Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2017 SEAFWA Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the SEAFWA website, go to: www.seafwa.org/conference/overview
Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Jason L. Isabelle, Missouri Department of Conservation; Charles Ruth, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; D. Kevin Lowrey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Adam B. Butler, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
ABSTRACT: Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo; hereafter, turkeys) are widely recognized throughout the southeastern United States as a species of ecological, recreational, aesthetic, and economic importance. As a game species, turkeys are most popularly pursued during the spring, a timeframe coinciding with the bird’s breeding and nesting activities. Given this period’s biological importance, managers are challenged to avoid negative population impacts while simultaneously providing quality hunting opportunities. Biological considerations associated with timing spring turkey season frameworks include the potential effects of early and excessive male harvest on productivity and the tendency for intentional or inadvertent illegal female kill to occur earlier in the reproductive season. Turkey hunters often request frameworks to maximize exposure to gobbling activity, but these sociological considerations may conflict with biological concerns. Recent declining trends in turkey reproductive indices, abundance, and harvest in several southeastern states have heightened the need to evaluate potential consequences of spring hunting season timing on turkey population demographics. Herein, we summarize factors state wildlife agencies should consider when setting the timing of spring turkey seasons. Based on our literature review, we suggest spring turkey season opening dates which coincide with peak egg-laying (i.e., the mean date of initial nest initiation) are biologically sound and may reduce illegal female kill. This season timing also addresses concerns surrounding potential effects of male harvest on productivity, while acknowledging hunter expectations of hearing vocal male turkeys when hunting. Furthermore, we suggest state wildlife agencies should place emphasis on research to reduce uncertainty surrounding this important topic.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 8:00am - 8:20am EDT
Carroll Ford