New Jersey
New Jersey calls off turkey hunt as state’s bird population in dips
Turkeys, rejoice?
New Jersey’s fall turkey hunt usually starts about a month before the Thanksgiving holiday. But not this year.
State regulators last week announced Fish & Wildlife has canceled the fall 2025 statewide wild turkey hunting season.
The closure, approved by the state’s Fish and Game Council on March 11, takes effect immediately, officials said in the April 8 announcement.
Though there are more turkeys in New Jersey now than there were decades ago, officials said they voted to cancel the hunt until the animal’s population further stabilizes.
New Jersey’s wild turkey population was once as low as 6,200 birds in the mid-1980s, according to state data.
Each year between 2013 and 2020, the total was up to around 23,000. But the state’s 2025 population estimate is 20,000 turkeys statewide, Larry Hajna, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson, told NJ Advance Media.
“This is the first time the Fish and Game Council has voted to close the fall either-sex season (hunt),” Hajna said Friday. “This season closure is in effect until the population stabilizes and can support the season.”
During the state’s spring turkey hunt last year a total of 2,321 turkeys were killed, mostly in South Jersey and by hunters here and from over 30 other states.
Most of those turkeys were harvested by shotgun with compound bows and crossbows also used by hunters for just over 100 birds.
“Wild turkey harvest trends have continuously declined since the early 2000s and are similar to population estimates statewide,” the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said in a summary of the latest decision Tuesday.
The DEP said turkeys face several threats, including habitat loss and predation.
Although the department clarified that hunting was not the sole cause for the turkey population decline, it said the current populace of birds “cannot support a hunting season that includes hen harvest.”
The state believes closing the season will work to increase hen survival and reproduction.
In a brief history on wild turkeys, New Jersey underscored that by the mid-1800s turkeys were nearly wiped out as the state’s habitat changed and because they were killed for food.
Garden State biologists, along with the NJ Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, reintroduced turkeys here in 1977 starting with 22 birds.
Four years later, the population rebounded enough to support a spring hunting season and by 1997 a limited fall season kickstarted too.
Trends have evolved though.
The spring turkey hunt was not affected by the vote this past March to call off fall hunting.
However, state Fish and Game Council data showed declines in the spring harvest as well.
Between 2001 and 2010, on average more than 3,000 turkeys were hunted and killed in the spring (peaking at 3,779 in 2002). Yet, in recent years the spring hunt has yielded closer to between 2,300 and 2,500 birds.
State Fish and Game Council data shows a decline in the turkey hunting season total. The past few years have yielded fewer birds to hunt — between 68 and 111 from 2017 to 2023). The state also said since the early 2000s, the turkey population has dropped from about 23,000 in 2012 to — now — closer to 20,000.Graph by NJ Fish and Game Council
The Fish and Game Council’s nine members considered various options before calling off the state’s fall turkey hunt.
Leaving the season fully open has the potential to “negatively affect future populations,” according to a presentation from the March 11 meeting.
A partial closure of the fall season could have increased a portion of the turkey population. However, the council added, it could have made for uneven and complicated regulations with adverse effects for bird populations in others parts of the state.
Closing just the hen harvest was also considered, as that would make more female birds available to breed. However, the state said that could also needlessly remove male turkey populations for future hunts.
Closing the full season was thought of as the best option. Council members — made up of both hunters and farmers — said the only con by choosing that path was simply the loss of a hunting season.
The response online to New Jersey nixing a fall turkey hunt appears to be even-keeled so far.
“Loss of habitat and changes in farming practices might also play a role,” one Facebook user said in response to a State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs’ post — while speculating on the cancelation. “I suppose we have to wait and see the results of the monitoring programs in New Jersey and surrounding states.”
In response to losing the fall hunt, another user on a Pennsylvania hunting forum, noted that back in the 1970’s “turkeys were not as numerous as today.”
“If you heard a gobble over on the next ridge, there was a good chance he would come looking, because hens were scarce.”
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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @stevenrodas.bsky.social.
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.
The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.
The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.
Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.
“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.
“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”
As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.
The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.
It’s fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.
True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team’s mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.
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ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) — Drivers heading to the shore on Friday afternoon saw slow-moving traffic for several miles coming off the Walt Whitman bridge, but many travelers said the start of the holiday weekend was smoother than they anticipated.
Aldara Madden, who was traveling with her friend Elana Maser, said the trip moved faster than she expected.
“I was expecting it to take a lot longer,” she said.
Maser added that they left school early to avoid delays.
“My mom and I do that every year and then we always stop here as our little pre-down the shore,” she said.
Others shared similar experiences.
“I’m coming from Bucks County, so I was worried there was gonna be some traffic but it really wasn’t bad at all,” said Erin McFadden of Churchville, who was headed to Ocean City.
AAA reported that while slightly more people are traveling by car this year compared to last, 2026 is projected to have the lowest year-over-year travel growth rate in more than a decade, excluding the steep drop seen in 2020 during the pandemic.
The organization attributes the slowdown largely to concerns over rising prices.
“Gas is ridiculously expensive and I think all the time before going anywhere these days,” said Debbie Maser of Philadelphia. “But this is our happy place and nothing can keep us away.”
A dreary weekend forecast may also be influencing travel patterns.
“I was thinking that, I wonder if there’ll be less congestion on the roads because of the weather,” said Kyra Wolin of Massachusetts. “It’s not looking to be too good this weekend with the rain.”
Still, many shore-bound travelers said tradition outweighs any concerns about rain or crowds.
“No not at all. You go down. You get it done,” said George Miller of Lansdale.
Eric Wolin of Massachusetts agreed: “Never, never. Margate’s a special place for us.”
As the unofficial start of summer begins, travelers said they remain committed to kicking off the season in their favorite spots, not letting rain, traffic, or high prices keep them away.
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This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.
As summer begins, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is urging residents to limit lawn watering, and hand water flowers and shrubs as a drought warning continues. The warning, in place since December 2025, could turn into a drought emergency if conditions do not improve. The state has suffered eight consecutive months of below-normal rainfall, according to officials.
“New Jersey is experiencing a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which we haven’t seen in more than twenty years,” state geologist Steven Domber said in a statement issued earlier this month. “The indicators that we track closely are showing persistently dry conditions. With uncertainty for rainfall in the coming months, we need residents to conserve water today, to ensure we have enough to sustain our needs over the summer.”
The Department of Environmental Protection uses a variety of indicators to determine drought levels, including precipitation, stream flows, reservoir levels, ground water levels and demand.
In addition to the last two months, officials say, the state “experienced below normal precipitation for 20 of the last 24 months since September 2024,” despite heavy snowfall events this past winter that helped restore reservoirs in North Jersey.
“While we saw a little relief over the winter, New Jersey is feeling the effects of nearly two years of below-normal precipitation,” Sherrill said in a statement earlier this month. She urged residents to voluntarily conserve water.
New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said that since precipitation has been below normal for most of the last 24 months, the recent winter weather did not provide enough water to help restore streams and groundwater.
Should a drought emergency be declared, mandatory water restrictions would be put in place. The last drought emergency lasted almost a year, between March 2002 and January 2003.
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