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Fall Turkey Take by County

As described in DEC's Wild Turkey Management Plan (290 kb pdf), DEC has changed the way that seasonal turkey harvest is reported. In the past, DEC only summarized the number of birds actually reported by hunters. Now, the Department reports an estimated total turkey harvest based on surveys of approximately 12,000 turkey permit holders after the close of the hunting season. This results in a calculated harvest based on estimated reporting rates. This provides a more accurate harvest estimate and a more realistic assessment of the status of New York's wild turkey populations.

New York State Estimated Fall Wild Turkey Harvest

Estimated wild turkey harvest during fall 2008 was 11,614 birds. This represents a decrease of 8% from fall 2007, and is slightly below the 20-year average for fall harvests (about 13,000 from 1988-2007).

Harvest was down from fall 2007 in most counties (see table below), with the greatest decreases observed in DEC Regions 5 and 6 (northern NY), and portions of Region 3 (Ulster and Dutchess counties), Region 4 (Montgomery, Schenectady, Albany, and Rensselaer counties) and Region 8 (Genesee, Monroe, Wayne, and Seneca counties). The decrease in harvest is likely a result of both below-average production during spring 2008 and good mast production. In years where there is abundant hard and soft mast, turkeys do not have to roam as far to locate food, thus they are less vulnerable to harvest. Interestingly, some of the biggest increases in harvest from fall 2007 to fall 2008 were observed in Region 3 (Orange and Putnam counties), Region 4 (Delaware, Schoharie, Greene, and Columbia counties) and Region 8 (Livingston, Yates, Steuben, and Chemung counties) illustrating the large variation in harvest that can occur within regions due to spring/summer weather, brood habitat, and food availability.

The number of fall turkey hunters was up 15% from last year, but participation remains about 14% below the ten-year average. Despite this decline in participation in recent years, the hunter success rate has remained relatively stable at about 3 birds/100 days effort. Reasons for the decline in participation are uncertain, but may include changing demographics of New York's hunting population and the variety of other opportunities available to hunters in the fall.

New York State Estimated Fall Turkey Harvest
County 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Albany 394 126 380 191 312 246 161 156 153

125

Allegany 922 612 747 430 659 276 267 325 279 391
Broome 714 267 761 604 444 422 287 304 416 382
Cattaraugus 1537 880 1115 588 882 338 406 361 594 546
Cayuga 290 171 335 212 193 223 181 148 279 232
Chautauqua 1456 1037 1160 672 773 420 413 450 474 617
Chemung 186 94 129 128 134 110 83 82 87 106
Chenango 884 341 939 620 581 488 394 550 651 598
Clinton 54 25 24 8 43 81 9 19 29 7
Columbia 479 192 288 208 426 262 201 175 192 219
Cortland 439 143 399 214 234 266 201 182 291 283
Delaware 1625 484 1419 561 725 524 416 281 717 796
Dutchess 789 343 607 442 581 639 308 281 349 271
Erie 889 441 545 271 502 260 247 200 372 125
Essex 71 6 21 14 77 81 23 6 29 0
Franklin 46 69 35 14 53 24 107 13 70 33
Fulton 184 57 111 60 56 97 48 25 70 66
Genesee 151 126 25 15 50 48 42 38 48 21
Greene 507 146 473 172 300 225 190 167 145 164
Hamilton 125 12 40 2 24 20 37 0 37 3
Herkimer 615 202 513 263 368 304 247 116 265 230
Jefferson 532 272 278 160 429 699 434 312 529 265
Lewis 353 106 101 62 101 183 65 47 138 85
Livingston 180 112 112 78 65 76 54 82 68 94
Madison 778 341 556 261 228 217 204 213 305 344
Monroe 302 161 62 14 100 17 90 119 105 38
Montgomery 493 212 332 178 216 193 143 133 184 137
Niagara 336 223 60 20 125 39 73 91 55 56
Oneida 701 313 474 241 367 276 283 157 403 197
Onondaga 625 324 546 307 515 244 249 205 384 374
Ontario 352 210 118 56 174 36 74 94 93 160
Orange 557 316 530 393 503 462 362 471 325 464
Orleans 202 84 46 10 69 26 43 5 29 32
Oswego 695 217 253 80 263 97 163 76 179 157
Otsego 1523 495 1355 633 635 639 417 353 564 598
Putnam 139 47 112 96 78 115 54 57 87 125
Rensselaer 398 107 288 139 210 193 204 118 267 194
Rockland 7 5 6 20 6 8 0 4 4 0
St. Lawrence 640 265 228 131 260 447 149 169 244 124
Saratoga 249 93 186 64 139 177 62 110 109 66
Schenectady 214 49 134 59 90 68 50 46 79 51
Schoharie 904 278 796 277 443 377 305 315 302 335
Schuyler 213 94 182 127 146 57 108 70 65 58
Seneca 158 51 44 63 82 22 36 67 48 24
Steuben 815 447 685 399 521 288 271 329 325 387
Sullivan 713 135 761 290 228 225 287 285 313 313
Tioga 891 321 738 636 605 393 301 364 517 434
Tompkins 419 151 448 315 378 242 224 296 420 434
Ulster 707 220 460 287 258 238 179 194 291 210
Warren 96 12 53 12 15 89 19 3 29 3
Washington 807 307 582 340 623 427 309 270 329 327
Wayne 378 203 95 49 113 37 95 81 109 75
Westchester 61 55 29 23 24 56 32 11 16 43
Wyoming 376 204 262 153 206 107 149 78 111 89
Yates 329 196 122 138 168 86 56 98 81 106
Total 28,500 12,400 21,100 11,800 15,800 12,211 9,812 9,202 12,654 11,614