DELAWARE - The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's annual productivity survey for wild turkeys is set to begin next month, requiring the help of volunteers across the state.
The survey helps monitor reproductive health, detect population trends and guide hunting management, DNREC said.
Volunteers can sign up to help the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife by reporting sightings of turkeys during the survey period, which will run from July 1 through Aug. 31. When survey volunteers spot turkeys, they are asked to record the date, location and number of adult females, males and young, according to DNREC.
It also helps the state continue to monitor the wild turkey population in Delaware since Delaware reintroduced the wild turkey into the environment in 1984. After habitat loss and overharvesting in the 1800s, wild turkeys were reintroduced in Delaware in 1984 and continued through the early 2000s, according to DNREC.
The survey will be an online form for the first time ever, and volunteers can find it on DNREC's website.
