FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2000

FINAL TURKEY HUNTING SEASON TOTAL TOPS 20,000 MARK
Season Harvest Up 41 Percent From 1999

COLUMBUS, OH – A record 20,276 wild turkeys were taken by hunters during this year’s three-week statewide spring hunting season, according to final figures released by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

The adjusted figure is an increase from the preliminary harvest total of 19,895 that was reported in May following the close of the hunting season.

Ohio offered its first ever statewide spring turkey hunting season April 24 through May 14. The record harvest of 20,276 surpassed last year’s record season official total of 14,419 turkeys by 41 percent. The 1999 spring turkey hunting season, however, was open in 57 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

"Our preliminary figures reported at the end of the turkey and deer hunting seasons are derived from records obtained at official check stations by state wildlife officers. The finalized harvest totals will differ somewhat from the preliminary reports as they include a full accounting of turkey and deer harvest records collected in each county," said Dave Swanson, supervisor of ODNR’s Waterloo Wildlife Research Station in New Marshfield.

This year’s turkey harvest was up in 51 of the 57 counties that were open during the 1999 season. Juvenile birds, or jakes, comprised 54 percent of the turkey harvest compared to 34 percent last year. The increase reflects the strong reproductive success experienced by Ohio’s wild turkey population in 1999.

"We have a great wildlife management success story continuing in Ohio where it includes wild turkeys. This year’s harvest total represents the 23rd consecutive year for a record turkey hunting season," said Swanson.

Once all but extinct in Ohio, the Division of Wildlife began in the mid-1950s to reintroduce wild turkeys to Ohio. The first spring turkey hunting season was opened in 1966. This year, more than 200,000 wild turkeys inhabited all but a few Ohio counties.

Counties where the highest numbers of wild turkeys were taken during the spring season and their comparative final figures from 1999 (in parenthesis) include Ashtabula – 1,135 (951); Guernsey – 936 (684); Muskingum – 867 (649); Coshocton – 857 (556); and Harrison – 757 (514).

Adams – 426 (335); Allen – 0 (Closed); Ashland – 298 (232); Ashtabula – 1,135 (951); Athens – 508 (377); Auglaize – 0 (Closed); Belmont – 592 (442); Brown – 365 (198); Butler – 21 (Closed); Carroll – 663 (322); Champaign – 25 (48); Clark – 0 (Closed); Clermont – 241 (228); Clinton – 17 (24); Columbiana – 360 (300); Coshocton – 857 (556); Crawford – 29 (28); Cuyahoga – 0 (0); Darke – 0 (Closed); Defiance – 121 (Closed); Delaware – 11 (5); Erie – 11 (Closed); Fairfield – 139 (96); Fayette – 0 (Closed); Franklin – 2 (Closed); Fulton – 17 (Closed); Gallia – 494 (439); Geauga – 289 (228); Greene – 6 (17); Guernsey – 936 (684); Hamilton – 21 (30); Hancock – 8 (Closed); Hardin – 22 (Closed); Harrison – 757 (514); Henry – 26 (Closed); Highland – 120 (94); Hocking – 650 (441); Holmes – 423 (264); Huron – 132 (113); Jackson – 518 (400); Jefferson – 644 (413); Knox – 560 (354); Lake – 78 (46); Lawrence – 208 (202); Licking – 362 (253); Logan – 72 (68); Lorain – 41 (23); Lucas – 1 (Closed); Madison – 2 (Closed); Mahoning – 64 (46); Marion – 12 (Closed); Medina – 52 (25); Meigs – 544 (419); Mercer – 0 (Closed); Miami – 0 (Closed); Monroe – 678 (486); Montgomery – 0 (Closed); Morgan – 499 (338); Morrow – 161 (96); Muskingum – 867 (649); Noble – 484 (311); Ottawa – 0 (Closed); Paulding – 35 (Closed); Perry – 483 (377); Pickaway – 2 (Closed); Pike – 254 (198); Portage – 108 (81); Preble – 31 (Closed); Putnam – 3 (Closed); Richland – 399 (279); Ross – 385 (258); Sandusky – 0 (Closed); Scioto – 203 (157); Seneca – 93 (Closed); Shelby – 24 (33); Stark – 80 (42); Summit – 14 (3); Trumbull – 515 (431); Tuscarawas – 729 (480); Union – 9 (Closed); Van Wert – 0 (Closed); Vinton – 558 (479); Warren – 38 (38); Washington – 436 (366); Wayne – 117 (97); Williams – 157 (5); Wood – 0 (Closed); Wyandot – 34 (Closed). Totals: 20,276 (14,419).