Much has changed since our ancestors celebrated the first Thanksgiving centuries ago.

Back then, families didn’t have the luxury of visiting the local supermarket to buy turkey, stuffing, potatoes and cranberries to prepare their feast, and there were no football fans crowded around television sets watching the now annual Thanksgiving Day NFL game.

But, a few important things about the season have endured through all these years.

Just like the pilgrims and Native Americans celebrating that first successful harvest in Plymouth, Mass. in the autumn of 1621, we still take a moment every Thanksgiving to give thanks to God for our food, our health and our family and friends.

And, millions of Americans still trek out into woods and fields every November to hunt.

While advances in technology and the advent of grocery stores have altered the nature of the sport, hunting continues to have a critical impact on conservation, the strength of Ohio families and communities and the success of our state’s economy. Hunting has an $859 million annual economic impact in Ohio through the sale of equipment, fuel, food, lodging and other items, according to data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Our state also ranks 10th nationally in the number of jobs associated with the hunting-industry.

Hunters also help promote conservation through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife sells 2.1 million hunting and fishing licenses annually, which brings in an average of $40 million a year.

The agency uses this revenue to preserve and protect Ohio’s fish and wildlife resources for all Ohioans.

However, the Division not only works to promote conservation of Ohio’s natural resources but also contributes to the conservation of Ohio taxpayers dollars.

The agency is self-funded and uses no Ohio general revenue funds.

On Nov. 29, more than 400,000 hunters are expected to spread out across Ohio for the opening day of deer-gun season, which runs through Dec. 5.

There is also an extra weekend of gun hunting on Dec. 18-19. During this time, deer can be hunted with a legal muzzleloader, handgun or shotgun from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

In the spirit of the holiday season, it is important for all deer hunters to remember that donating a deer is free at meat processors participating in the Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) venison donation program.

While venison donations are accepted any day during the full deer hunting season, Sept. 25-Feb. 6, 2011, Dec. 4 has been designated as FHFH Day.

Last year, hunters contributed nearly 117,000 pounds of venison, which provided 467,000 meals for Ohioans in need.

For more information about the FHFH program, as well as a list of participating meat processors, you can visit www.fhfh.org.

The website also allows people to donate cash that will supplement the funds being raised to help pay for processing the meat.

From the early settlers of our country to today’s modern sportsmen and women, hunting has been an important tradition passed down from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters and grandparents to grandchildren.

And, while hunting is no longer necessary for survival, the sport continues to provide food for thousands of Americans, support conservation of our natural resources and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy.

I wish all the hunters in the 17th Senate District and others across Ohio who are headed out for deer-gun season this week the best of luck.

Senator John A. Carey Jr., can be reached at the Ohio Senate, Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio 43215, or at his office at (614) 466-8156. You can also visit his page on the Ohio Senate website at www.ohiosenate.gov/john-carey.