Spring turkey season kills beat 2017 totals

Ohio’s 2018 spring turkey season is over except for the munching, the mounting, the beard and spur measuring, and the storytelling.

Part of the story is that hunters checked 20,689 bearded birds during the four-week season that began April 21 in most of Ohio and concluded May 27 in the five-county North Zone. As expected, the kill bested last year’s total of 19,147.

Counting the regular season, special hunts and the two-day youth hunt, hunters checked 22,571 turkeys this spring, trailing only 2001 and 2010 in harvest totals.

The 2010 season marked the last time hunters checked more than 20,000 turkeys, the total being 21,909 that year. The record year remains 2001, when 26,156 turkeys were checked in three weeks.

While this year’s wild turkey population and harvest were boosted by the emergence of Biologists Keith Reeves, left, and Josh Blankenheim pull lake trout from Lake Superior for inspection during an annual spring population survey by Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources. Reeves and Blankenheim worked the lake near Duluth, Minn.

17-year cicadas in 2016 — similar to 2001 conditions — hunter interest has dipped in the past 20 years based on permit sales.

Permits peaked at 94,989 in 2003 and fell to 65,486 a year ago. While sales to adults has held steady, youth permits show a slight drop-off. Youngsters checked 1,882 birds during the

April youth hunt, a slight decline from the 1,895 in 2017.

Tuscarawas led Ohio counties with 810 turkeys checked in the spring, followed by Guernsey and Coshocton (803 each), Muskingum (793) and Belmont (738).

Licking led central Ohio counties with 456 bearded birds checked, followed by Fairfield

(128), Delaware (105), Union (49), Pickaway (25), Franklin (20) and Madison (13).

Watch it

Citizens can help Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists keep track of ruffed grouse and wild turkeys by reporting sightings of birds and their young.

Surveys during the brood months of June, July and August provide valuable data related to the population status of the birds. Ruffed grouse have had a rough time in Ohio as their preferred mixed habitat, much of it abandoned farmland, reverts to forest.

Population estimates help the division determine season lengths and bag limits.

Observations can be reported at the Wildlife Species Sighting page at wildohio.gov.

Hunt lotteries

Applications are being accepted through July 31 for controlled deer and waterfowl hunts on selected locations during the 2018-19 season. The list of hunts, including special hunts for women, youths and the mobilityimpaired, can be viewed under a dropdown link under Hunting, Trapping, and Shooting Sports at wildohio.gov.

Applications, which can be completed using the Wildlife Licensing System or downloaded for printing, require a $3 nonrefundable fee. Successful applicants will be notified by mail and email after the drawings, in August.

Applicants must possess a 2018-19 Ohio hunting license and meet age requirements.

Parting shots

Frog season begins June 8. No more than 15 bullfrogs and/or green frogs may be taken in any one day. … The sale of new powerboats in 2017 reached 262,000 units, a 5 percent increase from the previous year and the most in 10 years. … Several conservation groups, including the National Wildlife Federation and the National Audubon Society, are suing the U.S. Department of the Interior after the Trump administration announced the Migratory Bird Treaty Act no longer covers birds killed by unintentional or negligent actions by industry.