Pennsylvania

Both Mel Schake and Regis Senko, information education supervisors for the southwest and northwest regional offices of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, agree that even with a spotty acorn crop and a long snow-covered winter the Keystone State turkey forecast should be a good season for Pennsylvania hunters.

Reproduction has been reported as off slightly, but the large number birds in PA should once again supply spring longbeard chasers with ample flocks for the four-week season, which begins on

In 2001 PA hunters harvested 5,998 birds in Area 1-B 17,296 in Area A and 2,227 in Area 2

West Virginia

Paul Johansen, assistant wildlife chief, told OVO staffers that although the 2002 harvest in the Mountain State was down, this season should be as good as last year’s, if not better. He cites the larger number of two-year-old birds than in 2002 as the factor for his optimistic forecast for the 2003 which begins on

Johansen admits that the 2002 brood hatch was down due to wet, cold, early spring weather, but feels the supply of two-year-old birds will help in this year’s harvest.

While we don’t expect the bumper season we had in 2001 we feel there are still plenty of birds for the four-week season which starts on

West Virginia’s 2002 harvest was down over 2001 in state from 17,875 birds to just 13,374. In the panhandle the numbers were Hancock 141 in 2001 to 120 last year. Brooke went from 265 to 156, Ohio County dropped from 218 to 162 and in Marshall 547 birds were harvested in 2001 and only 422 last year.

Johansen believes that part of the decline in 2002 was due to a larger than normal number of three year old gobblers.

Ohio

Dave Swanson, biologist from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, forecasts for the Buckeye State’s longbeard hunters were not promising.

Dave told OVO that this coming spring, we are expecting a harvest to be a little bit below what it was last year. This is because of poor reproductive success over the last two years. We have had very poor poult production during the 2002 reproductive season. We had the lowest reproductive index we have ever had on record. It was just a little over two poults per hen. Our long-term average is about four poults per hen. The year prior to that reproductive success was about 25 percent below the long-term average, about three poults per hen. That all equates to two back-to-back years of below average reproductive success, which means lower abundance of turkeys this year compared to last year.

Ohio’s four week season begins this year on April

That in turn will give us a lower number of two-year-old birds and a quieter spring this year than it was the last two years. There will not only be fewer jakes -- there will be fewer two-year-old birds which are the most vocal of the population.

As to harvest last year Dave told us that statewide we declined 15 percent from 2001. Harvest total was 22,190 birds.

County breakdowns were: Columbiana County, 408 last year and 480 the year before. Carroll, 513 in 2002 and 632 the year before. Jefferson County, 564 last year and 690 in 2001. Mahoning County, which was up 118 last year and 82 the year before, Trumbell, 597 last year and 520 the year before went up also. Harrison County, 681 last year and 889 the year before. Belmont County, 657 last year and 855 the year before. Stark County, 2002 harvest of 108 compared to last year 129. Guernsey County, 897 last year 1,105. When asked if he thought that the decline was also because of the food supply Dave said “No, probably not. Our acorn crop was pretty good based on our squirrel hunter’s data, quality of habitat was good, and the winters were mild. I think we are pretty much, right now, at least in the southeastern and northeastern part of the state, at a well-established wild turkey population. Right now the ups and the downs of our turkey population are going to be the direct result of reproductive success.”