MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced a 5% increase in the 2022 Wisconsin spring turkey harvest from 2021 on Friday.
According to preliminary totals, Wisconsin turkey hunters registered 39,007 birds during the 2022 spring turkey hunting season. There were 37,266 birds registered in the spring 2021 season.
This year's season started on April 16 with a two-day youth hunt. The regular season was divided into six separate one-week periods from April 20 to May 31.
For the 2022 youth season, the DNR says there were 2,482 birds registered, which was down nearly 25% from 3,308 in 2021. The DNR said this is likely due to the late onset of spring across the state.
Spring turkey participated also spiked in 2020 when people had time to pursue turkey while other events were canceled, according to the DNR.
“Preliminary data suggest the number of people who purchased a harvest authorization after winning in the drawing is similar to last year," said Taylor Finger, DNR Game Bird Ecologist.
According to a news release from the DNR, "A total of 220,026 harvest authorizations were issued for the 2022 spring turkey season, similar to 2021. In 2022, 142,091 harvest authorizations were awarded through the drawing process, and 77,935 were sold over the counter."
