Ohio's Southern Zone first week spring turkey season results lag and First day NE Zone results

It would appear that Ohio’s turkey hunters are suffering the same weather woes their deer hunting counterparts did last fall.

At least for the state’s just concluded first week of the Southern Zone spring wild turkey hunting season. For 83 of the state’s 88 counties which make up the Southern Zone –hunters reported as being killed 8,867 bearded wild turkeys.

The Southern Zone’s season began April 22nd and will conclude May 19^th.

For 2018’s first week in the Southern Zone, hunters reported as as taking 10,436 turkeys; thus a 16- to 17-percent decline. Meanwhile in 2017, the South Zone’s first week kill was a reported 10,293 birds.

In the Northeast Zone which is made up of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Trumbull counties, the April 29th opening day spring turkey kills (with the respective 2018 opening day county figures in parentheses) were: Ashtabula – 74 (91); Cuyahoga – zero (also zero); Lake – 11 (12); Geauga – 48 (39), and Trumbull – 55 (59); total - 188 (201).

The Northeast Ohio’s spring season dates are April 29th through May 26^th.

Mark Wiley – the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s chief forest game biologist – says that from 2018 to 2019 the most substantial declines occurred in east-central and southeast Ohio counties.

“Turkey numbers in these regions spiked following a periodical cicada emergence in 2016 but appear to be returning to normal,” Wiley said.

“To date, the 2019 spring harvest trend mirrors 2015 and 2016 seasons, suggesting the impacts of the 2016 cicada event have passed and turkey numbers in 2019 are closer to long-term averages,” Wiley said.

Although spring turkey permits will be continue to be issued through the end of the 2019 season, Wiley also says it appears 2019 permit numbers will be down from 2018.

“The permit total declined more than seven percent from 2014 to 2018,” he said.

Even so, of the Southern Zone’s 83 counties, 31 posted first week gains over their respective 2018 week one numbers while four counties saw identical figures.

Yet the where drops occurred they were significant in more than a few instances, as the table listing the 2019 and 2018 South Zone’s county-by-county numbers indicate. In Guernsey County, for instance, the decline was around 30 percent, and in Monroe County the decline was also around 30 percent. And in Tuscarawas the fall was around 35 percent.

Adams: 212 (173); Allen: 30 (31); Ashland: 91 (137); Athens: 259 (302); Auglaize: 17 (18); Belmont: 286 (363); Brown: 204 (195); Butler: 93 (92); Carroll: 202 (280); Champaign: 48 (54); Clark: 8 (10); Clermont: 181 (165); Clinton: 35 (33); Columbiana: 162 (152); Coshocton: 269 (407); Crawford: 31 (23); Darke: 28 (21); Defiance: 88 (94); Delaware: 48 (52); Erie: 26 (23); Fairfield: 56 (78); Fayette: 3 (6); Franklin: 9 (11); Fulton: 43 (40); Gallia: 223 (216); Greene: 11 (6); Guernsey: 283 (423); Hamilton: 40 (35); Hancock: 16 (14); Hardin: 44 (39); Harrison: 238 (325); Henry: 32 (25); Highland: 193 (176); Hocking: 155 (239); Holmes: 135 (191); Huron: 64 (73); Jackson: 216 (252); Jefferson: 221 (267); Knox: 173 (243); Lawrence: 138 (127); Licking: 188 (205); Logan: 53 (59); Lorain: 62 (63); Lucas: 32 (41); Madison: 4 (8); Mahoning: 83 (89); Marion: 11 (10); Medina: 66 (78); Meigs: 289 (380); Mercer: 11 (11); Miami: 11 (7); Monroe: 294 (416); Montgomery: 16 (11); Morgan: 223 (287); Morrow: 67 (69); Muskingum: 299 (389); Noble: 245 (280); Ottawa: 3 (0); Paulding: 39 (39); Perry: 159 (229); Pickaway: 7 (13); Pike: 116 (153); Portage: 141 (129); Preble: 61 (59); Putnam: 29 (27); Richland: 143 (146); Ross: 158 (184); Sandusky: 9 (9); Scioto: 151 (133); Seneca: 73 (70); Shelby: 23 (18); Stark: 135 (145); Summit: 32 (33); Tuscarawas: 257 (398); Union: 27 (24); Van Wert: 6 (9); Vinton: 170 (237); Warren: 57 (50); Washington: 306 (340); Wayne: 45 (54); Williams: 112 (78); Wood: 10 (12); Wyandot: 33 (33); Total: 8,867 (10,436).

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.nnet