Hot off the New Hampshire Fish and Game presses is their projected outlook for the upcoming spring turkey hunting season. Read it yourself.
PROMISING OUTLOOK FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE TURKEY HUNT
CONCORD, N.H. — Things look good for a successful 2006 New Hampshire
spring gobbler season, says New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
turkey biologist Ted Walski. The state’s turkey hunting season runs from
Wednesday, May 3, through May 31, with a youth weekend just prior, set
for April 29-30.There are good flocks of turkeys throughout most of the state this
year. Last year, spring turkey hunters in New Hampshire took a total of
3,042 turkeys during the spring season, a 12 percent increase over 2004.
Walski predicts an even higher record number for the spring 2006 season.
“The turkey hatch during spring 2005 was above average, and the
2005-2006 winter was perhaps the easiest for turkeys and deer in 30 years or
more,” said Walski. “So we have a lot of turkeys out there in the
field.”A New Hampshire hunting license and $6 turkey permit are required for
all hunters 16 years and older. Youth hunters need a turkey permit, but
don’t need a license. (Hunters under age 16 always must be accompanied
by a properly licensed adult 18 or older.) Hunters can buy their
license and permit online at http://www.nhfishandgame.com or from license
agents statewide. In 2005, about 18,000 hunters purchased
turkey-hunting permits in New Hampshire.Walski was pleasantly reminded of the amazing restoration success story
of wild turkeys in New Hampshire earlier this year when he was in the
field monitoring turkeys at a farm in the western part of the state. As
he walked up a steep, wooded embankment to a cornfield, he encountered
an impressive mass of 150 turkeys — many were gobblers with tails
fanned out. The sky darkened as they took off into the air. That farm was
less than a quarter-mile from the place where Walski had helped release
25 turkeys in New Hampshire during January of 1975. The original
release was part of an effort to restore wild turkeys – birds that had
disappeared completely from the state for more than 100 years. That initial
flock of 25 turkeys has grown to about 30,000 birds across the state
today, a true wildlife restoration success story – funded through the
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration program – and the reason we can look
forward to an exciting spring gobbler season in the Granite
State.For more information on turkey hunting, including regulations for the
2006 hunt and a list of available hunter education classes (first-time
hunters who need the required hunter education course should sign up
soon if they want to get a license this spring), visit
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunting.htm.All hunters should keep in mind some basic safety tips when turkey
hunting: Never stalk a turkey — rather than stalking, scout out a good
spot, call and wait for the turkeys to come to you. Be seen! Turkey
hunters should always wear a blaze orange hat or vest as they enter and
leave the area they are hunting. Tying blaze-orange survey tape around a
decoy/calling location can alert other hunters to your presence and
won’t scare the birds. Avoid clothes with the colors red, white and blue
and black, as these are the colors of the male turkey. Be alert —
remember that other hunters may be using a decoy and calling.The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the
state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us.
Tom Remington
