The State Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging New Yorkers to participate in a wild turkey of a survey this August. "Having up-to-date population data is essential to ensuring effective management decisions and have a better understanding of how wild turkey populations fluctuate in New York," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. "DEC encourages all New Yorkers to participate in this valuable survey and help collect this vital information on turkey populations and survival rates.”
Since 1996, the DEC has conducted the Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey to estimate the number of wild turkey poults (young of the year) per hen statewide. It says weather, predation and habitat conditions during the breeding and brood-rearing seasons can all significantly impact nest success, hen survival and poult survival. This index helps ensure effective population management decisions, including predicting the fall harvest potential.
Seggos says “citizen science” efforts such as this provide wildlife managers with invaluable data and give people the opportunity to partner with the DEC to help monitor New York’s wildlife resources. Participants can record observations of turkeys, while exploring the forests and fields around their home or driving through the state’s this summer.
Observations can be submitted online. If interested in participating, download a survey form and instructions from the DEC website, contact the nearest regional DEC office or email the DEC at wildlife@dec.ny.gov.