Despite conservation efforts geared toward increasing the population of wild turkeys in Oklahoma over the years, recent complications are leading to a fall in numbers.
There are three subspecies of wild turkey throughout Oklahoma, including the Merriam, Eastern and — the most common — the Rio Grande. Only a handful of wild turkeys were in the state by 1925, but now the animals are statewide, according to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Rod Smith, the Southwest Region Supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and also the Rio Grande Wild Turkey Program Leader, said while the numbers are down, the decline is mostly seen in the Rio Grande’s range.
He said there are many reasons for the recent decrease in population.
“The primary thing is they’re not reproducing well,” Smith said. “There's lots of reasons for that, weather patterns, predation, habitat change, et cetera.”
This situation is not only happening in Oklahoma, but also in neighboring states like Kansas and Texas. Smith said typically this pattern of low reproduction is associated with the weather during the nesting and poulet raising period.
Smith said turkey numbers have fluctuated before, like in 2006 when turkey numbers peaked in Oklahoma. Those numbers, however, could not be held because of the years of excellent reproduction before the spike.
“So, what people remember as the glory years — and we’re way down from that — is we’re not down as much as what it looks like because those numbers were not sustainable, but we’ve had some weather patterns that are really difficult.” Smith said.
Due to the decreasing population, Smith says the department is proposing scaling back the allowable bag limits for hunters from three toms to one.
A decision on bag limits and limiting the turkey hunting season was recently postponed, but Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission members are expected to decide on changes during a special meeting on June 28.
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