New Jersey's turkey program has been a tremendous success story, one that spans nearly three decades and began with a small stocking program in the state's northwestern regions. Today, there are turkeys in every county, which encompasses 22 turkey harvest areas (THAs) or management zones. The smaller zones are all located in the state's northwestern tier, which according to New Jersey's Division of Fish & Wildlife, were affected by poor productivity conditions over the past few years. The decreased turkey numbers in those THAs was reflected in this year's harvest figures. The most productive THAs were all located in the state's southern region, mainly along the Delaware River's shores in Cumberland and Salem counties.

THA 20
Approximately 600 gobblers were bagged in THA 20, a huge tract of land that is located both in Cumberland and Salem counties. It begins along the Delaware River's east bank near Bridgeport, heads southeast along state Route 322 for several miles, and then takes a jog back to the southwest before ending at the mouth of the Cohansey River.

Much of the terrain in THA 20 consists of rolling hills interspersed by wooded valleys created by small to midsized streams. Large tracts of hickory, oak, pin oak, beech and pines create ideal habitat for foraging flocks looking for an easy meal. While the majority of the birds are bagged on private lands, there seems to be increasing numbers being harvested from public lands during the past few years.

THA 21
Salem County's THA 21, which also borders the Delaware River's shores, produced 465 gobblers during the 2005 spring season. This is a significant increase over the 377 birds bagged during the 2004 season. Much of the zone is a maze of creeks meandering through lowlands before reaching major waters, such as Cedar and Natuxent creeks. The zone also includes small portions of Atlantic, Cumberland and Gloucester counties.

Overall, New Jersey's turkey population appears to be stable, with slight decreases noted in the northern tier counties, which are being offset by increases in areas south and east of Somerset and Middlesex counties. The exceptions to this are THA 5 where 206 birds were bagged, and THA 8 where 247 gobblers were harvested.

MARYLAND
Garrett County
Maryland's turkey population continues to rise dramatically in every county, especially in some of the suburban areas. However, because urban sprawl continues to gobble up major farms situated in counties surrounding metropolitan Baltimore, many areas experiencing significant increases in the number of birds can no longer be hunted. Consequently, hunters continue to harvest the highest gobbler numbers from the mountains of western Maryland.