Casalena said that a three-week fall turkey-hunting season might be too long in the Southwest Region because hunting pressure is very heavy there. More hunting licenses are sold in Allegheny County (the Pittsburgh area) than in any other county.

"If they want more birds, we'll have to decrease the seasons," she noted.

The Northwest Region is regarded as the best turkey range in the state, especially parts of WMUs 1A and 1B. But biologist Casalena believes it might be even better.

"We could have more birds in the Northwest Region if we decreased the seasons," she noted.

But with continually excellent hunting seasons, hunters might be reluctant to support reduced season lengths.

There is no need to look far for excellent spring gobbler hunting in the western counties. In the Southwest Region, a contiguous block of public land consisting of SGL 51, Ohiopyle State Park, SGL 111, Laurel Ridge State Park and a block of Forbes State Forest provides a huge area to search for birds.

This forested, mountainous terrain lies within WMU 2C. This was formerly roughly the same area as Turkey Management Area (TMA) 6, where the spring 2003 harvest was 3,300 gobblers. Hunting here is more difficult than in the more broken, less rugged habitat to the west.

There might be more turkeys somewhere else in the Southwest Region, but there are plenty of turkeys here, and more importantly, there is room to get away from other hunters. This is a real bonus in the heavily hunted part of the state.

The best turkey hunting in the state, based on harvest reports, has been in TMAs 1A and 1B, which are now approximately WMUs 2A, 2B, 1A and 1B. Last spring, the harvest in TMA 1A was 8,100 gobblers. This was a large unit, but no other unit came close to this kind of production except WMU 1B. In Unit 1B, a relatively small area, the spring harvest was about 3,000 gobblers.

Most public lands in these TMAs are small, but all of them provide good turkey hunting. Perhaps the best are in Mercer County and Crawford County in the Northwest Region, where hunting pressure is a bit lighter than in the other counties of these units.

It is hard to beat Allegheny National Forest as a spring gobbler hunting destination, with more than 500,000 acres of public land open to hunting across McKean, Warren, Forest and Elk counties. This is virtually all forest habitat with numerous small openings, some of which are maintained specifically for turkey habitat improvements.

As in other parts of the state, chapters of the National Wild Turkey Federation work hand in hand with government conservation agencies, providing funding and manpower to improve habitat for turkeys and other game and non-game species.

With accommodations from primitive campsites to comfortable motels, a spring gobbler hunt on the Allegheny National Forest can fit any budget. When the gobblers are in a talkative mood, you can expect to hear them from nearly every ridge.

Hunters had good results in TMA 8, which crosses between the Northeast Region and Southeast Region, harvesting about 4,400 spring gobblers. TMA 4 also included a portion of the Northeast Region, including Sullivan County and about half of Bradford County and Wyoming County. The spring harvest here was about 4,300 gobblers.

The old TMAs 9A, 9B and 7B, which are now roughly WMUs 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D, form the only portion of Pennsylvania where spring gobbler hunting prospects are less than excellent. Even here, though, aggressive scouting can lead to good hunting. Public lands are relatively scarce and heavily hunted, and you can expect to have several hunters working any talkative gobbler, especially on weekends.

Some of the better spring gobbler hunting in the eastern third of the state is in Bradford, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties, where hunters will find an ideal mix of forest and farmland.

Hunters should consider some of the smaller state game lands that are in close proximity to farmlands. The larger state game lands hold plenty of turkeys, but hunting them is more challenging.

WMU 3D, which includes the Pocono Plateau, holds an excellent turkey population. Much of the region's private land is either completely closed to hunting or is leased to private hunting clubs, but hunters should check out some of the swamp or bog habitat and the more rugged hills on public lands. These places discourage many hunters. Delaware State Forest is a fine place to scout.

This year, there is a new Youth Spring Turkey Hunt on April 24, a week before the opening of the general statewide spring gobbler season. To participate, kids must have a junior hunting license, and an adult must accompany them.

This year, introduce a kid to this wonderful sport, including the rules of safety.

Although 24 incidents spread between an estimated 219,931 spring turkey hunters and 217,099 fall turkey hunters during 2002 makes turkey hunting one of the safest outdoor activities, virtually all spring gobbler hunting incidents could be avoided if all hunters simply followed the rules. Only birds with visible beards are legal. This should eliminate all incidents involving people being shot in mistake for game. Hunting by calling only - stalking is not allowed. This eliminates the possibility of one hunter closely approaching another hunter who is calling and expecting a gobbler. While moving, all hunters must wear at least 100 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head or chest and back visible from 360 degrees.

(The National Wild Turkey Federation disputes the effectiveness of this rule because red is a natural turkey color. However, it is the law. Changes in the fluorescent orange requirements passed last year will not come into effect until the 2004-05 license year.)

For more information about turkey hunting, contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg PA 17110-9797, or call (717) 787-4250.

For travel information in Pennsylvania, contact the Pennsylvania Office of Tourism, Room 404, Forum Bldg., Harrisburg, PA 17120, or call (717) 232-8880 or (800) VISIT-PA.