The Department of Natural Resources is planning to update the Wisconsin wild turkey management plan. The public will be asked to provide input on the new plan later this year. The current plan covered
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Department of Natural Resources is planning to update the Wisconsin wild turkey management plan.
The current document, titled “Ecology of Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin, A Plan for their Management,” was designed for 2015-25. It followed a DNR plan for the species written in 1996.
The update is intended to cover the next decade, said Taylor Finger, DNR game bird specialist.
But considering the success of Wisconsin’s wild turkey management program, don’t expect the next edition to have any huge surprises.
The system installed decades ago by the DNR spreads hunting pressure across time periods and geographical zones. It has resulted in high hunter satisfaction as well as provided protection of the turkey population and the birds’ annual breeding cycle.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
As other states have had to curtail hunter opportunity in the face of turkey population declines, Wisconsin has had no similar cuts. In fact the number of tags issued in the Badger State has gradually increased and the turkey population remains very strong.
Wild turkeys were native to Wisconsin but wiped out in the late 1800s due to unrestricted hunting and loss of habitat. The last known native wild turkey was in Lafayette County in 1881, according to the DNR.
A 1976 reintroduction of wild turkeys transferred from Missouri to southwestern Wisconsin kick-started what is widely regarded as one – if not the – most successful wildlife restorations in state history.
Wild turkeys are now found in all 72 Wisconsin counties and the DNR holds annual spring and fall hunting seasons.
The spring season has about 130,000 hunters participate, second only to deer hunting, according to DNR data. And Wisconsin often ranks in the top three in the nation in terms of spring turkey harvest.
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Hunters registered 50,287 wild turkeys in the 2025 spring turkey hunting season, according to DNR data. The season ended May 27.
It was the fifth time the Wisconsin spring turkey harvest has topped 50,000 birds and the fifth highest seasonal kill since the DNR began a managed hunt for the species in 1983.
It was second highest spring turkey harvest in the nation, according to preliminary data from state agencies. Only Missouri, with a reported 51,018 turkeys, topped Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin DNR has performed an annual survey of turkey hunters to keep tabs on hunter satisfaction and preferences.
The 2024 survey results underscore the quality of the Wisconsin turkey hunting experience and provide the latest data point what has been a decades-long history of high hunter satisfaction.
Reflecting on the past three years of spring wild turkey hunting seasons, the majority of hunters were satisfied or very satisfied with all aspects of their season included in this survey, according to the 2024 DNR report. Highest satisfaction was expressed for access to areas they wanted to hunt (83%) and the overall quality of their hunts (73%).
One aspect that is likely to change in the updated turkey management plan is the process used for the annual drawing.
Earlier this year DNR conservation warden Jake Donar scoured license data and determined about one in four hunters chosen for a tag through the annual drawing were not purchasing their awards.
Donar shared the finding at the April 2, 2025 meeting of the DNR Turkey Advisory Committee. At least some of the issue was linked to conservation patron license buyers who automatically are entered in the drawing but then fail to buy the tag.
To help make sure such awards can be utilized by hunters instead of resulting in lost opportunities, the committee was in favor of making changes to the drawing process.
DNR data from 2022 through 2024 showed an average of 26.4% of spring turkey hunting awards went unpurchased. This spring, following a April 8, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on the situation, it improved to 23.2%, Donar said.
However a change in the system, in addition to education, is likely needed to drive the rate below 10%.
Finger said any decisions about changes to the drawing process would likely be made through the turkey management plan update.
“It seems appropriate that the plan would be the best avenue to discuss (this issue) and move forward,” Finger said.
Finger said the DNR is planning to host a series of public meetings beginning in late August or September to collect input for the turkey management plan update.
The timeline calls for the new plan to be written and approved in early summer 2026, Finger said. Any changes in the drawing process or other regulations related to the new plan would likely not take effect until 2027.
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