It was, it did, for a bit. Then 43% of residents who purchased annual hunting licenses quit hunting since 2011, (280k annual resident hunting licenses sold in 2011 vs, 187k in 2023) those remaining woke up and stopped listening to the DNR.
23% drop in all hunting licenses combined (resident, free, NR, youth, NR 3 day, Apprentice, etc)
And the saddest of all, a 36% decrease in youth sales.
But per Tonk, that was just the price of their reduction efforts. In his defense though he did say he didn't think the DOW would ever really achieve their full plan because of exactly what I posted above, people will quit, people will realize, and the deer numbers will again grow. So he was right about that.
To answer your tongue in cheek question on if deer hunting in Ohio is going down the shitter. I guess it's all in how you look at it, and and what the future might bring.
