LEXINGTON – Travis Minnear first noticed the signs popping up around the Clearfork Reservoir this spring.
The signs marked the area as a public hunting location, requiring hunters to obtain a permission card. Without the cards, they would be hunting illegally and susceptible to removal or punishment.
Minnear registered quickly. Law enforcement officers at the reservoir handed him the orange card and that was it. In talking to others, Minnear, an English teacher at Wynford Local Schools in Crawford County, noticed confusion.
“I think the big concern maybe is just to see why this is going on,” Minnear said. “They put some signs up at some of the public hunting areas down there, basically just saying, ‘Hey, this is going to be a new requirement.’ I think some of the concern might just be because they are not sure why it is (there).”
Minnear described his trip to become a registered hunter, calling it “not a huge burden.” Clearfork Reservoir police asked for his Ohio Department of Natural Resources hunting license number and other personal information, marked it down and handed him the card.
Scott Kotterman, operations supervisor at the city of Mansfield reservoir, likened the license distribution to needing permission to hunt in a neighbor’s backyard.
Still, some of the concern boils down to potential cost and the distribution of private information. Kotterman said those are nonissues.
“(The cards) cost nothing. The data doesn’t get shared,” he said. “It simply means you’re a lawful hunter with an ODNR hunting license. The permission slip is what it is because this isn’t government land.
“It’s no different than if I wanted to ask you to hunt in your backyard. According to state law, I would need a permission card,” Kotterman said.
State laws dictate Clearfork Reservoir can enforce hunter registration regardless of whether it is private, public or municipal. The city of Mansfield owns the land and designates the hunting zones, allowing it to enforce registration.
Clearfork Reservoir officials and hunters have a great rapport. Minnear and Kotterman agree on that. Many interactions start around registration and evolve into hunting advice.
“We’ll come out and ask what you’re doing and how you’re doing. They’ll say, ‘Have you seen a buck or a turkey?'” Kotterman said. “We’ll tell people, ‘Yeah, they’re coming across Marion,’ or ‘We saw them over on Bowers Road.’ We have a great, great rapport with (hunters).”
Clearfork Reservoir police enforce registration through spot checks, approaching the hunter and asking to see their card. If hunters are found without a card, officials will ask them to register for one. Punishments vary for repeat offenders.
“The best thing to do is come, hunt sober and follow the Ohio Revised Code. It’s free and easy,” Kotterman said. “Everybody’s welcome to come out here and hunt. We just want them to do it lawfully.”
