Georgia’s 2017 turkey season has come and gone and a lot of hunters were left wondering about the state of Georgia’s turkey population. If you base your figures on the harvest numbers generated by the relatively new call-in deer and turkey check system, then you may find your self somewhat alarmed. Those “harvest numbers” are down well over 50% when compared to estimated harvest numbers before the call-in system. But is the harvest really down that much or is it simply a factor of many folks not taking the time to properly check their harvested bird? Most likely it is more the latter, but we’ll dive into that topic more in a future article.
This week, we wanted to look at this year’s public land harvest compared to last year’s. Many WMAs saw an increase in reported turkey harvests this spring, but again we are left with the question: Did more turkeys really get harvested or did more people comply with the new check-in law? For now, we’ll leave you with these figures from the 2016 & 2017 Georgia public land turkey harvest and let you decide. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
| WMA | 2016 | 2017 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alapaha River WMA | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Alexander WMA | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Allatoona WMA | 14 | 24 | 10 |
| Alligator Creek WMA | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Almo Tract, Chattahoochee Fall Line WMA | 7 | 5 | -2 |
| Altama Plantation WMA | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Altamaha WMA | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| Arrowhead WMA | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Beaverdam WMA | 7 | 6 | -1 |
| Berry College WMA | 14 | 21 | 7 |
| Berry Creek Area, Rum Creek WMA | 3 | 1 | -2 |
| BF Grant WMA | 14 | 12 | -2 |
| Big Dukes Pond WMA (Dukes Pond) | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Big Hammock WMA | 5 | 13 | 8 |
| Big Lazer Creek WMA | 9 | 13 | 4 |
| Blackjack Tract, Chattahootchee Fall Line WMA | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Blanton Creek WMA | 11 | 22 | 11 |
| Blue Ridge WMA | 16 | 19 | 3 |
| Bobby Brown State Park | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge | 7 | 2 | -5 |
| Buck Island, Townsend WMA | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bullard Creek WMA | 15 | 33 | 18 |
| Bullard Creek WMA Ocmulgee Tract | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Cartecay Tract, Rich Mountain WMA | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Carter's Lake, Coosawattee WMA | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Cedar Creek WMA | 39 | 39 | 0 |
| Chattahoochee National Forest outside WMA | 223 | 360 | 137 |
| Chattahoochee WMA | 9 | 12 | 3 |
| Chestatee WMA | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| Chickasawhatchee WMA | 14 | 19 | 5 |
| Clark's Hill WMA (Clark Hill) | 8 | 14 | 6 |
| Clayhole Swamp WMA | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Clybel WMA (Charlie Elliott) | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Cohutta WMA | 32 | 30 | -2 |
| Cooper's Creek WMA | 10 | 17 | 7 |
| Coosawattee WMA | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Corps of Engineers, Andrews Lake | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Corps of Engineers, Clark's Hill Lake outside WMA (Lake Thurmond, Corps of Engineers) | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Corps of Engineers, Lake Allatoona Outside WMA | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Corps of Engineers, Lake George outside WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Corps of Engineers, Lake Russell outside WMA | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Corps of Engineers, Lake Seminole outside WMA | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Corps of Engineers, West Point Lake outside WMA | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| Crockford-Pigeon Mountain WMA (Pigeon Mountain WMA) | 28 | 19 | -9 |
| Dan Denton, Oconee WMA | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Dawson Forest WMA | 28 | 39 | 11 |
| Dilane WMA | 19 | 31 | 12 |
| Dixon Bay WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Dixon Memorial WMA | 18 | 25 | 7 |
| Dodge County PFA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Doerun Pitcherplant Bog WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Duke's Creek WMA (Smithgall Woods State Park) | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Echeconee Creek WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Elmodel WMA | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Fall Line Sandhills WMA | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| FD Roosevelt State Park | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Fishing Creek WMA | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Flat Creek PFA | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Flat Tub WMA | 7 | 2 | -5 |
| Flint River WMA | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Fort Gordon | 40 | 26 | -14 |
| Fort Perry, Chattahoochee Fall Line WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Fort Stewart | 88 | 107 | 19 |
| Germany Creek WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Grand Bay WMA | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Griffin Ridge WMA | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| Gum Swamp Creek, Ocmulgee WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Hannahatchee WMA | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Hiltonia WMA | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Horse Creek WMA | 10 | 8 | -2 |
| Hunter Army Airfield | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| JL Lester WMA (Lester WMA) | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Joe Kurz WMA | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| John's Mountain WMA | 10 | 45 | 35 |
| Keg Creek WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Lake Hartwell, Corps of Engineers | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Lake Lanier Islands, Corps of Engineers | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Lake Russell WMA | 16 | 13 | -3 |
| Lake Seminole WMA | 4 | 2 | -2 |
| Lake Walter F George WMA | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Little River Area, Cedar Creek | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Little Satilla WMA | 15 | 4 | -11 |
| Mayhaw WMA | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| McGraw Ford WMA | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Moody Forest WMA | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Morgan Lake WMA | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Oaky Woods WMA | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Ocmulgee WMA | 15 | 21 | 6 |
| Oconee National Forest outside WMA | 43 | 46 | 3 |
| Oconee WMA | 8 | 11 | 3 |
| Ohoopee Dunes WMA | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Oliver Bridge WMA | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Otting Tract WMA | 4 | 1 | -3 |
| Paulding Forest WMA | 43 | 59 | 16 |
| Paulk's Pasture WMA | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Penholoway Swamp WMA | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge | 28 | 33 | 5 |
| Pine Log WMA | 11 | 22 | 11 |
| Private Land | 9768 | 10602 | 834 |
| Public Land - Other | 265 | 117 | -148 |
| Redlands WMA | 31 | 45 | 14 |
| Rich Mountain WMA | 9 | 14 | 5 |
| Richmond Hill WMA | 4 | 1 | -3 |
| River Bend WMA | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| River Creek WMA | 5 | 2 | -3 |
| Rocky Mountain PFA | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Rum Creek WMA | 6 | 4 | -2 |
| Sansavilla WMA | 11 | 12 | 1 |
| Savannah National Wildlife Refuge | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Sheffield WMA | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| Silver Lake WMA | 7 | 16 | 9 |
| Sprewell Bluff WMA | 9 | 5 | -4 |
| Standing Boy Creek State Park | 4 | 1 | -3 |
| Swallow Creek WMA | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| Tallulah Gorge State Park | 6 | 5 | -1 |
| Townsend WMA | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Tuckahoe WMA (Spring Lake) | 11 | 45 | 34 |
| Warwoman WMA | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| West Point WMA | 15 | 10 | -5 |
| Wilson Shoals WMA | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Yuchi WMA | 15 | 22 | 7 |
| Zahnd WMA | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Totals: | 11228 | 12328 | 1100 |