The following was sent to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost by local veterinarian Donald Allen:
     
      Dear Ohio Attorney General Yost:
      I am writing to request that you investigate an apparent case of misfeasance on the part of the executive director of Mill Creek MetroParks (MCMP), Aaron Young, here in Mahoning County. A “culling” (slaughter) of white-tailed deer in Mill Creek Park began Oct. 1 and will continue throughout this hunting season, to be repeated every year for a total of ten years. Professional hunters are being paid $50,000 to help in this effort.
      Thirty deer were herded onto Mill Creek Golf Course Oct. 11, 2023, and slaughtered using rifles with suppressors, night vision, and infrared scopes. This, after they clearly stated on the millcreekmetroparks.org website that, “NO hunting will take place in Mill Creek Park (North of 224) or Yellow Creek Park.” The golf course lies north of Rte. 224 and south of Shields Road. Information I just received stated that an additional golf course slaughter was to take place...targeting does with yearlings and pregnant does.
      Aaron Young has stated publicly that he wants to eliminate deer from the park system. He must be stopped, and an informal organization, “Help Save the Hill Creek Park Deer,” (Facebook), has been working diligently this year to halt the scheduled “culling.” Attorney Marc Dann’s office was engaged to file a suit seeking preliminary injunctive relief from MCMP’s deer slaughter plan until further investigation. See Court of Common Pleas, Mahoning County, OH, Case No. 2023 CV 01775. The hearing was to be before Judge Anthony Donofrio Sept. 21, 2023, but he referred the hearing to his magistrate, Nicole M. Alexander.
      There was expert testimony on behalf of the plaintiffs, including myself, but to no avail. It was as if our factual testimony held no value in the decision; the decision was made before we even spoke. Here are some of the details that brought about the considerable opposition to Aaron Young. The destruction of Mill Creek Park white-tailed deer began Oct. 1, 2023, and continues.
       1) The estimated population of white-tailed deer in Mill Creek MetroParks is erroneous and blatantly inaccurate.
        a) If there were, indeed, an average of 387 deer per square mile of park land, there would be large herds of deer moving through the yards of residents who live adjacent to the parks. They are not.
        b) If there were, indeed, an average of 387 deer per square mile of park land, they would truly decimate the forage in the park and move out to seek food on adjacent private property. They do not.
       2) This “count” of deer in MCMP was performed by “Above All Aerial and Specialty Photography Ohio,” using FLIR thermal imaging technology and fixed-wing aircraft on Jan. 21 and 26, 2022, (see millcreekmetroparks.org, “White-Tailed Deer in Mill Creek MetroParks”). This survey counted a low of 262 and a high of 674 deer for the 15 distinct areas of MCMP, giving an average of 387 deer per square mile. Simply a preposterous number, and unbelievable to those who live adjacent to the park and who have frequented the park for over 30 years (my back yard overlooks Lake Newport).
        a) Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates the total deer population for the state of Ohio at between 650,000 and 750,000 deer. Ohio comprises 40,860.69 square miles (census.gov). Using the high number of 750,000 divided by 40,860 equals 18-19 deer per square mile.
        b) A 2008 estimate of white-tailed deer densities in the eastern USA (https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/white-tailed-deer-density-estimates-across-eastern-united-states-2008) shows our county with less than 15 deer per square mile.
       3) Thousands of Mahoning County residents have rejected the director’s claims of overpopulation and “browse lines,” and will continue to oppose the actions of Mr. Young until he can be replaced. “The Vindicator, www.vindy.com, published a lead story saying, “Rep: Make Mill Creek board more accountable.” This is State Rep. Lauren McNally’s effort to counter the park’s decisions, which are counter to the public’s wishes.
       4) It is apparent that the current selection board ignored any due diligence in its choice of Aaron Young. In 2014, while employed at The Geauga Park District, Young’s former co-workers determined through a Leadership Team Assessment that, “Aaron has developed the negative behavior of verbally tackling his teammates and using fowl language, which must be addressed. Lack of and/or poor decision making will be an issue for him. Under stress Aaron’s style can become impatient and autocratic, and when situations are inconsistent with the individual’s goals or opinions they may not support team efforts and can appear to be arrogant.” Young was hired by Mill Creek Park in January 2015. https://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/aaron-young-succeed-dennis-miller-executive-director-mill-creek-metroparks/
       5) The Facebook page, “Help Save the Mill Creek Park Deer” has over 3,400 members. They will undoubtedly vote, “NO,” for all further MCP levies until there is a change in administration.
       6) During public meetings of the MCMP board, Mr. Young acts as his own secretary, taking laptop notes of what is being said. This is unacceptable, in that he is his own conflict of interest, and formal “notes” are not necessarily accurate.
       7) During my testimony at the hearing, with a representative of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) present, I stated that, truly, there was no need for the park to pay for professional USDA sharpshooters to kill off the deer. Ohio has “bag limits” for deer hunting during the regularly scheduled hunting seasons. Each county has a limit, and most, including Mahoning County, are three deer. Total for each hunter for the season is six deer, and only one can have horns (bucks). That means a hunter can take three deer in Mahoning, and go to another county to shoot three more to reach his/her limit. Some Ohio counties have a limit of two deer, some have a limit of four. It would have been much simpler, and at no cost to the park, for ODNR to simply increase the bag limit for Mahoning and possibly adjoining counties to six, allowing hunters to fulfill their limits in this county alone. This logical solution was ignored.
       8) Since this hunt began, the MCP deer have dispersed, some being hit on local highways, and have become scarce. They are free to roam anywhere in Ohio; nothing keeps them in MCP other than the friendliness of local residents. They will be greatly missed.
       9) Additionally, the director has allocated thousands of tax dollars to seek eminent domain over private property to extend a bike trail, to no avail thus far. “Since 2020, Mill Creek MetroParks has paid the Youngstown law firm Roth Blair over $336,932 to handle the legalities of extending the MetroParks’ Bikeway.” https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/im-not-a-fan-metroparks-executive-director-discusses-eminent-domain/
       10) Per an e-mail I received Nov. 21, 2023, “Young has a employee and citizen blacklist which forbids people on the list are either fired or not aloud to volunteer for the park . Jamie Yohman is in charge of it. Nobody has access to it. The volunteers who work at the Davis center have been moved out of the building. They hold their meetings at Austintown Park. A woman named Kathy is in charge and she is not aloud to work inside the center. All money they raise now must be turned in to the general fund instead of using that money on their needs.”
      Please help us.
      Sincerely,
      Donald K. Allen, MS, DVM
      Lt. Col., USAF/USAFR (Ret.)
      Former military public health officer
      dba:
      Dr. Donald K. Allen, Veterinarian
     
      PICTURE: photo/John A. Darnell jr.
       A “culling” (slaughter) of white-tailed deer in Mill Creek Park began Oct. 1 and will continue throughout this hunting season, to be repeated every year for a total of ten years. Mother Nature asks, “Why?”