Tracking Turkeys

New Hampshire's eastern wild turkeys were once gone from the state -- unregulated hunting and habitat loss led to their extirpation in the mid-1800s.

In the late 1970s, NH Fish and Game began a wild-turkey reintroduction, funded by a federal Wildlife Restoration Program grant. Careful monitoring and protection of the wild turkey and a focus on habitat management helped the flock flourish -- so that today, the birds are an increasingly common sight throughout New Hampshire, with an estimated total population topping 22,000.

Key Concept

• Habitat Loss

Other Concepts

• Population
• Extinct North American Animals

NH Social Studies Connection

• Natural and Human Impacts on Wildlife
  
• Designing the Great Seal of the United States