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- Utah's wild turkey population increased to between 30,000 and 35,000 this year due to improved climate conditions.
- Less harsh conditions supported better reproduction and survival rates.
- The state plans limited-entry and general turkey hunting seasons in 2025.
SALT LAKE CITY — While many Utahns might be thankful for the turkey on their table this Thanksgiving, Utah's wild turkeys could be giving thanks to improved conditions this year that have helped the species' population rebound after years of harsh conditions.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reports about 30,000 to 35,000 Rio Grande and Merriam's wild turkeys are now in the state, which is up from 25,000 to 30,000 in its previous estimate. Division officials credit the rise to better climate conditions over the past year.
"Precipitation patterns during the winter and spring last year provided ideal conditions for reproduction and brood rearing during the summer, so in some areas of the state, this increased production and the survival of young turkeys," the agency wrote in an update on Monday.
About 97% of the state was listed as having moderate drought or worse at the start of 2023. It had been even worse at times since developing in 2019 and peaking between 2020 and 2022, but back-to-back above-average snowpack collections — including a record-setting 2022-23 season — helped reverse Utah's water fortunes.
However, both swings factored in population declines for turkeys and other wild animals like mule deer. Drought conditions deplete the plants and other food sources turkeys rely on, while many also die off during cold and snowy winters.
Utah's 2023-24 snowpack was above normal and led to less die-off, according to wildlife officials, while the state also briefly climbed out of drought this summer, having no form of moderate drought or worse in July for the first time since 2019.
Division officials provided an update not just because turkey is on many Utahns' minds for the holiday, but because the next wild turkey hunting season is on the horizon.
Utah offers some fall hunting opportunities, including a season on mostly only private land that remains open through the end of February 2025, for permit holders. But turkey hunts also take place in the spring ahead of the species' reproduction season, as noted by Heather Talley, upland game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
"The fall hunt is specifically designed to eliminate conflicts with landowners; turkey hunting in the fall is administered primarily to alleviate these conflicts and, secondarily, to provide more hunting opportunities, which is why the number of permits offered may be low, depending on the year," she explained, in a news release. "This is why the fall hunt encompasses mostly or entirely private lands."
Utah plans to offer a little over 2,000 limited-entry permits across five regions for a hunt taking place from April 12-24, 2025. Hunters can apply from Dec. 12 to Dec. 27 before a drawing on Jan. 8, 2025.
A general statewide hunt will run from April 28 through the end of May 2025. There aren't any permit limits when permits go on sale beginning on March 6, 2025, but hunters are limited to just one permit. Both hunts focus on male birds only.
