Parke County ranks in the top 10 counties for spring turkey harvest with hunters bagging 333 gobblers last year. The county is made up primarily of family farms ranging from 150 to 1,500 acres in size. Some landowners have turned to lease hunting and this may now account for up to 25 percent of the available land. Going door to door to ask for permission and relying on local contacts are the best ways to get in on this superb hunting.

For more information, contact District 6 at (765) 567-2152 or the Raccoon Lake SRA at (765) 344-1412.

DISTRICT 9
"We have a lot of turkeys, but we have a lot of hunters, too," said Steve Siscoe, property manager for the Greene-Sullivan State Forest near Dugger.

"Approaching this state forest is a bit different than hunting other forests in the state. It's a great place to set up and ambush a tom or to check the walking trails that birds are using frequently. Another good tactic here is to set up along the edge of some of the fields."

This forestland consists of old strip-mining hills that make locating gobblers a challenge. The area was strip-mined for coal in the 1930s and 1940s. Dirt was piled in rows of hills up to 50 feet high, so the steep walking can be an interesting experience.

The coal company donated the area to the Division of Forestry in lieu of reclamation and trees were planted in a generally haphazard manner. The results created a turkey paradise of stands of white pine, white oak, black walnut, poplar, maple and a smorgasbord of other trees.

Biologist Roger Stonebraker gives the forest thumbs up for turkeys.

"The forested 'stripper hills' among the open fields provide ideal turkey habitat and the bird population is thriving," Stonebraker said.

There aren't any best-bet spots on the forest and turkeys are scattered throughout the property. Hunters will find plenty of roads crisscrossing through the area and access is generally good. Most roads are no more than a mile away from each other.

The harvest last spring totaled 354 birds in Greene County alone, and there are plenty more birds to go around.

The Hillenbrand FWA north of Linton offers 3,200 acres along with the Goose Pond FWA that Greene County hunters can cash in on. For more information on Hillenbrand, contact the Minnehaha FWA at (812) 268-5640. Goose Pond information can be obtained by calling (812) 659-9901. For additional information, call District 9 at (812) 268-0300 or the Greene-Sullivan State Forest office at (812) 648-2810.