Turkeys can be self-registered online OR in-person at a registration station
 We're closing in on turkey season! Youth day is Saturday, April 27 and the season opens to all hunters from Monday, April 29 - Saturday, June 1. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the Hunting Lawbook and review the season dates and bag limits.?
Once again, hunters have the option to self-register a turkey online or in-person at a registration station. To self-register a turkey online, hunters may use a phone, computer, or any electronic device with internet connection. If a hunter has poor internet connection, they must attach a transportation label (with their name, license number, and address) and drive to a location with better internet connection. Once self-registered, hunters will receive a seal number via email to confirm the wild turkey was registered. The confirmation can be saved to the device or printed. There is no fee to self-register a turkey online.
Hunters will need the following information to self-register a turkey online:?
- MOSES ID (found on your hunting license)
- Last name
- Date of birth
- Current hunting license
- Current turkey permit if not included in license
- Current email address
The link to self-register a turkey online will be available at mefishwildlife.com/tagaturkey beginning on youth day.?
Hunters who prefer to register their harvest in-person at a registration station are encouraged to do so. Click here for a list of in-person registration stations.
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For more information on how to register wild turkeys in-person or online and how MDIFW uses harvest data to manage the State's wild turkey population and set bag limits, visit mefishwildlife.com/tagaturkey
Harvest data is critical to monitoring Maine?s wild turkey population and regulating hunting seasons and bag limits.
Since the first spring wild turkey hunting season in 1986, the Department has required registration of spring wild turkey harvest, building a long-term data set that provides a measure of our wild turkey population at the town, wildlife management district (WMD), and statewide scale. We use the harvest data, in combination with how many wild turkey hunters Maine has, to set hunting regulations.?
For example, harvest data showed that we could increase fall season bag limits in several WMDs, which began in 2019. Since then, the turkey population has remained stable, which we know thanks to harvest data from subsequent seasons.
The more accurate we are in measuring wild turkey harvest, the more confidence we can have in the bag limits we set, often resulting in more hunting opportunity and greater bag limits.
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There is still time to sign up for a turkey hunting workshop or to sign up for a one hour timeslot to pattern your shotgun with a Range Safety Officer in Augusta! Both are a great way to prepare for the upcoming season.
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Now is a great time for them to take a hunter safety course in-person or online!? Learn more about hunter education.
Or, invite them to join to increase their comfort and interest before they take the course. They can help set out the decoys, call, look for sign, and more.?
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Maine has over 17 million acres of extraordinary land available to hunters. When it comes to finding where you want to hunt, you have two options:?public land and private land.?
MDIFW manages over 110,000 acres throughout the state, called Wildlife Management Areas. All MDIFW-owned Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), except Steve Powell WMA (Swan Island) and portions of Steep Falls and Killick Pond WMA, are open for general-law hunting and trapping.?Find a WMA near you.
If looking to hunt on private land, always ask for permission.?Learn more about hunting on private land.?
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Remember to take precautions while enjoying the outdoors. Consider treating your clothes with permethrin or other tick repellent according to the instructions on the container, tuck the loose ends of your clothing in, and check yourself routinely.
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