Fall turkey numbers up in first statewide fall season

Press Release from W.Va. DNR

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Preliminary numbers show fall turkey hunters checked in 2,066 turkeys this fall, according to Chris Ryan, supervisor of Game Management Services for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR). This was the first time in recent history that all 55 counties were open to a fall season.

The fall turkey harvest was up 82 percent from 2015. The top 10 counties were Nicholas (140), Randolph (116), Preston (105), Upshur (92), Webster (91), Wood (84), Greenbrier (74), Mason (64), Wyoming (62) and Monroe (61). The 14 “traditional” fall hunting counties accounted for 37 percent of the total fall turkey harvest.

All six DNR districts had higher harvests compared to 2015. District 3 led the state with a harvest of 564 birds, followed by District 1 (412), District 4 (368), District 6 (275), District 5 (238) and District 2 (209).

“Hunter participation, recruitment of turkeys into the population, and availability of hard mast account for most of the variability in fall turkey harvests,” Ryan said. “Although acorns were more plentiful in 2016, increased reproduction and having more counties open to fall hunting led to a better harvest, as was predicted in the 2016 Mast Survey and Hunting Outlook.”

The 17-year cicada, which emerged in 2016 across much of the state, increased poult survival in areas of cicada abundance. This high-protein food source helped in turkey reproduction which was noted by an increased number of broods observed throughout much of the State in 2016, according to Ryan.

“In addition, hunters enjoyed the new season format that enabled them to chase this magnificent bird throughout the entire state.”

Fall harvest of wild turkeys in West Virginia, 2012-2016.
County 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Barbour 30 0 18 0 29
Brooke 7 9 2 6 15
Hancock 11 8 5 8 6
Harrison 26 20 20 28 41
Marion 15 4 6 19 38
Marshall 28 10 22 9 50
Monongalia 18 24 15 25 30
Ohio 12 9 3 6 21
Preston 63 77 53 71 105
Taylor 11 8 5 2 23
Tucker 25 14 25 13 14
Wetzel 14 2 18 0 40
Dist. 1 Subtotal 260 185 192 187 412
Berkeley 18 36 19 30 21
Grant 31 41 17 38 57
Hampshire 22 41 15 35 30
Hardy 30 34 18 31 27
Jefferson 0 0 0 0 8
Mineral 22 28 16 25 22
Morgan 5 14 15 15 9
Pendleton 46 26 31 25 35
Dist. 2 Subtotal 174 220 131 199 209
Braxton 0 0 0 0 43
Clay 0 0 0 0 12
Lewis 0 8 0 25 21
Nicholas 98 39 88 63 140
Pocahontas 79 57 54 62 49
Randolph 77 59 83 114 116
Upshur 43 28 0 59 92
Webster 58 35 50 48 91
Dist. 3 Subtotal 355 226 275 371 564
Fayette 0 0 0 0 38
Greenbrier 138 64 81 81 74
McDowell 0 33 0 0 30
Mercer 0 0 2 0 27
Monroe 89 71 52 61 61
Raleigh 0 0 0 0 47
Summers 73 42 41 26 29
Wyoming 0 37 35 41 62
Dist. 4 Subtotal 300 247 211 209 368
Boone 0 0 0 0 21
Cabell 12 4 0 0 12
Kanawha 0 0 0 0 38
Lincoln 0 14 0 0 26
Logan 0 0 0 0 25
Mason 41 26 33 43 64
Mingo 0 0 0 0 8
Putnam 21 2 0 19 27
Wayne 0 17 0 0 17
Dist. 5 Subtotal 74 63 33 62 238
Calhoun 14 8 0 0 19
Doddridge 0 0 0 0 12
Gilmer 0 6 0 0 10
Jackson 39 18 37 24 48
Pleasants 5 4 3 6 7
Roane 0 2 12 0 21
Ritchie 0 0 0 0 26
Tyler 6 1 8 15 18
Wirt 23 19 23 17 30
Wood 44 20 31 47 84
Dist. 6 Subtotal 131 78 114 109 275
State Total 1,294 1,019 956 1,137 2,066

 





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