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I know sumthin

M

mrex

*Supporting member*
439
79
Jackalope said:
I'm sure Tonkovich wrote him a wonderful recommendation.
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This didn't happen.

Jackalope said:
He disagreed with the reduction but we were always at odds with who was at fault. I blamed Tonkovich as he was the head biologist and the lead of Ohio's deer program. Mike backed Tonk at every turn as they were quite good friends living only a mile or so from each other. Choosing rather to blame Zehringer. I'm sure that support for his friend Tonk helped Mike secure this appointment .
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Think about what you're saying Joe. I sided with a biologist and blamed the director which helped me secure an appointment from the Governor? I'm not going to get into another policy/management debate, however, my stance on this topic is well documented and has always centered around distribution.

Jackalope said:
My observations over the years tell me however he will do what is right for Rex.
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I would hope you guys would see my appointment to the Wildlife Council as mostly positive. It's not a paid position but certainly an honor. I really don't have an axe to grind or agenda other than I am an avid hunter and fisherman who also happens to be a rural land owner.
 
"J"

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
57,027
274
North Carolina
Mike, congrats on the appointment happy you have met a goal of yours and look forward too good things outta it for both the heard and fellow hunters....
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,915
274
Appalachia
mrex said:
I would hope you guys would see my appointment to the Wildlife Council as mostly positive. It's not a paid position but certainly an honor. I really don't have an axe to grind or agenda other than I am an avid hunter and fisherman who also happens to be a rural land owner.
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Agreed. My hope is that you remember your roots. If you do that, we'll all be better off having you on the WC. Best of luck in this endeavor. Hopefully you'll be remember as the guy who saved Ohio's deer hunting..........
 
finelyshedded

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,897
260
SW Ohio
Congrats on the appointment Mike. It's hard to make everyone happy! Farmers want deer gone but are making a lot of dough selling corn to hunters. Insurance companies want deer gone cause the collisions are costing them money. The ODNR relies on hunting license sales to pay their bills and hunter participation is dropping off because of low deer numbers.

In defense of the deer and their vehicle collision history, there's A HELL OF A LOT MORE VEHICLES on the road these days!!! Maybe we should look at the exploding human population a bit more as well as drivers not paying attention while driving! It's easy to blame an animal that can't speak up to defend itself! Lol

Enough of my rant....again congrats!
 
Bigslam51

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
I hope you can do something about the lack of deer in alot of Ohio. Kids aren't going to want to hunt anymore when they don't see deer. Good luck.
 
5Cent

5Cent

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
12,332
212
North Central Ohio
Best of luck Mike, please help to turn the herd numbers around.

I wish you posted more often than just to defend your name on here. I know you and Shelley are busy, but you have a lot of knowledge and insights that could help a lot of new members on this forum.
 
Jackalope

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,859
260
mrex said:
This didn't happen.



Think about what you're saying Joe. I sided with a biologist and blamed the director which helped me secure an appointment from the Governor? I'm not going to get into another policy/management debate, however, my stance on this topic is well documented and has always centered around distribution.



I would hope you guys would see my appointment to the Wildlife Council as mostly positive. It's not a paid position but certainly an honor. I really don't have an axe to grind or agenda other than I am an avid hunter and fisherman who also happens to be a rural land owner.
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I remember quite clearly you stating Tonk was not the problem but rather ODNR leadership. You pointed to Zehringer being brought over from the Department of Agriculture and one of his first words to Tonk being something similar to "what are we doing to reduce the deer population". You stated he was brought in to manage the Utica play and was no friend of hunters. I'm not digging back through 7 years of posts but I remember it quite clearly.

And I do see your appointment as mostly promising. You and I have had our disagreements over the years. Disagreements that mostly centered around who was to blame for the mismanagement. But at it's core I think we both agreed the DOW could have done a better job and were mwssing up in a lot of areas. Neither of us agreed with the early muzzy season and for the most part thought a herd reduction was a bad idea, or at a minimum could have been handle better. Our primary disagreement was in that I always blamed Tonk as the head biologist and deer program leader, you always disagreed saying Tonk recommended what he thought best for Ohio's hunters. Here we sit 7 years later with a vastly reduced deer population and not a soul to hold responsible.

As you're well aware the DOW has been under immense pressure from political representatives lobbied by organisations such as the Ohio Farm Bureau and insurance companies. I hope throughout your appointment you remember the guys wearing camo instead of the guys wearing suits. In the future your voting record will clearly display whose side you're on.
 
