In the midst of turkey season, a look at populations across Nebraska with NGPC

LINCOLN, Neb. - The hunting season for Wild Turkey is well underway in Nebraska.

Given the time of year, NCN spoke with Nebraska Game and Parks about the current state of turkey populations, as well as factors that cause those numbers to fluctuate.

“Over the past five years, the population has steadied out a bit,” Game and Parks Wild Turkey Program Manager Carlie Saline said. “Per hen ratio is up this year compared to last year, so we can see a good bit of young of the year.”

Saline says after record high numbers of populations in the late 2000’s, Nebraska’s turkey population took a dip. But, as she noted, good things have happened in recent years. One of them being drought.

“If you’re a ground nester, like turkeys, more rain isn’t necessarily good,” Saline said. “It’s tough for thermal-regulating those eggs when it’s cold. It’s also tough for poult’s to survive when they’re little.”

This means turkey numbers have risen in areas like northeast Nebraska, the panhandle, the Niobrara region, as well as south-central Nebraska. Many believe mesopredators like raccoons play a role in turkey population numbers, often believed to have been targeting eggs and nests. However, Saline says that’s not quite the case in Nebraska

“We don’t have evidence that they “seek out” turkey and turkey eggs, more that they’re stumbling along, doing raccoon things and they come across a nest, they may predate them,” Saline said. “There aren’t many predators pursuing turkeys.”

Bow season is currently underway for turkeys, with shotgun set to begin on Saturday April 12th. Both seasons are open through May 31.