The Gould’s turkey population has steadily been increasing for decades prompting the New Mexico Game and Fish Department to open up a public comment period to consider two changes.
- The proposed changes to the Turkey Rule (19.31.16 NMAC)
- The recommendation is to remove Gould’s turkey from the state list of threatened and endangered species.
You can find out more details here on when the meetings will be held and other pertinent information. The public comment period will end on September 18th, 2022, and the Commission is scheduled to hear the final proposal at their October 14th, 2022 meeting.
Currently, the only way to hunt Gould’s turkey in New Mexico is either by obtaining a permit via an online auction or raffle tickets. Annually, these two tags have been generating much-needed funds that go back into habitat improvement, conservation, research, and management for these turkeys. These tags have been helping turkeys since 2009.
Likewise, the public comment meetings will be held on July 12th – 14th.
History of Gould’s turkey
The Gould’s turkey was discovered by J. Gould in 1856, in Mexico, and was therefore aptly named after him and this discovery. This species is the fifth recognized and their range extends through northwestern portions of Mexico and in southern Arizona and New Mexico. These beautiful birds are the largest turkey species and have distinctive white tips on their tail feathers.
Late last year we at Ehuntr covered the initial reports that the Gould’s turkey may end up being removed from the endangered species list. You can read this original report by clicking here. Once again, you can read more about these meetings by clicking here. Thanks for reading!
