NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Wayne National Forest Supervisor Carrie Gilbert has issued a closure order for the Baileys Trails System, in Athens County. The order is necessary for public safety during gun hunting season. The closure will be in effect on Wayne National Forest lands from Nov. 29 through Dec. 5, and Dec. 18-19.
On these dates, the Baileys Trail System will be closed to bike riders. Foot traffic will still be allowed so that hunters may access the area. Historically in Ohio, predators like wolves and mountain lions helped maintain deer populations at sustainable levels, and human hunters fill that role today.
Some negative environmental impacts of high deer populations include overgrazing of native plants, decline or disappearance of plant species from parts of their range, starved, unhealthy deer, less food or shelter for other wild animals, changes to ecosystem structure and collisions with road traffic.
