The Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control License application and the Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control Operator (CNWACO) training program booklet and certification test are now available. Links to access the materials can be found at http://www.owcoa.com or at www.wildohio.com. The certification test is 100 questions with a time limit of 1 1/2 hours and requires a passing score of 80% or higher.

On June 1, 2013 the new Nuisance Wild Animal Control regulations will replace the old regulations.

Beginning July 1, 2013, anyone who is hired in Ohio to perform removal or control services for commensal rodents, bats, birds, furbearing animals, and game animals regardless of method of control used must be working for a licensed Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control business and be a certified CNWACO or working under the direct visual and auditory supervision of a certified CNWACO.

I am reading through the manual now. It constantly refers to the 5 5/8 trap limit on dryland for most of the animals Tull the coyote section.

Make sure to read the new regulations as well before taking the test. With the new regs, the limit for those with a CNWACO certification will be 6 inches for footholds and bodygripping traps as well as lethal snares (with loop size restrictions) and the collarum.

Please keep in mind that this process is open to change. If you have a question that you feel has an incorrect answer, please make note of it and submit it to me via PM.

Include your logic for why the question or answer is wrong, and I will present it to the Division of Wildlife. We have already had a couple submitted, and they are certainly willing to work with us on it.

Dirk

You, Eric & Ron Krueger & I am sure others have done an absolutely great job of getting it done right with out the unnecessary national certification BS.

Individual states need to be following Ohio's example.

I agree with you Robb. My hats off to you gentlemen. I know all three of these guys personally and their combined intelligence must be quite impressive to the Ohio DNR.

Thank you for your compliments. We must also give a great deal of credit to our Division of Wildlife personnel, particularly Ken Fitz and Ron Ollis. Both are common sense type of guys. We were not involved in the creation of the training manual or test, other than to assist them in finding what was available. I know they looked at other states' programs, the Nebraska/Cornell material, and NWCOA's course outline along with other resources

They took what they believed was appropriate and incorporated it into the Ohio Program. They also realized that this is a means to ensure that operators in Ohio meet a minimum level of competence and have, at the least, been exposed to the basics of the industry and understand the law as it applies to the business enterprise of handling wildlife conflicts. It is not meant to create an army of Master WCOs.

A good analogy would be the Hunter Safety Course. While it teaches you the basics, it does not give you an in depth class on turkey hunting, hunting with hounds, game calling, water fowling, or how to increase your chances of bagging a world class buck.

All in all, I would have to say I am pleased with the final product (there are always some things you would rather be different though!!!). I am even more pleased in that the DOW understands this is a program that is not, and probably won't ever be, set in stone. They seem to be willing to adjust and adapt the program as changes in our industry demand.

The new ohio nuisance commercial license, only going to cost you $40.00 a year, makes me want to vote for the governor again. He has screwed, over the people again. If you run a junk yard, you have to lay out every thing, in certain order, and buy a new state license, for $6000.00, in order to stay in buisness.

Joe, I'm glad I don't live in Ohio. My wife has called the basement a junkyard for years.

Thanks for posting this info here. Link appreciated.