Turkey tally time: Seen any wild turkeys lately? TWRA wants to hear from you

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is asking Tennesseans and visitors to take part in the Agency’s 2026 wild turkey summer observation survey. The survey is open to the public and will continue through Aug 31.

Agency staff have conducted this survey annually since the 1980s, with public participation set for its fifth year. The purpose of the summer survey is to obtain wild turkey reproduction and population data that can be compared with results from previous years to evaluate population trends. Survey participants help the TWRA monitor the state’s wild turkey population by reporting wild turkey sightings. For more information on the survey and how to participate, visit this website.

In the 2025 summer survey, observations were submitted from 94 of the state’s 95 counties. Observations were collected from 92 TWRA staff members and 459 different public participants. The 2025 statewide survey recorded 4,295 total turkeys (gobblers, hens, and poults) and produced an index of 2.2 poults per hen (PPH), which was slightly below the 5-year average (2.4 poults per hen). The PPH ratio, which measures the number of young turkeys (poults) observed relative to the number of turkeys observed, is a gauge of overall reproductive productivity for the year. Modest production is around 2.5 PPH

“We really appreciate all the citizens and hunters who take part each year in the summer survey,” said Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator. “They help us toward our goal of obtaining at least 30 observations from each county in the state. We fell one county (Crockett) short last year of having an observation from all 95 counties and hope to get coverage from all counties this year.”

During the 2026 spring hunting season, according to TWRA’s Hunter’s Toolbox, Tennessee hunters took 34,981 turkeys, a 20 percent increase over the 2025 harvest.

For those interested in participating in the survey for the first time, the survey website will explain why TWRA conducts the survey, provide an ID tutorial with a quiz to test one’s knowledge of turkey ID, and provide links to the actual forms to submit observations.

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The public can read the TWRA’s wild turkey status reports and summaries of past years’ survey results by visiting this web page.