Callaway records high turkey harvest

Callaway County hunters harvested 710 turkeys during the spring turkey season, the third highest county number in Missouri.

The state's two other top harvest counties during the spring turkey season April 15 through May 5 were Franklin with 996 and Texas with 879.

Todd Houf, Callaway County Conservation agent, said Callaway County attracts many turkey season hunters because of its wide availability of natural cover and food sources for turkeys.

Houf said Callaway County is a large county compared to many other counties and it also has unusually large public areas for hunting. They include the Whetstone Creek Conservation Area near Williamsburg and the Reform Conservation Area near the Callaway Energy Center southeast of Fulton. Both areas are managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The county also has large areas of U.S. forest land. The Mark Twain National Forest has more than 12,000 acres in Callaway County.

"We also have a lot of good turkey hunting on private property in Callaway County," Houf said.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.