(Lewis) The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports a record number of Turkeys harvested this spring.
John Lorenzen, appearing in the KSOM DNR report, stated hunters harvested 16,059 turkeys this spring out of 56,600 tags issued to hunters. He says Iowa has had three straight years of good turkey hatches across much of the state, thanks, in part, to the long-term drought that benefited all ground-nesting birds.
Lorenzen says hunters in every county harvested a turkey this past season. The higher harvest wasn’t wholly unexpected, thanks partly to Iowans, who participated in the DNR’s annual turkey brood survey each July and August. Iowans who see young turkeys in July and August are encouraged to report the birds through a DNR website link.
Iowa’s five spring turkey seasons began April 5 with the youth-only season and ended May 12 with the conclusion of gun/bow season four and the archery-only season. Hunters purchased more than 56,600 spring turkey tags across all seasons in 2024.
