Since 1966, over 10,000 turkeys have been taken within the heavily wooded boundaries of overall top producer Vinton County. Neighboring counties have been extremely productive as well.

For turkey hunters, one of the most inviting attributes of southeastern Ohio is its wealth of public hunting lands. In Vinton County, you have Zaleski State Forest, with over 27,000 acres of hunting ground. In Hocking County (in which over 8,000 turkeys have been taken through the years), Hocking State Forest boasts over 9,000 acres of public land.

In most District Four counties, turkeys and public lands go hand in hand. The following public areas come highly recommended for a quality hunt in Ohio's "ground zero" for wild turkey hunters.

Salt Fork WA in Guernsey County features 12,000 acres of excellent turkey habitat. Intersected by numerous streams, habitat here includes woodlands, shrubs and saplings. Given the ruggedness of its landscape, scouting this area prior to the season is highly recommended.

The main entrance road to Salt Fork is seven miles east of Cambridge on U.S. Route 22, 72 miles from Canton, 88 miles from Columbus and 69 miles from Marietta.

The 2,775 acres of Powelson WA are sited four miles north of Zanesville between state Route 60 and the Muskingum River in Muskingum County, which harbors one of the state's strongest populations of wild turkeys. Approximately 76 percent of the area is covered by woodlands, 40 percent of which consists of marketable timber; the remaining lands are in brush, with very little open land. Thanks to these ideal habitat conditions, Powelson offers some great hunting opportunities.

Shawnee State Forest, on the southwestern edge of District Four, contains a sprawling 63,000 acres of public hunting land. This rugged southern Ohio state forest has ample room for hunters, and there are plenty of turkeys scattered throughout the region.

The forest overlooks the Ohio River north of U.S. Route 52 and a few miles west of the city of Portsmouth. Rental cabins, camping areas and a 50-room lodge are available at Shawnee State Park, which is in the heart of the forest off state Route 125.

For additional information on the wild turkey hunting opportunities in the southeastern region of the state, contact the ODOW's Wildlife District Four office, 360 East State Street, Athens, OH 45701, (740) 589-9930.

Wild turkeys are indeed doing well in the southwestern region of the Buckeye State. Heavily forested areas bordering the Ohio River have provided the birds with big swaths of habitat and a solid food supply.

The Tranquility WA in Adams County offers truly worthwhile public-land turkey hunting opportunities on 4,254 acres just 67 miles east of Cincinnati and only 16 miles south of Hillsboro on state Route 770. County Road 100 runs along the southern boundary of the area.

In recent years, ODOW personnel have removed stands of cedar trees to create grassy openings that can serve as "bugging areas" for the turkeys during spring and summer. The biologists took an ecosystem approach, striving for a mix of wetlands, grasslands and bottomlands along streams and rivers to create quality wild turkey habitat. This approach appears to have worked very well in this region.

Overall, Adams County tallied 528 turkeys during last year's spring season, and Tranquility Wildlife Area turned in its share of those birds.

About 40 percent of the area consists of native woodlands; hickory and oak dominate the upper slopes, maple, beech and oaks are common on the lower slopes, and dense stands of cedar and brush clothe the remainder of these turkey grounds.

Indian Creek WA in Brown County is another quality public-hunting area in District Five. County and township roads provide access to the area from U. S. routes 50 and 68.

This area covers 1,800 acres 1 mile east of Fayetteville in northern Brown County, where hunters tagged 460 turkeys during last year's season. Although the terrain is mostly flat and much of the area is open, turkeys have settled well into the available habitat.

Approximately seven miles north of Hillsboro on state Route 73, Fallsville WA makes 1,382 acres of Highland County turkey hunting available to the public. Spring hunters reported taking 263 gobblers last year.

About 30 percent of the area is woodland; another 20 percent is covered by a mixture of shrubs, small trees and grasses. Several shallow ponds are scattered around this wildlife area 44 miles from Cincinnati, 51 miles from Springfield and 62 miles from Columbus.

For additional information on the turkey management strategies and hunting opportunities in the Buckeye State's southwestern region, contact the ODOW's Wildlife District Five office, 1076 Old Springfield Pike, Xenia, OH 45385; or call (937) 372-9261.

A spring turkey permit is required. The bag limit for spring turkeys in Ohio is two bearded turkeys per hunter; a hunter may take no more than one turkey per day. The use of bait, live decoys, electronic calling devices is forbidden; attempting to take a turkey while it is in a tree is also an unlawful act.

Any hunter who takes a wild turkey must immediately fill out and attach a temporary tag to the turkey before transporting the bird to a check station.

For additional information on wild turkey hunting and trip-planning help, contact ODOW headquarters, 1840 Belcher Drive, Columbus, OH 43224-1300, (614) 265-6300. Or visit the ODOW's Web site at www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife.