2009 West Virginia Fall Turkey Harvest Increases

Preliminary figures for the 2009 fall turkey hunting season show a harvest of 1,244 turkeys. This is slightly higher than the 1,206 turkeys checked in during the 2008 fall season. The eastern Mountain Region of the state reported a fall turkey harvest increase, with District 3 mountain counties up 16 percent and District 4 mountain counties up 20 percent. The fall turkey harvest declined 10 percent in the northern counties of District 1 and declined 15 percent in the eastern panhandle counties of District 2. The top five counties for fall turkey harvests were Monroe (116), Nicholas (114), Greenbrier (99), Preston (82) and Mason (81).
Wildlife biologists had predicted a similar to slightly higher fall harvest based on good brood counts in the traditional fall counties of the Mountain Region and poor food conditions in other parts of the state. These conditions tend to concentrate birds in large flocks, making them more susceptible to hunters. “The 2009 fall turkey harvest came in as predicted based upon our field reports and data,” reported Paul Johansen, Assistant Chief in Charge of Game Management. “Less than ideal weather conditions occurred in some portions of the state during the first week of the season, and this may have hampered hunters,” Johansen noted. “However, poor mast conditions served to concentrate birds making them more available to hunters throughout the season.”
[If your e-mail reader does not show the following summary table of the 2009 West Virginia Fall Turkey Harvest, you can see it in the “News” section on the WVDNR Web site at www.wvdnr.gov. If it is not there when you check, try again later.]

**DNR**

FALL TURKEY HARVEST 2005-2009

County 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Brooke 10 5 8 12 14
Hancock 7 7 10 9 14
Harrison C C C 34 25
Marshall C 20 18 9 15
Monongalia C C 19 30 C
Ohio 15 10 14 C 7
Preston 107 137 90 89 82
Tucker 30 27 29 31 25
Dist. I Subtotal 169 206 188 214 182
Berkeley 13 24 23 31 53
Grant 59 59 63 74 51
Hampshire 74 68 57 61 49
Hardy 68 63 78 74 59
Mineral 34 59 32 38 28
Morgan 24 31 34 26 24
Pendleton 52 55 60 47 52
Dist. II Subtotal 324 359 347 351 316
Nicholas 82 67 103 39 114
Pocahontas 75 69 107 74 53
Randolph 73 98 96 115 75
Upshur C C C 35 38
Webster 43 48 52 36 66
Dist. III Subtotal 273 282 358 299 346
Greenbrier 108 139 171 84 99
Monroe 86 102 142 60 116
Summers 51 C 118 35 C
Dist. IV Subtotal 245 241 431 179 215
Mason 74 C 67 101 81
Dist. V. Subtotal 74 0 67 101 81
Jackson C C 39 C C
Pleasants C C C 4 C
Wirt 45 37 38 30 39
Wood C 60 43 28 65
Dist. VI Subtotal 45 97 120 62 104
Unknown 0 1 0 0 0
State Total 1,130 1,186 1,511 1,206 1,244