Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Press Release
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is inviting the public to take part in the Agency’s wild turkey summer observational survey. The survey is open to the public through August 31st.
Agency staff and cooperators have conducted this survey annually since the 1980s and was opened to the public in 2022. Participants will have an opportunity to help the TWRA monitor the state’s wild turkey population by reporting wild turkey sightings.
In the 2023 summer survey, 158 different TWRA staff and 742 unique public observers submitted 2,664 wild turkey observations. The data came from all but two of the state’s 95 counties. The 2023 statewide results, which estimated an average of 2.1 poults per hen, were below the 5-year average (2.5 poults per hen). Results showed production was not equal across the state, with West Tennessee seeing higher production than the eastern side of the state.
“This project has been very beneficial to help monitor our turkey population and gauge its annual productivity,” said Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator. “We have found that our limited staff alone was not sufficient to obtain observations from across the entire state. Therefore, we invite everyone to participate. Our goal this year is to have participation from all 95 counties.”
More information is provided on the website including an explanation of why TWRA conducts the survey, an ID tutorial, and the observation submission form. All turkeys TWRA staff and volunteers observe during the three months survey will be recorded by county and summarized, regionally and statewide.
The public can read the TWRA’s wild turkey status reports and summaries of past years’ survey results by visiting https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/twra/hunting/big-game/turkey.html#biology.
