For Release: Thursday, September 30, 2004

DEC Announces Spring Turkey Hunting Results

Also Encourages Hunters to Have a Safe, Successful Fall Season Starting Tomorrow

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty today announced the results from the May 2004 turkey hunting season. There were 26,300 birds harvested statewide during the spring season and the fall turkey season kicks off tomorrow, October 1, 2004.

Overall, the take of spring birds in 2004 (26,300) was 28 percent lower compared to 2003 when an estimated 36,800 birds were taken. This decline was expected by DEC and is due primarily to a series of poor production years, especially in 2002. Poor production of turkey poults occurs when spring and early summer are wet and cold. Poor production in 2002 resulted in fewer younger birds in the population, especially two-year-old males. This means that there were fewer "gobblers" available to hunters in 2004. Available reports from other northeastern states indicate declines in their spring harvest, ranging from 6 to 15 percent lower harvests. Only Vermont reported a slight increase compared to 2003.

As announced in the recently released Draft Wild Turkey Management Plan, DEC has begun to change the way the turkey harvest is reported. In the past, DEC only summarized the number of birds actually reported taken by hunters. Starting with the 2004 Spring statistics, the Department will summarize the calculated total turkey harvest based on surveys of hunters after the close of the hunting season. This will result in a corrected, calculated harvest based on actual reporting rates and provide a more realistic assessment of the status of New York's wild turkey populations. The relationship between the reported take and calculated take are shown in the attached graphs in the link below.

The 2004 spring hunting season also featured New York's first-ever youth hunt, held on April 24-25, 2004. Youngsters 12- to 15-years old were eligible to participate. Of about 15,000 eligible young hunters, just over 5,300 participated in this special opportunity. DEC estimates that about 1,000 turkeys were harvested by youngsters during the youth hunt weekend - approximately a 20 percent success rate. Four successful young hunters are featured on the cover of this year's Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide. The dates for next year's youth hunt are April 23-24, 2005.

Commissioner Crotty said "New York State recognizes that our young people represent the future of environmental conservation. I congratulate all the youth and their adult mentors who participated in this special opportunity for young hunters."

The fall 2004 turkey hunting season begins October 1, 2004, in northern, eastern and southern New York, and October 25, 2004, in the western part of the State.

"Despite the wet weather experienced the last several springs, the wild turkey population remains very healthy in New York State," Commissioner Crotty said. "Before going afield, I urge all hunters to carefully review the hunting regulations and guidelines for a safe, fun turkey hunting experience."

Information about the fall turkey hunting season can be found at on the DEC website. The website also contains details on the Draft Turkey Management Plan, on which DEC will continue to accept public comments until October 15, 2004.

Comparison of Reported and Calculated Turkey Take
County	Reported Harvest						Calculated Harvest
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Albany	225	158	161	122	97	87	1181	634	732	678	513	372
Allegany	195	205	308	242	262	207	935	831	1297	1107	1313	623
Broome	194	166	169	149	157	147	1018	666	768	828	830	629
Cattaraugus	387	550	520	419	392	295	1857	2230	2191	1918	1964	888
Cayuga	119	127	144	122	138	131	482	503	657	650	707	550
Chautauqua	431	490	505	402	423	364	2068	1987	2127	1840	2115	1096
Chemung	94	72	120	98	95	100	455	292	511	461	479	318
Chenango	251	235	266	214	186	172	1318	943	1209	1190	983	736
Clinton	46	52	47	52	34	44	262	260	348	318	195	258
Columbia	222	195	152	159	137	118	1166	783	691	884	724	505
Cortland	140	115	146	91	92	92	717	460	664	506	486	393
Delaware	375	357	338	258	252	155	1969	1433	1536	1435	1332	663
Dutchess	275	256	274	234	228	223	1444	1027	1245	1301	1205	954
Erie	297	377	357	330	337	285	1374	1522	1528	1519	1669	921
Essex	31	26	45	37	44	27	177	130	333	227	252	158
Franklin	37	55	49	47	41	34	211	275	362	288	235	199
Fulton	23	54	55	39	30	48	128	245	338	233	168	254
Genesee	68	85	58	80	69	95	275	337	265	356	322	372
Greene	158	100	117	86	111	78	830	401	532	478	587	334
Hamilton	15	16	18	18	7	9	86	80	133	110	40	53
Herkimer	254	184	223	152	138	118	1351	774	1108	857	737	531
Jefferson	225	243	244	193	138	160	1281	1217	1805	1181	791	937
Lewis	105	102	89	61	47	66	598	511	658	374	269	386
Livingston	97	92	69	105	79	78	451	371	295	482	389	250
Madison	254	225	245	207	123	117	1207	897	1116	1150	650	500
Monroe	125	92	73	85	74	104	506	364	333	399	346	408
Montgomery	147	106	98	75	65	61	772	426	445	417	338	261
Niagara	99	88	76	56	59	66	401	348	347	263	276	259
Oneida	311	261	324	199	148	141	1609	1141	1739	1146	804	654
Onondaga	152	184	245	198	174	147	629	729	1121	1102	920	629
Ontario	142	111	151	115	134	141	615	443	668	535	639	516
Orange	160	177	167	173	183	171	840	710	759	962	967	731
Orleans	56	62	51	43	57	54	227	245	233	202	266	212
Oswego	208	250	201	182	169	171	926	1060	1087	913	842	740
Otsego	419	340	354	278	192	184	2200	1365	1609	1546	1015	787
Putnam	62	45	34	31	48	54	326	181	154	172	254	231
Rensselaer	147	139	131	95	93	70	772	558	596	528	492	299
Rockland	12	9	7	5	6	5	63	36	32	28	32	21
St. Lawrence	240	294	287	227	151	134	1366	1472	2123	1390	865	785
Saratoga	111	91	109	83	82	82	599	398	621	476	447	392
Schenectady	53	50	53	52	25	21	278	201	241	289	132	90
Schoharie	250	176	185	150	128	143	1313	706	841	834	677	612
Schuyler	90	97	106	111	107	77	436	393	448	514	538	238
Seneca	89	76	82	63	79	87	382	304	360	291	380	300
Steuben	290	285	330	289	268	261	1399	1156	1390	1323	1343	786
Sullivan	116	149	180	118	134	111	609	598	818	656	708	475
Tioga	178	162	198	120	162	120	935	650	900	667	856	513
Tompkins	141	115	151	130	118	135	703	461	682	698	620	556
Ulster	164	176	199	132	157	119	861	706	905	734	830	509
Warren	16	22	22	14	23	19	91	110	163	86	132	111
Washington	205	202	244	145	160	155	1087	843	1172	814	854	685
Wayne	178	157	143	135	145	191	721	622	653	634	677	749
Westchester	29	33	22	26	30	25	153	133	100	145	159	107
Wyoming	113	153	207	131	158	142	542	621	872	599	792	427
Yates	152	127	125	123	131	105	698	511	539	566	644	343
Total	8,973	8,766	9,274	7,501	7,117	6,546	44,900	36,300	44,400	39,300	36,800	26,300

04-119