Plus summer camp for kids, new wildlife calendars, and impacts on the ongoing drought.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After several years of concern over Arkansas’ turkey numbers, the 2026 season brought some much-needed good news.
Trey Reid with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said this year’s spring turkey harvest was the best the state has seen in two decades.
“It was a phenomenal turkey season,” Reid said. “I think turkey hunters are happy, turkey folks at Game and Fish, and our commission are all happy about the results.”
According to Reid, hunters checked just under 14,000 birds this year. That marks the highest turkey harvest in Arkansas since 2006.
The number becomes even more impressive when compared to past seasons with different regulations. Reid said Arkansas’ all-time record harvest came in 2003, when hunters checked nearly 20,000 birds. But at that time, adult hunters were allowed to harvest jakes, which are one-year-old male turkeys.
“That’s not the case anymore,” Reid said. “We’ve had some very conservative seasons, a later start, no jakes for adult hunters, only one turkey the first week of the season under a couple of the season structures over the past few years.”
Reid said jakes made up nearly 5,000 birds in the 2003 harvest, or about 25% of the total.
“If you subtract that out from the 2003 season, you’re at about 15,000 birds,” Reid said. “So really, this year, 2026, we were within about 1,000 birds of our all-time record turkey harvest in Arkansas, if you consider the changing regulations. Almost like adjusting for inflation.”
Weather played a role
While AGFC can control hunting regulations and habitat work, weather is one factor outside of anyone’s control.
Reid said weather impacts turkey season in two major ways. First, it affects hunter effort. Fewer hunters head into the woods when it is raining or when winds are strong.
But weather has an even bigger impact on young turkeys.
“When we have wet springs, it’s hard for turkeys to make a living,” Reid said. “Especially those young poults, those newly hatched birds. They can’t thermoregulate.”
Cold, wet spring days can be especially tough on young turkeys. Reid said damp conditions can also help predators.
“Another thing that happens when it’s really damp is scent is held longer,” Reid said. “So predators like coyotes and bobcats can smell out those young turkeys, which don’t have quite the ability to evade them as an adult turkey does.”
Reid said Arkansas had fairly dry springs in 2023 and 2024, or at least rain that was timed in a way that did not significantly hurt brood survival. Those birds are now two and three years old, meaning many of the males are mature gobblers.
“I think that’s what we saw this season,” Reid said.
Habitat and regulation changes also helped
Reid said the strong season was not the result of one single factor.
AGFC adjusted the 2026 season structure, including staggered opening dates across different parts of the state. Reid said that likely contributed some to the increase in harvest.
He also pointed to continued habitat work by AGFC, the U.S. Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, other conservation groups, and private landowners.
“A lot of work is being put on the ground across Arkansas right now,” Reid said.
That includes efforts on both public and private lands to create better habitat for turkeys.
“It’s never one cause that causes a problem or one solution,” Reid said. “But if you take all these things together, that is a pretty good, complete picture of how we achieved the success we did this year.”
Reid said AGFC can manage season dates, season structure, limits, and habitat work, but the agency still needs cooperation from Mother Nature.
“This year, it all came together,” Reid said.
Drought brings both benefits and concerns
While drier weather helped turkey brood survival in recent years, ongoing drought is creating other concerns across Arkansas’ outdoor world.
Reid said dry conditions have helped some AGFC construction projects, including the Lake Conway renovation and work on green tree reservoirs. The dry weather has allowed crews to improve infrastructure so water can be managed at the right times of year.
Still, there are concerns if rain does not return soon.
“If we don’t get some rain soon, we’re probably going to have a mast crop that’s not going to be as good,” Reid said.
That could affect deer, bear, ducks, squirrels, and other wildlife that rely on acorns and other hard mast in the fall.
On the fisheries side, Reid said stable water levels in upland reservoirs have likely helped the bass spawn.
“We had really consistent water levels, lower, but consistent,” Reid said. “That’s probably why you’re seeing so many fry and fingerlings out there.”
AGFC calendar returns with a new twist
AGFC is also preparing to release the latest Arkansas Wildlife calendar.
The calendar is included with a subscription to Arkansas Wildlife Magazine, which Reid described as AGFC’s bi-monthly magazine featuring stories, photography, and updates from around the state.
The July-through-July calendar includes hunting season dates, sunrise and sunset times, holidays, and wildlife photography.
“The calendar, I promise you, is worth $12 by itself,” Reid said. “It is breathtakingly beautiful.”
This year’s calendar includes a new feature: QR codes next to the animals featured in the photos. Scanning the code will take users to audio files featuring the vocalizations or sounds of those animals.
Summer camps and nature center programs for kids
With summer break approaching, AGFC is also offering outdoor education opportunities for kids.
Reid said AGFC nature centers are great options for families during the summer, especially because they offer air-conditioned indoor spaces along with outdoor trails and activities.
AGFC’s education division is also offering summer camps, many of them held at nature centers or connected to nature center programming.
“You can sign up and find out more at AGFC.com,” Reid said.
The camps include fishing-focused day camps for different skill levels. Kids can learn about hooks, lines, bait, lures, species identification, and conservation.
At the end of the five-day camp, participants get to go fishing.
“Not only will your kids learn about fishing and conservation in Arkansas, they’ll actually get to go out and put that knowledge to practical use with a day on the water,” Reid said.
AGFC also offers classes and programs beyond hunting and fishing, including outdoor photography, Dutch oven cooking, bird watching, and more.
“So often people think about Game and Fish as the hunting and fishing people, and we are, and we always will be, but we are much more than that,” Reid said. “We want to welcome people into the world of conservation, whatever fires you up.”
More information about AGFC programs, summer camps, nature centers, and Arkansas Wildlife Magazine can be found at AGFC.com