Ohio hunters checked more than 17,000 wild turkeys during spring season

COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio hunters checked 17,793 wild turkeys during the combined 2016 spring wild turkey hunting season and youth wild turkey hunting season, April 16-May 15, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Meigs County hunters checked in 419 turkeys for the 2016 season, down from 450 in 2015.

Hunters checked 16,229 birds during the four weeks of the 2016 wild turkey season compared to 16,049 birds in 2015. Young hunters checked 1,564 birds during the 2016 youth season compared to 1,589 in 2015.

Ohio’s 2016 spring wild turkey season was open April 18 through May 15. Youth season was April 16-17. Find more information about wild turkey hunting at wildohio.gov.

Wild turkeys were extirpated in Ohio by 1904 and were reintroduced in the 1950s by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Ohio’s first modern day wild turkey season opened in 1966 in nine counties, and hunters checked 12 birds. The wild turkey harvest topped 1,000 for the first time in 1984. Spring turkey hunting opened statewide in 2000, and Ohio hunters checked more than 20,000 wild turkeys for the first time that year.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.