Spring 2004 - Wild Turkey Population Breakdown
by Rob Ramsdale

The restoration of the wild turkey has been one of the greatest wildlife conservation stories of the last 50 years. During Pre-Colonial days, it is estimated that 20 - 30 million wild turkeys roamed the territory soon to be known as the United States. The wild turkey was extirpated from much of its original range during the 1800's and the early 1900's. By the 1930's, it was estimated only about 30,000 wild turkeys remained. It wasn't until the 1950's that this trend was finally reversed and the wild turkey was on its way back to the current high populations seen today.

The dedicated efforts of many state wildlife agencies and the formation of the NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation) in the early 1970's led to the reintroduction of the wild turkey to all of its original range and many new habitats that have never held populations of wild turkey. Perhaps the most important happening in the restoration effort was the introduction of the cannon net. Cannon nets had already been used successfully on waterfowl but it's use on wild turkey allowed game managers to capture larger numbers of wild turkey which made trap-and-transfer programs really expand. They later were converted to utilize rockets instead of the cannons which made them more efficient.

Today, the wild turkey population is at an all-time modern day high of about 6.5 million birds. Many states have rapidly expanding populations of wild turkey and trap-and-transfer programs continue across the U.S. and into Canada.

Here is a breakdown of the latest numbers on wild turkey populations.