DMU Columbiana, Ohio

Rolling hills and steep ridges with flat hilltops and valley floors along creek drainages; elevation 1,060-1,340 ft in the southern portion. Land cover is a mosaic of hardwood timber, cutover stands, brushy edges, wetlands, and mixed farmland (cattle pasture and row crops). Located along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in the northeast corner of the state, roughly 60 miles southeast of Cleveland and Lake Erie.

Primary public land: Highlandtown Wildlife Area (2,269 acres, 1 mile north of Highlandtown - steep terrain with 170-acre lake; open to deer, turkey, grouse, rabbit, squirrel, waterfowl, furbearer hunting). Guilford Lake State Park (396 acres - deer, turkey, pheasant, quail, squirrel, rabbit, Canada geese). Zepernick Lake and New Garden public hunting areas flank Route 172 west of Lisbon. Beaver Creek State Park (2,722 acres) borders the county and offers limited hunting though foot and horse traffic can be heavy. Private land dominates; knock-and-ask on farms is productive. No large national forest blocks - public acreage is modest relative to harvest totals.

Moderate-to-high. Columbiana is consistently a top-10 Ohio county for total deer harvest, ranking 10th in the 2025 gun season (1,968 deer vs. 3-year average of 1,579) and 10th in the 2025 muzzleloader season (321 deer vs. 3-year average of 272). It was one of only two northeast Ohio counties (alongside Trumbull) in the top-10 during the 2025-26 season. Public areas receive significant pressure during gun week; private-land hunters have a notable edge.

Bag limit: 3 deer per license year (Columbiana is on the ODNR statewide 3-deer county list per administrative rule). No more than 1 may be antlered. On public hunting areas, hunters may take up to 2 antlerless deer. Deer Management Permits (DMPs) are valid statewide for antlerless deer and can be used on public land through late December.

2025-26 season dates - Archery: Sept 27, 2025-Feb 1, 2026 (DSA early opener Sept 13); Youth Gun: Nov 22-23, 2025; Gun: Dec 1-7, 2025 and Dec 20-21, 2025; Muzzleloader: Jan 3-6, 2026. Turkey: spring season mid-April through May statewide. Grouse, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant (Highlandtown is a stocking site), waterfowl, and woodcock also present.

One of Ohio's most productive northeast deer counties - top-10 in every major season. The Highlandtown WMA ridge systems hold good numbers of deer and turkey in a true mixed-forest setting. The county's below-average bag limit (3 deer vs. statewide 6) reflects intentional ODNR herd management. Muzzleloader hunters do particularly well relative to statewide competition. Private farmland edges adjacent to creek drainages produce mature bucks; permission access is realistic in rural townships.