With the statewide 2018 wild turkey hunting season set to open on April 14, Chris Kreh, the Wildlife Commission’s Upland Game Bird Biologist, provides a few highlights from the 2017 season below.

Hunters harvested a record-setting 18,919 birds — a 5 percent increase from 2016. The previous record high was 18,409 birds reported in 2013.

Youth-season harvest was . . . MORE

• Regulations Set for 2018-19 Seasons, Resolution Signed on Sunday Hunting of Migratory Birds, Coyote Management Plan Approved, and Rule to Allow Limited Take of Alligators READ MORE

Each year, at the end of bear season, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission seeks feedback from bear e-stamp holders the results of which help the Commission make the best management decisions for black bears and bear hunters. Specifically, responses help the Commission determine . . . READ MORE

My name is Katherine Abbott and I’m a rising junior at N.C. State where I study conservation biology. This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to work as an intern with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, where I assisted with a box turtle study and worked on a variety of assignments for the communications department. READ MORE

The recovery of the wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, is one of North Carolina’s greatest wildlife success stories. But it was a long road to get our wild turkey population back to its current level. Wild turkeys were historically plentiful in our state, but unregulated hunting and large-scale deforestation caused their population to plummet in the early 1900s. Early recovery efforts were undertaken from 1928–1946, which involved releasing pen-raised birds and eggs into the wild. Unfortunately, those birds weren’t accustomed to predators and extreme weather conditions. The birds perished, and the wild turkey population continued to crash. READ MORE