Back in 2011, wildlife researchers began noticing a trend: declining wild turkey numbers in parts of the country. The initial concern focused on southern states and the southern Midwest.
“Originally that’s where the concerns kind of blossomed,” said Dr. Michael Chamberlain, a National Wild Turkey Federation distinguished professor at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. “But I think the evidence is pretty clear that since then there’s a growing recognition that populations are declining in a number of other states, including some of the northeastern states and some of the Upper Midwest states.”