More than 16K turkey harvested during Illinois’ spring season; Jefferson Co. in top 5 for harvest totals

ILLINOIS (KFVS) - More than 16,000 turkeys were harvested during Illinois’ spring season; and one Heartland county was in the top 5 for harvest totals.

That compares with the 2022 statewide turkey harvest of 13,701.

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the top five counties for the 2023 harvest were:

• Jo Daviess - 595
• Jefferson - 487
• Pike - 419
• Pope - 379
• Randolph - 370

They say the record harvest total for the spring season was set in 2006 when 16,569 turkeys were taken.

The 2023 total includes the youth turkey season harvest of 1,309 birds, which compares with the 2022 youth harvest of 1,258.

According to IDNR, 80,643 permits were sold in 2023 compared to 81,672 in 2022.

Spring turkey hunting was open in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties, from April 3 to May 4 in the south zone and April 10 to May 11 in the north zone.

The youth spring season was March 25-26 and April 1-2 statewide.

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