M

mrex

*Supporting member*
439
79
Jackalope said:
I remember quite clearly you stating Tonk was not the problem but rather ODNR leadership. You pointed to Zehringer being brought over from the Department of Agriculture and one of his first words to Tonk being something similar to "what are we doing to reduce the deer population". You stated he was brought in to manage the Utica play and was no friend of hunters. I'm not digging back through 7 years of posts but I remember it quite clearly.
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I guess we'll have to agree to disagree as I have no recollection of the conversation.

As Rick mentioned, it's a complex and difficult balancing act faced by the DOW. I'm excited to learn more of process.
 
"J"

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
57,027
274
North Carolina
mrex said:
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree as I have no recollection of the conversation.

As Rick mentioned, it's a complex and difficult balancing act faced by the DOW. I'm excited to learn more of process.
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Mike it would be appreciated if you'd stay connected here and let us know how things are progressing as you tenure thru the process.... You know the guys on this site are passionate about our states natural resources and seeing something that you're are part of and your insight would help guys back you in your endeavors..... Most hunters are ignorant too the process and you can enlighten them by getting the word out..... Too many opinions dirty up the waters and people getting the facts would help stop that....
 
hickslawns

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,772
248
Ohio
"J" said:
Mike it would be appreciated if you'd stay connected here and let us know how things are progressing as you tenure thru the process.... You know the guys on this site are passionate about our states natural resources and seeing something that you're are part of and your insight would help guys back you in your endeavors..... Most hunters are ignorant too the process and you can enlighten them by getting the word out..... Too many opinions dirty up the waters and people getting the facts would help stop that....
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This would certainly be appreciated. I would like to hear it from a fellow hunter.

Congratulations on your appointment. I wish you the best of luck. I hope you can be a solid voice for the hunters. Sure seems like our voices fall on deaf ears when we go to open houses. It gets old talking to the wall.
 
Kaiser878

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Anyone who is making snide comments obviously doesn't know a whole lot about the wildlife council. The majority of them DO NOT hunt and are NOT outdoorsman. So the addition of an outdoorsman to the council is a GIANT win for all of us.

Also, the council does not make the laws or the rules. They are simply there to be the voice for us sportsman. The dnr proposes laws and the council votes on them... so again, the addition of a sportsman to this group is the best thing that could possibly happen. Regardless of what many of you think, Mike has as much if not more invested interest into the outdoors than many think. Especially when it comes to whitetails, which is the driving interest for most all of us on this site...

Also, do a little research and look at the members of the council and look who mike is replacing. I'm sure your opinions would change..


Good luck mike
 
Jackalope

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,859
260
Reading back through I don't see where anyone stated that Mike's addition to the council was bad.

As for not knowing a lot about the council do you mean the council that is made up of an eight person board. No more than four of which can be of the same political party, and two of which must represent agriculture. The eight member council who votes on proposed changes by the DOW prior to sending tthem o the Ohio congressional floor for passage. A counsel by which Mike Rex himself has said "largely rubber stamps the recommendations of the DOW"

While I agree that Mike's appointment to the council is far better than a tree huggers appointment; I also understand he did not receive this appointment by being the outspoken voice of discontent amongst hunters. Quite the opposite from my recollection. So forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to believe that Mike will carry the torch and pitchfork of hunters to his council meetings. Perhaps I am wrong, time will tell. We can however rest assured that he will not propose any tree hugger agendas. The fact remains however the DOW and the sitting council has done more damage to deer hunting in Ohio over the last 8 years than tree huggers have. So it will be interesting to see where he sits and if he tries to change that.

As for a council who you state is "the voice of the hunters" they sure haven't done hunters any favors over the past seven years rubber stamping the DOWs recommendation to decimate our deer population. That to me seems more like "the voice of insurance and farm lobbyist" maybe mikes vote will help to change that. But like I said he wasn't exactly appointed based on his tenaciousness against such lobbying.

At the end of the day Mike's appointment is a good thing. HOW good of a thing, is yet to be seen. I have high hopes and this is a great start towards putting hunters back in charge of DOW regulations. He's not the Rand Paul i want on the council, more like Mitt Romney which at the end of the day is better than a Hillary. I wish him well and hope he makes hunters proud. Time will tell.
 
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