Turkey Data

During July and August TPWD staff collect wild turkey observations to assess annual production, recruitment, and sex ratios. Data is gathered and reported at the TPWD-Wildlife Division Regional Level. Region 1 represents the Trans Pecos, High Plains, and upper & western Rolling Plains ecological regions; Region 2 represents the eastern and lower Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, upper Blackland Prairie, and Edwards Plateau ecological regions; Region 3 represents the Blackland Prairie, upper Post Oak Savanna, and Pineywoods ecological regions; Region 4 represents the lower Blackland Prairie, lower Post Oak Savanna, upper Coastal Prairies and Marshes, and upper South Texas Brush Country ecological regions; Region 5 represents the South Texas Brush Country, Coastal Sand Plains, and lower Coastal Prairies and Marshes ecological regions. All data is collected incidental to other field activities.

TPWD requires mandatory harvest reporting for all wild turkeys harvested each spring in counties with a 1-bird bag limit. Successful turkey hunters in these counties are required to report their harvest within 24 hours of taking their bird. Harvest is reported through the My Texas Hunt Harvest App or online at apps.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntharvest/. Mandatory harvest reporting began in 1995 in east Texas and was expanded to include a 10-county region in central Texas in 2021. Mandatory harvest reporting allows TPWD to closely monitor harvest and population trends in these counties with traditionally lower population levels.