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Spring 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.

Estimated wild turkey harvest during spring 2007 was 35,625 birds, close to the 10-year average (about 36,000 from 1997-2006). This is an increase of 28% from spring 2006, and is the highest harvest since spring 2003. The spring 2007 season is the second straight year we have seen an increase in the statewide harvest after four years of declines (2001-05).

Harvest was up from 2006 in most counties (see table below), with the greatest increases observed in DEC Regions 8 and 9 (western NY). The exceptions to this were moderate declines (5-16%) observed in Regions 5 and 6 (northern NY).

As anticipated based on excellent production during summer 2005, a relatively mild winter in 2005-06, followed by below-average production in summer 2006, a large proportion of birds taken during the spring 2007 season were adult gobblers (2+ years old). About 68% of the harvest was comprised of toms (vs. 32% jakes), which was the highest proportion of adult birds in the spring harvest since 2003.

Wild Turkey Youth Hunt 2007 - DEC established a youth hunt for turkeys in 2004. More than 5,000 junior hunters have taken to the woods each year with their adult companions to take advantage of this special season. In spring 2007, we observed in increase in both participation and harvest, with roughly 7,000 junior hunters harvesting about 1,500 birds. Unlike spring 2006, both days of the youth hunt had excellent weather this year likely contributing to the boost in both harvest and the number of young hunters taking advantage of this great opportunity.

Note: We are currently compiling the results of the spring 2008 turkey hunter survey. The estimated harvest from the spring 2008 season will be available later this summer.

New York State Estimated Spring Turkey Harvest
County 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Albany 1181 634 732 678 513 372 453 416 571 n/a
Allegany 935 831 1297 1107 1313 623 630 762 1390 n/a
Broome 1018 666 768 828 830 629 685 542 766 n/a
Cattaraugus 1857 2230 2191 1918 1964 888 729 965 1764 n/a
Cayuga 482 503 657 650 707 550 526 631 796 n/a
Chautauqua 2068 1987 2127 1840 2115 1096 962 1143 1832 n/a
Chemung 455 292 511 461 479 318 232 251 411 n/a
Chenango 1318 943 1209 1190 983 736 876 902 1130 n/a
Clinton 262 260 348 318 195 258 133 235 262 n/a
Columbia 1166 783 691 884 724 505 565 580 610 n/a
Cortland 717 460 664 506 486 393 522 458 589 n/a
Delaware 1969 1433 1536 1435 1332 663 901 839 974 n/a
Dutchess 1444 1027 1245 1301 1205 954 927 797 1104 n/a
Erie 1374 1522 1528 1519 1669 921 791 1036 1020 n/a
Essex 177 130 333 227 252 158 183 204 247 n/a
Franklin 211 275 362 288 235 199 183 265 224 n/a
Fulton 128 245 338 233 168 254 170 183 224 n/a
Genesee 275 337 265 356 322 372 226 286 277 n/a
Greene 830 401 532 478 587 334 319 304 429 n/a
Hamilton 86 80 133 110 40 53 58 82 78 n/a
Herkimer 1351 774 1108 857 737 531 673 668 856 n/a
Jefferson 1281 1217 1805 1181 791 937 769 1036 934 n/a
Lewis 598 511 658 374 269 386 229 311 417 n/a
Livingston 451 371 295 482 389 250 270 344 520 n/a
Madison 1207 897 1116 1150 650 500 500 566 761 n/a
Monroe 506 364 333 399 346 408 295 326 463 n/a
Montgomery 772 426 445 417 338 261 263 283 316 n/a
Niagara 401 348 347 263 276 259 159 267 432 n/a
Oneida 1609 1141 1739 1146 804 654 701 787 1113 n/a
Onondaga 629 729 1121 1102 920 629 497 632 761 n/a
Ontario 615 443 668 535 639 516 277 486 761 n/a
Orange 840 710 759 962 967 731 694 709 744 n/a
Orleans 227 245 233 202 266 212 151 198 231 n/a
Oswego 926 1060 1087 913 842 740 569 734 746 n/a
Otsego 2200 1365 1609 1546 1015 787 871 839 1039 n/a
Putnam 326 181 154 172 254 231 237 154 203 n/a
Rensselaer 772 558 596 528 492 299 410 468 571 n/a
Rockland 63 36 32 28 32 21 13 14 4 n/a
St.Lawrence 1366 1472 2123 1390 865 785 718 801 673 n/a
Saratoga 599 398 621 476 447 392 406 423 499 n/a
Schenectady 278 201 241 289 132 90 73 122 169 n/a
Schoharie 1313 706 841 834 677 612 573 556 619 n/a
Schuyler 436 393 448 514 538 238 349 382 465 n/a
Seneca 382 304 360 291 380 300 221 350 398 n/a
Steuben 1399 1156 1390 1323 1343 786 729 912 1477 n/a
Sullivan 609 598 818 656 708 475 444 465 826 n/a
Tioga 935 650 900 667 856 513 654 548 632 n/a
Tompkins 703 461 682 698 620 556 503 648 679 n/a
Ulster 861 706 905 734 830 509 582 566 697 n/a
Warren 91 110 163 86 132 111 112 117 101 n/a
Washington 1087 843 1172 814 854 685 666 596 792 n/a
Wayne 721 622 653 634 677 749 502 620 760 n/a
Westchester 153 133 100 145 159 107 73 73 147 n/a
Wyoming 542 621 872 599 792 427 367 484 588 n/a
Yates 698 511 539 566 644 343 284 379 533 n/a
Total 44,900 36,300 44,400 39,300 36,800 26,300 24,910 27,745 35,625 n/a