- Collection:
- Georgia Government Publications
- Serial:
- Wild turkey program ... harvest monitoring.
- Title:
- Wild turkey program, FY-2020 harvest monitoring
- Creator:
- Georgia. Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Resources Division
- Contributor to Resource:
- Georgia. Wildlife Resources Division, issuing body.
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia. Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Resources Division
- Date of Original:
- 2020
- Subject:
- Turkey hunting--Georgia--Statistics--Periodicals
Wildlife management--Georgia--Periodicals
Turkey hunting
Wildlife management
Georgia - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- state government records
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Fact sheet on harvest monitoring in Georgia's Wild turkey program.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_ggpd_y-ga-bn200-pg2-bs1-bt8-b2020-belec-p-btext
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_ggpd_y-ga-bn200-pg2-bs1-bt8-b2020-belec-p-btext
- Language:
- eng
- Holding Institution:
- University of Georgia. Map and Government Information Library
- Rights:
-
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019
Harvest Rate
Georgia's Wild Turkey Program
Wild Turkey Program FY2020 Harvest Monitoring
Statewide Wild Turkey Harvest
Statewide, an estimated 45,205 hunters hunted wild turkey in 2020; down 4% from 2019. These hunters harvested an estimated 17,048 gobblers in 2020 (unchanged from 2018 and 2019). The harvest rate was 0.38 turkeys per hunter, slightly above the 2019 rate. Juvenile male turkeys (jakes) accounted for 1,540 (9%) of the total gobblers harvested. Regionally, the Piedmont had the highest percentage of the total harvest (45%) followed by the Upper Coastal Plain (29%). These were followed by Ridge and Valley (14%), the Lower Coastal Plain (8%), and the Blue Ridge regions (4%). Regional harvest totals were similar to 2019, except for an uptick in harvest in the Piedmont region. Hunter satisfaction was 83%, lower than the previous year, but similar to the 5-year average of 84%. Hunter satisfaction is defined as the percentage of hunters surveyed who rated the season Excellent, Good, or Satisfactory. Source: Georgia Spring Turkey Harvest 2020 Report, Responsive Management
Turkey Hunters and Harvest 2001-2020.
Harvest Rate (turkeys harvested/hunter) 2001-2020
90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000
0
0.80
Hunters
Harvest
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Harvest Rate Linear (Harvest Rate)
14000 12000 10000
8000 6000 4000 2000
0
Estimated Turkey Harvest by Physiographic Region 2010-2020
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ridge & Valley
Blue Ridge
2015 2016 Piedmont
2017Gra20n1t8 Op20p1o9 rtu20n2i0ty
Upper CP
Lower CP
Georgia's Wild Turkey Program
Wild Turkey Program FY2020 Harvest Monitoring
Harvest Reporting Game Check
Since 2016, hunters have been required to report their turkey harvest by phone, internet, or app. Total reported harvest to Game Check remained stable from 2016-2019 but jumped 25% in 2020. This reporting requirement allows WRD to track harvest trends at the local level, as well as easily track WMA harvest.
Game Check reported harvest by county, 2020 Harvested turkeys reported to Game Check, 2016-2020
2016
11,229
2017
11,781
2018
11,948
2019
11,521
2020
14,412
Wildlife Management Area Harvest
In 2020, 17,030 hunters signed in on 115 WMAs, a 15% increase over 2019. These hunters harvested
1,164 gobblers, a 34% increase over 2019 and the highest harvest since 2012. Jakes comprised 16% of
the WMA harvest. Overall, hunters had a success rate of 6.8% on wildlife management areas in Georgia.
In 2020, Hunter satisfaction among public land hunters was 75%, just below the 5-year average of 77%
satisfaction.
Georgia WMA Harvest and Hunter use 2001-2020
Top Five WMAs for Total Harvest, 2020
WMA Harvest
WMA Hunters
Area Paulding Forest
Turkeys Harvested
66
1400 1200 1000
18000
Cohutta
48
Redlands
46
16000
Crockford-Pigeon Mtn
44
14000
Dawson Forest
43
12000
800
10000 Top Five WMAs for Hunter Success, 2020
600
8000
6000
Area
Hunter
400
4000
Success
200
2000
Crockford-Pigeon Mtn
23.9%
Joe Kurz
23.7%
0
0
Hart County
22.2%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Dixon Memorial
17.9%
Cohutta Grant Opportuni1t7y.2%