Submitted photo So far, U.S. Department of Agriculture-employed sharpshooters have removed 32 deer over two nights in October from Mill Creek Park between U.S. Route 224 and Shields Road. Another 35 were removed by hunters for a total of 67 confirmed kills.

CANFIELD — So far, U.S. Department of Agriculture-employed sharpshooters have removed 32 deer over two nights in October from Mill Creek Park between U.S. Route 224 and Shields Road.

Mill Creek MetroParks Natural Resources Manager Rachel Sobnosky stated Monday that, in addition to the 25 deer sharpshooters killed Oct. 21, the sharpshooters came back Oct. 29 and removed seven more.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources approved the MetroParks to remove 50 deer this year through Feb. 1. Sobnosky said Monday she does not yet have a date or dates for when sharpshooters will return to remove more.

HUNTERS

The MetroParks has a separate type of deer reduction also taking place. They are being carried out by hunters selected through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources lottery system to hunt in various MetroParks properties.

Sobnosky provided data Oct. 21 on the number of deer confirmed as removed by bow hunters during the first three weeks of bow hunting in the MetroParks — five the first week beginning Sept. 29 in parks such as Collier Preserve and Mill Creek Wildlife Preserve East, 13 the following week and five the week after that for a total of 23.

Sobnosky on Monday provided the number of deer removed by hunters in weeks four and five. There were nine taken the week starting Oct. 20 and three taken the week starting Oct. 26. That totals 35 deer kills confirmed during the first five weeks of hunting and 32 removed by sharpshooters for a total of 67.

However, as Sobnosky explained Oct. 21, she is attempting to check with the hunters who are reporting their deer kills to ODNR to confirm that they actually removed the deer from MetroParks properties because there has been some confusion by hunters when notifying ODNR as to whether they killed their deer on a MetroParks property or not.

She stated Monday that there are still five deer kills reported to ODNR that she has not yet been able to confirm in weeks 2, 4 and 5. She confirms the kills by contacting the hunter to clarify where the kill took place, she stated.

Of the confirmed deer reductions so far by hunters, eight have come from Sawmill Creek Preserve in Canfield and eight have come from the Mill Creek Wildlife Sanctuary East in Canfield. Six have come from Collier Preserve in Boardman. Five have come from Huntington Woods in Boardman and four have come from Hitchcock Woods in Boardman.