WV DNR PRESS RELEASE
SOUTH CHARLESTON, WV — According to preliminary data reported by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources on Thursday, hunters harvested 9,366 turkeys during the 2022 spring gobbler season, a 7.6 percent decrease compared to last year’s harvest of 10,134 birds.The 2022 harvest is 13.8 percent below the five-year average (10,864) and 11.3 percent below the ten-year average (10,556).
Youth hunters harvested 471 turkeys during the two-day youth season, with 366 birds harvested on Saturday and 105 on Sunday. The youth harvest accounted for 5 percent of the total harvest. Those numbers are included in the attached table with county totals.
For the second year, DNR Districts 2 and 4 reported harvest increases compared to previous years. Harvest in the remaining districts, however, decreased. Districts 5 and 6 show the biggest declines from last year’s harvest at 18.1 and 19.8 percent, respectively. District 1 hunters harvested the most birds (2,066), followed by District 4 (1,877), District 6 (1,547), District 5 (1,392), District 3 (1,311) and District 2 (1,173).
The top five counties with the highest turkey harvests are Preston (357), Mingo (351), Greenbrier (321), Jackson (309) and Monroe (295) counties.