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Statewide results tell partial story about overall Ohio turkey numbers, hunter enthusiasm

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Statewide results tell partial story about overall Ohio turkey numbers, hunter enthusiasm


Turkey hunters need wild turkeys, and the Ohio Division of Wildlife needs both to help maintain a functional livelihood derived from the sale of licenses and permits.

As far as it goes, then, the end of the 2024 spring turkey season last Sunday suggests results could’ve been worse. They have been. Results could also be better. They have been.

While only the present actually matters, the turkey timeline stretches into a tangled past of cause, effect and numbers.

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Hunters might not be as concerned with the statewide take as much as is each with his or her personal success, that being measured in the effort required to carry home one bearded bird in the spring. If one gets carried home.

Statewide results at season’s end additionally tell a partial story about overall turkey numbers and hunter enthusiasm.

Figuring totals from the April youth hunt, the South Zone season and the North Zone hunt, 15,535 turkeys officially were removed from the Ohio landscape during the season just passed.

That’s down a few from the 15,673 checked in 2023, but up considerably more than a few from the 2022 total of 11,872 birds and the 2021 count of 14,546.

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All the counting invites comment from the field biologist who tracks these things for the wildlife division.

“The 2024 harvest fell in line with expectations,” turkey specialist Mark Wiley wrote in an email last week. “The poult indices from 2021 and 2022 were similar, which suggested 2-year-old gobbler numbers would be comparable in 2023 and 2024. The spring permit and harvest totals were similar across those years.”

Poults are spring-hatched turkeys whose numbers and survival form the basis of the future population. While chills and rain during the hatch is thought to cause high poult mortality, this year’s hatchlings enjoyed mostly favorable spring weather, Wylie said.

The take this year and last pushed past the 2021 spring total of 14,546, a 21-year low during a period of two-turkey spring limits and higher harvest averages. The limit was reduced to one in 2022.

One variable is the number of turkeys. Another is the number of turkey hunters.

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Permit sales plunged from 61,135 in 2021 to 48,815 in 2022 when the one-bird spring limit was inaugurated. The number of sold permits rebounded to 50,174 in 2023 and to a slightly higher 51,530 this spring.

“The exact cause of the increase has not yet been determined, but it is possible we are seeing the return of spring hunters who may have taken a hiatus when turkey numbers dipped a few years ago,” Wiley noted.

What’s likely coming in 2025 rhymes with results in 2023 and this year rather than with either recent lows or past highs.

“The summer poult index was down slightly in 2023, so I expect spring harvest rates and totals to follow suit in 2025,” Wiley wrote. “I expect this will be a minor shift, with spring harvest rates falling only a percentage point or two.”

Probably unknowable is whether the annual spring turkey take has hit some new and more moderate normal at around 15,000 birds instead of the 20,000 or so averaged in the not-distant past.

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A project involving Ohio State University that started last year is ongoing, although preliminary data from 2023 suggests hen survival is not an issue except for increased vulnerability during the period when they are incubating eggs.

When the dust settles,” Wylie said, “we may find that a focus on improved nesting habitat could improve rates of hen and nest survival.”

Ashtabula led Ohio counties with 470 turkeys checked.

outdoors@dispatch.com



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How to watch No. 8 Ohio State vs. Washington women’s basketball game free today: Live stream

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How to watch No. 8 Ohio State vs. Washington women’s basketball game free today: Live stream


COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State women’s basketball team will try to get its 20th win of the the season when it hosts Washington today – Sunday, Feb. 2 – on the Big Ten Network. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. Eastern.

Basketball fans without cable can still tune in to today’s game. Several streaming services will broadcast the game live. and you can watch on Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and Sling (promotional offers).

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (19-1, 8-1 Big Ten) have won their last two games since losing their first game of the season to Penn State on Jan. 19. Their most recent win was a 72-66 win at Nebraska. The Huskies (13-8, 4-5 Big Ten) have lost four of their last five, with the most recent being a 73-70 home loss to Indiana.

Here’s more information on how you can watch:

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What: No. 8 Ohio State vs. Washington women’s college basketball

When: Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025

Time: 5 p.m. Eastern

Where: Schottenstein Center | Columbus, OH

Channel: Big Ten Network

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Best Streaming Options: Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and Sling (promotional offers).

Channel finder if you have cable: You can access the channel by using the channel finders online: Verizon Fios, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.



