Wildlife officers rescue eagles, horses; crack down on illegal hunting and fishing

NewsOhio Division of Wildlife officers are called on to do many things besides enforcing hunting and fishing laws.Ohio Division of WildlifeBy Peter Krouse, cleveland.comCleveland.com Express DeskCLEVELAND, Ohio – Every two weeks officers with the Ohio Division of Wildlife issue field reports that highlight some of their activities.The reports are broken down by district. The latest one was issued on Oct. 27.Incidents include rescuing bald eagles, enforcing hunting and fishing laws, and protecting vegetation on state land.District 1, Central Ohio:State Wildlife Officers Austin Levering and Nick Oliver rescued an injured bald eagle unable to fly in Knox County. The officers worked together to distract the mature bird and then capture it. The eagle was taken to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary.State Wildlife Officer Antoinette Freet cited two anglers for fishing without valid licenses at Buckeye Lake State Park during Labor Day weekend. Both individuals pleaded guilty and each paid $123 in fines and court costs.District 2, Northwest Ohio:State Wildlife Investigator Kelsey Brockman rescued a bald eagle struck by a train and lodged under its headlight. The eagle was taken to Back to the Wild, where it was rehabilitated and released.Four hunters pleaded guilty to about two dozen charges, mostly involving wild turkey violations, after eleven search warrants were issued. The individuals had their hunting licenses revoked for a period of time and were forced to pay more than $36,000 in fines, restitution and court costs. The work of Brian Bury, a state wildlife investigator, also resulted in the forfeiture of six firearms, a compound bow, about 50 turkey mounts and fans, two layout blinds, and a number of other items. District 3, Northeast Ohio:After receiving a report of walleye limit violations at Conneaut Harbor, State Wildlife Investigator Jason Hadsell discovered two boats had exceeded the limit of six walleye per angler. Tickets were issued and surplus fish were seized. Total fines and restitution between the two boats was $504.State Wildlife Officer Thomas Frank discovered a hunter using shelled corn to illegally bait deer at Lake Park Wildlife Area in Mahoning County on opening day of archery season. The hunter was required to pay $245 in court costs and fines.District 4, Southeast Ohio:State Wildlife Officer Bob Nelson cited an individual for illegally digging ginseng at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area in Ross County. The officer seized 25 freshly dug roots. The suspect pleaded guilty to the citation and was made to pay $250 in fines and court costs.State Wildlife Officer Anthony Lemle staffed an Ohio Division of Wildlife booth at the Paul Bunyan Show at the Guernsey County Fairgrounds in October. He discussed the Division of Wildlife with a number of people.District 5, Southwest Ohio:Wildlife Officer Brady Stevens, who covers Darke County, and Alex Almeter, who handles Greene County, found two horses in need of rescue from a horse trailer that was on its side in a ditch in the Caesar Creek Wildlife Area. Police, fire and special equine units responded to the scene, as did a veterinarian. The horses were pulled from the trailer by hand using ropes.Law Operations Manager Jason Keller and State Wildlife Officer Chris Gilkey attended a ribbon-cutting for the Jason LaGore Memorial Dog Park at Caesar Creek State Park. Keller and Gilkey are also K-9 handlers. The park honors LaGore, a natural resources officer who died in 2021 while responding to a rescue call at Rocky Fork State Park. He also established the first Ohio State Parks Canine Academy and helped train K-9 teams.Peter Krouse joined The Plain Dealer in 2000 and currently covers the environment for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Previously, he was a business reporter for eight years and then covered federal and...This article was produced with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by Cleveland.com staff.