shooters.

A ranger used a .243-caliber rifle while the truck roamed from one baited area to the next. Does were the preferred targets.

"It's a slow process," Mr. Klein said. "You have to be really patient."

During future hunts, rangers hope to kill more deer in less time. It's all a matter of learning more about deer activity, especially during moon phases.

The rangers will not shoot at more than three deer at a time.

They don't want the spooked deer to escape and then avoid their vehicles.

"We could take 20 in a third of that time, but you want to do it right," said Sgt. Mark Brooksbank, a senior firearms instructor.

"You don't want to educate other deer."

The ranger noted that there is little joy in getting the perfect shot.

"It's a job. It's not a recreational activity," he said. "You want to make sure it's done safely."

E-mail svela@enquirer.com