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Women’s college hockey: Gophers split weekend series with Ohio State

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Women’s college hockey: Gophers split weekend series with Ohio State


The Gophers women’s hockey team held a 3-2 lead over Ohio State late in the second period Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena when Gophers coach Brad Frost elected to call a timeout.

One got the sense that the final 1:48 of the period was going to be huge, that keeping the lead heading into the final period would go a long way in allowing the Gophers to complete the weekend sweep of the defending national champions.

That instinct proved correct. The Buckeyes tied the game at 19:09 of the second period and scored four more times in the third period as Minnesota lost a penalty-filled, 7-3 game that split the weekend series.

“We were in good shape,” Frost said, “and then it got away pretty quickly.”

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Frost said the primary reason he called the timeout was to get some fresh legs on the ice. But, indeed, the point was made that the Gophers needed to do everything they could to retain the lead heading into the final 20 minutes.

Gophers senior right winger Peyton Hemp’s second goal of the game gave the Gophers the 3-2 lead at 14:15 of the second period. It proved to be the last hurrah for the Gophers.

“I just feel like stuff wasn’t going our way,” Hemp said of the deciding stretch of the game. “I felt like the whole weekend, we were pretty steady and doing all the little things right. But sometimes it doesn’t bounce your way, and it happened to us a lot today.

“We all really wanted the sweep. It would have been huge for us.”

After going down rather quietly on Friday, the Buckeyes had a lot more fire in their game on Saturday.

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“We dictated a lot more (Friday) night,” Frost said, “and they dictated a lot more tonight, as good teams tend to do.”

The Gophers (22-6-1, 16-5-1 WCHA) scored the only goal of the first period, with Emma Connor picking up her third of the season with the game less than two minutes old. The Buckeyes (21-6-3, 15-6-3) got on the board at 1:13 of the second period on the first of three goals in the game by Plymouth native Sloane Matthews.

Matthews’ third goal of the game was the pivotal one, tying the game at 3-3. The Buckeyes scored three times in the first five minutes of the third period, all on the power play.

“Penalties never helps us,” Hemp said. “It’s one of our biggest things we have to keep on the lockdown.”

There were 20 minor penalties called in the game, along with a 10-minute misconduct given to the Gophers’ Abbey Murphy in a particularly chippy third period. Frost was less than pleased with the way the game was called by the referees.

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“I haven’t seen something like that in a long time,” he said. “It was a good hockey game until all hell broke loose. There were three or four times this weekend we were on the power play and they evened it up.

“I know it’s hard to referee two really good physical women’s hockey teams. I know they’re doing their best, but it’s just unfortunate the way things turned out in the third.”

The Gophers, who saw their winning streak end at seven games, were on the highest of highs after Friday’s win. Now, they need to find a way to bounce back from a disappointing loss.

“As a coach, in the back of your mind, if we can get a split on the weekend against another top team, it’s going to be great,” Frost said. “But when you win the first one, you want the second one so bad.

“It’s easy to dwell on this the whole week, but we don’t have time to do it and we’re not gonna.”

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Up next, a pair of games on the road against No. 1 Wisconsin.

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How to watch Ohio State vs. Michigan – NCAA Wrestling (2/1/25) | Channel, stream, preview

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How to watch Ohio State vs. Michigan – NCAA Wrestling (2/1/25) | Channel, stream, preview


ANN ARBOR — Two of the top wrestling programs in the country square off on Saturday afternoon as the Michigan Wolverines play host to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

  • Watch Michigan on FuboTV (7-day free trial)

The Wolverines seem a little outmatched heading into this meet, but they have some individual talent that are capable of putting up a good fight. Michigan is coming off a 22-13 win over nationally-ranked Indiana last Sunday, giving the maize and blue its first win against a ranked opponent this season.

Michigan is 1-2 against top-25 teams, having lost to Minnesota and Nebraska before beating the Hoosiers.

The Buckeyes come into Ann Arbor looking to get back on the winning track. They lost for the first time this season last Saturday, losing to a really talented Iowa team. Ohio State had won each of its first 11 meets this season, including a big win over Iowa State back in December.

The Buckeyes are tied for third in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines are tied for ninth.

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Since 1999, the Wolverines are 15-9 against Ohio State on the mat, though the Buckeyes have won each of the past meetings.

Read more U-M stories on MLive.com

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 3-1 B1G) vs. #19 Michigan Wolverines (5-3, 2-3 B1G)

When: Saturday, February 1

Time: 2 p.m. ET

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Where: Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Channel: Big Ten Network

Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream

Check out the NCAA Men’s Wrestling rankings here



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