Ecologists Are Surprised By Harvest Totals From Spring Turkey Hunt

The harvest for this spring’s turkey hunting season was up more than 10 percent compared to last year, despite a harsh winter.

Hunters registered around 42,000 turkeys in April and May with the Department of Natural Resources, about 4,000 more than last spring. DNR upland wildlife ecologist Krista McGinley says it’s surprising because biologists were worried that deep snow and extreme cold would lead to die-offs.

“We did have some verified reports of underweight, dead turkeys in the far northern counties right around February and March, but we weren’t sure until the snow melted how widespread it was,” she said.

Judging by the overall harvest, McGinley said turkeys seem to have done well.

“I was honestly expecting a lower-than-usual harvest just because we figured maybe there aren’t going to be as many birds on the ground,” she said. “So, it’s a pleasant surprise.”

There are other factors playing into the increased turkey harvest. McGinley said a big one is hunter effort. She said nearly the same numbers of licenses were sold last year, but there may have been fewer hunters in the field.

“Last year we had that really late spring and it was cold and it was snowing and it was windy and you had to be pretty dedicated to want to get out into the field,” McGinley said. “So, hunter effort, for sure, was way down.”

McGinley said the DNR isn’t likely to increase the number of turkey tags available to hunters next sprin, but she said it could make for a good fall season.

“We’re pretty optimistic, but a big part of the fall season is how many birds get recruited into the population from this year’s breeding season,” she said.

She said warm, dry weather will be a big help to young turkey broods this summer.