Apr 21, 2021
MADISON (WKOW) Wisconsin’s spring turkey hunt begins Wednesday, and officials say it s more popular than ever.
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DNR Assistant Upland Wildlife Ecologist Alaina Gerrits tells WBAY unlike other types of hunting, turkey hunting is bucking trends.
“Turkey hunting has become one of the more steady sports that we’ve seen, we’ve seen pretty much consistent declines in small game hunters and deer hunters, but turkey hunting has remained a little more stable,” said Gerrits.
Gerrits says she believes the reason behind the trend is that turkey hunting is a more active experience.
Spring turkey hunt opens Wednesday
Check out more Wisconsin news here.
DNR Assistant Upland Wildlife Ecologist Alaina Gerrits tells WBAY unlike other types of hunting, turkey hunting is bucking trends.
“Turkey hunting has become one of the more steady sports that we’ve seen, we’ve seen pretty much consistent declines in small game hunters and deer hunters, but turkey hunting has remained a little more stable,” said Gerrits.
Gerrits says she believes the reason behind the trend is that turkey hunting is a more active experience.
“You’re calling turkeys and you’re working birds and using decoys, and moving around, it’s a more exciting way to recruit new people,” Gerrits continued.
By Jim Scott
(DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES) â
More turkeys were harvested in 2020 than the previous year, according to new data released by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Hunters registered 4,600 birds during the fall 2020 wild turkey season, a 21% increase compared to the 3,792 turkeys registered during the 2019 fall season.
In total, 81,710 harvest authorizations were issued for the 2020 fall season, an increase of 6,935 from 2019. Of the 81,710 harvest authorizations issued, 76,748 were awarded with a fall turkey license, and 4,962 were sold over-the-counter as bonus harvest authorizations. This fall, the department issued 271 more fall bonus harvest authorizations than in 2019.
Since 2018, the fall turkey drawing has been waived. Anyone with a fall turkey license and stamp was awarded one harvest authorization for the zone of their choice. In addition to the harvest authorization included with a fall turkey license, a total of 14,000 bonu