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The Department of Environmental Management has released the results of Rhode Island's 2007 spring turkey season. Turkey hunters harvested 195 birds during the month-long hunt, a 17 percent decrease over the 234 birds taken during the 2006 season. The harvest included eight birds taken during the two-day junior hunter and paraplegic hunter seasons. A total of 60 juvenile turkeys and 135 adult turkeys were harvested. The hunter success rate was 17 percent.
"The restoration of the wild turkey continues to be a major success story in Rhode Island, with turkey hunters enjoying excellent hunting opportunities," said Brian Tefft, principal wildlife biologist at DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Turkeys were harvested in 20 communities. The top five towns in harvest were Exeter (25), Glocester (17), South Kingstown (17), Charlestown (14), and West Greenwich (13). Private lands accounted for a majority of the harvested birds (77 percent); however, 36 birds were taken on 12 different state wildlife management areas. Arcadia Wildlife Management Area in Exeter and Durfee Hill Wildlife Management Area in Glocester were the top producing state land areas. The first week of the season accounted for 53 percent of the harvest (104 birds).
Several large gobblers were harvested during the season, including 80 birds that weighed in at over 20 pounds. The average live weight for juveniles was 14.8 pounds, and the average live weight for adults was 19.9 pounds. The largest bird weighed was a three-year-old 25-pound gobbler with one-inch spurs and 10-inch beard, harvested on private land in North Smithfield. The state record is a 25.5-pound gobbler taken in 2001 in Exeter.
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