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Ohio Department of Natural Resources | Ohio.gov Review

Depends

Should I use Ohio Department of Natural Resources | Ohio.gov?

A department of incredible diversity, ODNR owns and manages more than 800,000 acres of land, including 76 state parks, 24 state forests, 158 state nature preserves, and 150 wildlife areas. - ohiodnr.gov

· 3 weeks ago

This is a free Ohio state government agency website, not software anyone buys — a purchase decision doesn't apply. Use it if you need Ohio park info, hunting/fishing licenses, or public GIS data; skip it if you were evaluating a tool to purchase.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 14 public sources; no software-product review data exists because this is a government agency site.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Public access

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Ohio hunters, anglers, boaters
  • State park trip planners
  • Researchers needing Ohio GIS data
  • Ohio landowners with wildlife questions

Not for

  • Software buyers — there is nothing here to purchase
  • Non-Ohio outdoor recreation needs
  • Teams evaluating tools in any software category
  • Anyone expecting polished digital self-service

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Website was fully shut down by malware in May 2020; legacy infrastructure may mean future outages.

medium

Hunting/fishing app errors reported; one user lost $36 and couldn't get printed replacements.

low

Runs on legacy IBM WebSphere Portal; deep URLs are long and brittle.

low

38% of employee 'con' reviews mention low pay and small raises — may affect public-facing service.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free public access to parks, wildlife, and forestry information
  • Open GIS data portal with downloadable datasets, including dam safety records
  • Employees praise benefits, pension, and job security
  • Manages 800,000+ acres across 76 state parks

Cons

  • 2020 malware attack shut down the website
  • Employee reviews cite outdated systems and low pay
  • Division of Wildlife app failures cost users money
  • Not a product: no plan, trial, or purchase path exists

Sources & method

- 8 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in sources reviewed; one major incident — a 2020 malware attack that temporarily shut down the site.

official x2review x4security x1news x1
  • 2020 malware attack shut down ODNR website, Malware forced the department's site offline in May 2020; McAfee currently assesses as safe.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free public services; you pay only activity fees.
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Broken app complaints; legacy WebSphere platform.
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Broad services: parks, licenses, open GIS data.
  • Support quality: 2/5. User reports unresolved app and refund issues.
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2020 malware outage; legacy infrastructure.
  • 3.7/5 Indeed rating 38 employee reviews
  • 800,000+ acres Land managed 76 parks, 24 forests, 158 preserves
  • Free Cost Licenses and permits sold separately
  • 2020 Major incident Malware attack shut down website

Pricing

Public access

Free

  • Park, forest, and wildlife information
  • Open GIS data downloads
  • Licenses and permits sold separately

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in sources reviewed; one major incident — a 2020 malware attack that temporarily shut down the site.

  • 2020 malware attack shut down ODNR websiteMalware forced the department's site offline in May 2020; McAfee currently assesses as safe.⁵
Full analysis

Based on 14 public sources; no software-product review data exists because this is a government agency site.

Not a product — Ohio's free DNR agency site. Great for parks, licenses, GIS data; nothing to buy.

Methodology

Based on 14 public sources; no software-product review data exists because this is a government agency site.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. official
  2. review
  3. review
  4. review
  5. news
  6. review
  7. ODNR GIS Open Data Portalgis-odnr.opendata.arcgis.com
    official
  8. security

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