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AUGUSTA — To encourage Mainers to enjoy outside resources and to support a happy, healthy Maine, the state has made some changes to the spring turkey hunting season.
Youth days will be Saturday, April 25, and Monday, April 27. On these days, junior hunters who hold a valid junior hunting license may hunt wild turkeys. Participants may take up to two bearded wild turkeys with a shotgun, bow and arrow, or crossbow, but cannot exceed an individual WMD bag limit.
The start of the regular spring turkey hunting season will be moved up to Saturday, May 2, instead of May 4. This will give hunters an additional Saturday to be in the field.
All other current bag limits, license, and permit requirements apply. Hunters participating in the 2020 spring wild turkey hunting season will not be required to tag their harvested turkeys.
Transportation tags will also not be required. This is specific to the spring 2020 season only. Hunters will receive a post-season survey and are asked to participate to help provide data used to monitor Maine’s wild turkey population. All other current bag limits, license and permit requirements apply.
SAFETY REMINDERS
COVID-19 safety reminders for the season are:
* Hunt a spot close to home and be sure to respect private landowners. Ask permission first.
* Be safe and prepared.
* Don’t share a ride, blind or equipment with non-household members.
* Follow CDC guidelines on physical distancing.
* If you are exhibiting symptoms or have recently been exposed to COVID-19, stay home.
REPORT BANDED TURKEYS
Temporarily waiving the requirement to register wild turkeys during the spring 2020 hunting season will come as a challenge to the state’s harvest management. The department’s efforts to capture and band a subset of the turkey population will help to generate population estimates to inform future seasons and bag limits.
There are several hundred banded wild turkeys across the state’s Wildlife Management Districts. Reporting banded turkeys is a reliable method to estimate the harvest when total harvest cannot be accounted for. Wildlife biologists have a record of the number of turkeys that were banded this past winter and will use the number of harvested banded birds shot that are reported to estimate our total spring harvest.
Information on how to report a banded wild turkey is printed on the band. There are two methods you can use: visit wildturkeyme.org/report-a-tag/ or call 1-844-234-9237.
REVIEW THE RULES
All hunters should review Maine’s current hunting laws, and seek our further information about WMDS and more, at mefishwildlife.com, where they can also find additional MDIFW updates related to COVID-19.
