(WHTM) — Pennsylvania wants to count its turkeys, but it needs the public’s help.

The PA Game Commission will conduct its annual Wild Turkey Sighting Survey from July 1 through Aug. 31. The agency will use the data to determine wild turkey productivity and compare long-term reproductive success within the state.

“The turkey survey enhances our agency’s internal survey, which serves as a long-term index of turkey reproduction and is used in our turkey population model,” said Mary Jo Casalena, a turkey biologist with the commission.

Many factors can affect wild turkey productivity, the commission said, including spring weather, habitat conditions, previous winter food abundance, predation, and last fall’s harvest.

Biologists measure reproductive success by the number of young turkeys, also called poults, seen per all hens seen. Last year, reproductive success in Pennsylvania was at 3.2 poults per hen, compared to 2.9 poults per hen in 2023 and 3.1 in 2022 and 2021.

At the wildlife management unit level in 2024, all 22 indices were above the threshold of 2.0 poults per hen considered adequate for replacing the adult mortality.

The public can send data for the survey to pgcforms.pa.gov/TurkeySightingSurvey. Participants should include:

• The number of wild turkeys they see
• The county, township, and wildlife management unit where the sighting happened
• Contact information if agency biologists have any questions

Participants can also drop a pin on the agency’s map, which will automatically populate location data for the sighting.