Joe Manchin III, Governor

Frank Jezioro, Director

News Release : May 26, 2005

Hoy Murphy , Public Information Officer (304) 558-3380 hoymurphy@wvdnr.gov

Contact: Curtis Taylor , Wildlife Resources Section Chief (304) 558-2771 wildlife@wvdnr.gov

2005 West Virginia Spring Gobbler Harvest Reported

  Hunters in West Virginia harvested 10,804 turkeys during the 2005 spring gobbler season, according to Curtis I. Taylor, Chief of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Section. Preliminary harvest figures indicate that the turkey kill was slightly higher than last year's kill of 10,573 birds.

The top five counties this spring were Mason (447), Summers (388), Preston (375), Ritchie (340), and Jackson (333). Twenty-nine of the state's 55 counties showed increases in the harvest this year, with most of the increase in the southern counties. The highest harvests were reported in DNR District 6 (2,337), followed by District 1 (2,298), District 4 (2,102), District 5 (1,993), District 3 (1,228) and District 2 (846). (See accompanying chart for counties in each district.)

  The increase in the spring gobbler harvest this year follows three years of declining harvest related to poor wild turkey brood production. “The cold, wet weather that occurred during previous nesting and brood rearing seasons reduced wild turkey populations across the state,” said Taylor . “More favorable weather conditions during this critical period should allow turkey populations to recover from these recent declines.”

  Many hunters noted that gobblers were wary and difficult to call this year. An abundance of older birds and a lack of two year old gobblers often makes spring gobbler hunting more difficult and challenging. On the positive side many older trophy gobblers were harvested by Mountain State hunters.

**DNR**