Get maps of Peck Hill State Forest by contacting the Northville DEC office, 701 South Main Street, Northville, NY 12134. Information about local services is available through the Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2 North Main Street, Gloversville, NY 12078; or call (800) 676-3858.

EASTERN REGION

Surprisingly, Dutchess County, a short drive north of New York City, ranked second last year, with 954 gobblers.

The largest public land in Dutchess County is the Taconic-Hereford Multiple Use Area. It is in the center of the county east of the Taconic State Parkway. Parking areas are along the parkway on a dirt access road off Tyrell Road and at the end of Pond Gut Road, which is off state Route 82.

The terrain on these 909 acres is rolling hills covered primarily by hardwood forest. Expect a lot of competition from other hunters on any public lands in this county. While scouting the area, rather than looking for the best places to hunt, look for places that other hunters might avoid.

Information on local services is available from the Dutchess County Tourism office, 3 Neptune Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; or call (800) 445-3131 or (914) 463-4000.

CENTRAL REGION

Midstate nesting conditions have been similar to the rest of the state during recent springs.

“The last two springs have not been good for turkeys, and three years ago was not that good either,” according to Lance Clark, a Region 7 wildlife biologist.

However, that should not be viewed as a poor outlook for gobbler hunting this spring. Though there has been a short-term decline, the turkey population has been so high that we can still expect this year to be well above the long-term average.

“Most of our region has a pretty good population of turkeys,” Clark claimed.

Most of the public lands in the central region are expected to provide good turkey-hunting opportunities this spring. Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area is one of the best, Clark said.

Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area is in central Oswego County. Route 104 cuts through the northern side of the area. Route 22 is to the west and Route 69 to the south, and routes 183 and 13 border it on the east. From the Syracuse area, take Interstate Route 81 north to Exit 33 at Parish or to Exit 34 onto Route 104 East.

“In Oswego County, turkeys have been doing very well,” Clark said. “Oswego County ranked 10th last year with 740 gobblers.”

Happy Valley is a large wildlife management area at 8,645 acres. This is the Tug Hill Plateau area. Terrain is gently rolling woodland. Habitat is mostly mixed forest and conifer stands. Periodic logging has resulted in a good mix of brush and timber in the forest. Dairy farms in the surrounding area provide good winter feeding spots.

For information about local services, contact the Oswego County Department of Promotion and Tourism, County Office Building, 46 East Bridge Street, Oswego, NY 13126; or call (315) 349-8322.

Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area is handy to hunters from both the Syracuse and Albany areas. It is about six miles south of Route 20 at Cazenovia along Route 13.

“The access is very good,” Clark said. “There are a couple of town roads that go through there.

Turn east off Route 13 onto either Damon Road or Dugway Road, which pass through the WMA.

Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area covers 3,605 acres. Terrain is moderately hilly. Habitat is mostly mixed hardwood forest with some red pine plantations. Surrounding agricultural land provides habitat variety and winter feed.

“Our technician who works there has been conducting timber sales and doing other things to benefit turkeys for some time, so the turkey hunting should be pretty good over there,” Clark said.

The National Wild Turkey Federation has also contributed money here for habitat work. Native and cool-season grasses have been planted in openings and along trails. These provide good feeding places for spring broods. Shade trees have been cleared around apple trees to promote growth. Scout for clear-cuts and other openings where gobblers like to strut in spring.