Outdoors: Arkansas turkey season concludes with just over 7,000 birds checked

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas hunters harvested and checked 7,010 eastern wild turkeys during the 2021 turkey season, which concluded May 9. While the harvest showed a similar decrease to that of surrounding states, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists are hopeful for the future.

“We did expect to see a decline in checked birds this year,” Jeremy Wood, AGFC Turkey Program coordinator, said. “With conservative season dates and new regulations in place to spread hunting pressure, we tried to give turkeys as much of a chance as we could to breed and create future hunting opportunities while maintaining a reasonably good hunting experience. We have to think about the resource first if we want to see the population increase.”

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