In the early 20th century, Ohio’s deer, wild turkey, beaver, bobcat, and other wildlife populations were facing extinction because of widespread forest loss and uncontrolled hunting. Ohio’s first wildlife area, the Theodore Roosevelt Game Preserve, was established in 1922 under the leadership of Governor Harry L. Davis to reestablish wildlife through a game and reforestation preserve on 15,000 acres purchased with hunting license fees. The state agricultural extension division purchased an additional 5,000 acres. The preserve quickly advanced the conservation goals associated with President Theodore Roosevelt by supporting programs that reestablished Ohio’s extirpated wildlife, and a century later the partnership between hunters and wildlife management continues to thrive in Scioto County.