The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently released data demonstrating that the state’s wild turkey harvest set a new record in 2024. The 4,959 wild turkeys harvested during the spring season is nearly 7% lower than the record-breaking harvest achieved in 2023, but surpasses the harvest totals from previous seasons.
According to the DNR, they were able to harvest the impressive number of turkeys due to favorable weather conditions and abundant turkey populations. The average to excellent reproductive success of the 2021 and 2022 summers resulted in a good number of 2-3 year-old gobblers available for the 2024 season. This year, 87% of the total harvest consisted of adult gobblers.
Garrett County had the highest harvest with 546 turkeys, followed by Charles County with 472 and Washington County with 442. In total, four counties produced record harvests: Charles, Queen Anne’s, Wicomico and Worcester. The Junior Turkey Hunt, which took place statewide on April 13-14, also saw a significant harvest of 333 wild turkeys, which is about 6% of the total.
Harvests by county are below:
County 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Allegany 286 266 282 483 345 Anne Arundel 81 64 85 136 106 Baltimore 65 53 82 101 89 Calvert 82 58 72 99 107 Caroline 180 149 168 174 151 Carroll 93 104 94 132 125 Cecil 94 80 67 95 86 Charles 369 353 334 445 472 Dorchester 211 197 170 180 211 Frederick 348 281 343 391 322 Garrett 387 374 436 579 546 Harford 88 104 91 128 105 Howard 34 35 51 61 40 Kent 206 151 160 184 130 Montgomery 162 154 164 206 150 Prince George’s 109 99 115 164 135 Queen Anne’s 144 120 144 170 191 Somerset 171 180 176 199 202 St. Mary’s 226 187 204 253 226 Talbot 95 80 84 96 95 Washington 439 345 400 515 445 Wicomico 193 181 193 215 238 Worcester 240 295 293 350 442 Total 4,303 3,910 4,208 5,356 4,959
