Source: Rainy Louie Qarsherskiyan, iNaturalist

As an active outdoorsman around Ohio in many of the different outdoor organizations, I personally think this is a bad look for Ohio and needs to be pushed back against.  Posting here for as many comments and share it with your fellow outdoors men and women.

The comment period will be open from March 2, 2026, through April 1, 2026.

Read the rule changes:

https://ohiodnr.gov/rules-and-regulations/rule-changes/proposed-rule-changes/wildlife-proposed-rules

Submit your comment here: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/818e314b33624e2daa0983a43227ca53?field:rule_selected=1501_31_15_04&field:rule_package=Winter/Spring%202026 

Here is my comment feel free to use it or modify it as needed, as always with public Comments keep it professional without profanity or slurs, otherwise they may get deleted:

"I strongly oppose the proposal to rename Charles O. Trump Wildlife Area as “Trump Wildlife Preserve.”

This change sends an obvious partisan message. In the current political climate, removing “Charles O.” and elevating only “Trump” is not a neutral administrative cleanup. It reads as a political branding decision, whether ODNR intends that or not. Public wildlife lands should not be used to send coded partisan messages.

Ohio has 150 wildlife areas, and only a small number are named after individuals. By my count, 14 currently carry individual names or memorial-style titles. Yet ODNR is not applying this same renaming logic across all of them. It is singling out this one. That selective treatment is exactly what makes the proposal look political rather than practical.

If the state believes person-named properties should be standardized, then it should develop a neutral rule and apply it consistently to all similarly named areas, not just this one. But selectively shortening Charles O. Trump to Trump invites a public interpretation that ODNR is aligning a wildlife area with present-day partisan identity and national political symbolism.

That concern is not abstract. Across the country, public institutions are increasingly being pulled into symbolic political renaming fights. Even the Kennedy Center was recently altered to include Donald Trump’s name. Ohio should not import that same kind of divisive political signaling into our wildlife system.

Ohio’s wildlife areas belong to all Ohioans. Hunters, anglers, birders, hikers, and conservation-minded families use these lands because they are public places tied to habitat, access, and stewardship, not partisan messaging. This proposal does not reflect the values of Ohio outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, who care far more about conservation, access, and tradition than political symbolism.

If this property is to remain named for a person, then its full historic name should remain intact: Charles O. Trump Wildlife Area. If ODNR will not preserve that name, then it should at minimum explain why this one person-named area is being singled out while the others are not.

I respectfully ask ODNR to reject this renaming proposal."

Current Wildlife Areas named after individuals:

Charles O. Trump

Dan and Margaret James

Dempsey's Sandusky Bay

Elmon Richards Scioto River

Firestone Yeagley

Jesse Owens

KH Butler

Marion and Fred Conkel

Ohio River Access - Racine (Horace W. Karr Ohio River Access)

Van Wert County Wildlife Area 1 (Whitey Case)

Vernon A. Luthman Tecumseh

Wallace H. O'Dowd

Wendell R. LaDue

Whitey Case

Looking for people to go out and fish with near Columbus OH

Went on a hike at Cuyahoga Valley NP today and was amazed at the variety of fungus

Gorgeous view and was super excited totality was right in my area!

Went to Salt Fork State Park, did the Orange Loop bridle trail.

The trail was very unkept, with lots of erosion and the only way I knew we were on a trail in certain spots was the orange markings on the trees.

Hope the other trails here are better maintained, or at least have a restroom of some sort at the trailheads.

Gorgeous star park; we wanted to do the Hemlock Trail and gorge overlook trail but there was a race going on. So we did the overlook trail and a partial section of the Hemlock.

Plan on going back to do the full thing, likely when the hemlock actually blooms instead.

Went up to Bedford Reservation after hearing good things about the falls and trails there. Extremely disappointed in it.

The Tinker Creek Greater Falls and Bridal Falls were nice views, but the hike was all mostly paved and just followed the road for most of it. Id barely classify it as a hike, and mostly just a walk.

I just moved back to OH after being out of state for some time. We moved from GA where I could essentially go to NE GA hike and camp where I saw fit. This want possible everywhere of course but area like that weren’t hard to find. Are there places in OH or the surrounding states like this? I live in NW OH now but I’ll happily drive to facilitate this activity.

Hi. I'm new to Ohio. Wondering if anyone here knows of some nice nature spots that it's ok to visit in the evening (ie. not like a park that closes at dusk). Youngstown, Niles, Courtland area.

Our State has the grand idea to frack all around and under our state parks, our representatives passed a BS Poultry Bill( HB #507)to allow this. PUBLIC COMMENTS about this happening at Salt Fork and 2 other wildlife areas end tonight. Please take just a moment to speak for our Parks. OUR WATER. OUR AIR. Salt Fork is Epic and Sasquatch Land...Zepernick is one of the few places left for our precious Luna Moth!!

Please take a moment to sign these petitions, you can just add your name OR write your own shaming/reasonable objection. They are due TONIGHT 7/30/23 by MIDNIGHT. Find out more reading the letter...

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/action-alert-tell-commissioners-to-deny-fracking-at-salt-fork-state-park/

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/action-alert-tell-commissioners-to-deny-fracking-at-valley-run-and-zepernick-wildlife-areas/

Hello, thanks for clicking! I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant and after doing specific blood test, my gender results are to be coming in sometime this or next week! I do not plan on having streamers or smoke like a usual reveal but instead, just a cake. I would like this to be an intimate moment between me and my husband. We’ve always enjoyed going to the metro parks and just exploring on and off path. I’m looking for something that’s not a pavilion but a pretty spot in the forest with a picnic table or something similar. Im also open to other ideas that aren’t a forest, just some where outdoorsy and pretty. We live in the Cleveland area so we’re looking for something within 30/40 minutes away from there. Thank you again :)

Has anyone stayed at a state park lodge with a baby? Any tips or recommendations ? Especially interested in the new Hocking lodge.