Tennessee’s wild turkey population is declining, and the state wildlife agency wants your help

If you see a wild turkey in Tennessee, the Wildlife Resources Agency wants you to let them know.

Every summer, TWRA performs a wild turkey survey. This is to get an estimate of their annual reproductive success and a rough count of the population of wild turkeys. But this year, they’re doing things differently. 

Roger Shields, Tennessee’s wild turkey program coordinator, joined Wednesday’s episode of This is Nashville.

Shields says Tennessee has a large number of wild turkeys, and Middle Tennessee especially has a high concentration due to its mix of forest cover and open areas. But the state’s population of wild turkeys has been slowly dwindling over the past decade, and no one is sure why.

This isn’t exclusive to Tennessee, either. The number of wild turkeys is declining across the midwestern and southeastern United States.

“Reproduction not being what it used to be is the main driver,” Shields says. “But why the reproduction has been falling off is something that’s still a question in our minds.”

This summer, from June 1 until Aug. 31, the agency wants Tennessee residents to take part in the annual survey and share their own observations. They hope this will ensure the most accurate local data. 

“We just don’t have enough staff in our agency, even with our cooperators, to really cover the whole state,” Shields says.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s website has a form to record turkey findings and a tutorial for identifying wild turkeys.