For the guys commenting on TN in the state limit thread, now is the time to voice your opinion to the TWRA and the TN Wildlife Commission. They may not make a change or follow what you want but at least you can say that you voiced your concerns. See below some info:
The TN Wildlife Commission will be voting at the end of May on the 21 & 22 Spring seasons. The TWRA has recommended to reduce the limit to two and push the season back two weeks in Southern Middle TN counties and MS River border counties. The rest of the state is recommended to stay the same. I believe that the limit should be reduced statewide and sent info in last week via the avenues below.
The proposals for the next two seasons can be found at the link below:
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/hunting/2020-22-season-updates.pdf
The actual meeting can be found on youtube via the link below. Around the hour and 57 min mark is where they talk about turkeys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy5EbwkDjjY
1) TWRA is requesting input on these proposals until 5/15. You can send an email to Twra.huntingcomments@tn.gov. with the title "Hunting Season Comments."
2) Now is time to email the commissioners with your comments. They make the final vote on the seasons and do look at the comments. Their email and info can be found here.
https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/twra/tennessee-fish-wildlife-commission.html#meet
3) Normally they allow public participation at these meetings which usually has more pull than anything but really not sure how they will do this with the virus going around.
Sent mine this morning. For some reason your links didn't work. Here they are again.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/hunting/2020-22-season-updates.pdf
https://www.tn.gov/twra/tennessee-fish-wildlife-commission.html
Just sent my comments in. Thanks.
Done for the second time this year. Would love to see a 2 bird limit.
how I wish this would happen in Mississippi . TN has better bird numbers and harvests more birds and you guys are already considering dropping the limit...they'll become extinct in ms before any changes are made.
At this point, them doing something, anything, would be better than what they've been doing the past decade. The attitude seems to be, if things look good around Nashville, they must be the same across the state. The state is so geographically and ecologically diverse from the western river bottoms to the eastern mountains, and for the state to manage with a one-size fits all approach...........well, it just leaves you scratching your head.
Quote from: dzsmith on May 12, 2020, 11:41:59 AM
how I wish this would happen in Mississippi . TN has better bird numbers and harvests more birds and you guys are already considering dropping the limit...they'll become extinct in ms before any changes are made.
Yeah, in the email I wrote you could basically replace Tennessee with Mississippi and the same would be true.
TN may have better numbers in some areas, but I can assure you the majority of the state is not what you see on all the YouTube channels. My area and NW Mississippi are merely a shell of what they were 10-15 years ago.
Sent my comments to my commissioner.
Quote from: J-Shaped on May 12, 2020, 10:56:51 AM
Sent mine this morning. For some reason your links didn't work. Here they are again.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/hunting/2020-22-season-updates.pdf
https://www.tn.gov/twra/tennessee-fish-wildlife-commission.html
Fixed them. Not sure whey they didn't work initially. Thanks!
I emailed TWRA and called a couple of commissioners. I hope the commissioners don't allow one commissioner from Nashville to run roughshod over them. That's the way he rolls.
I got a pretty well written response from my local commissioner within an hour of me sending something, which I thought was nice.
I sent my comments in about a week ago. Im all for the two bird limit. I have sent my comments in for the last 10 years and nothing has been done. The idiots at the twrc want to continue considering non resident revenue. What they dont seem to understand that if they don't manage for the resource and only the resource there will not be enough turkeys left to generate any revenue at all. They are so short term minded in their ideas it is unbelievable. They sure tooted their own horn for years when they restored the wild turkey in Tennessee but have taken no responsibility in the apparent demise of the population in a lot of areas. I guess this is what happens when the governor appoints commissioners or politicians to take care of our wild game.
Sent in my request for a 2 bird limit. IMO anyone who cares about the future of TN turkey hunting, resident or nonresident should send twra there opinions too!
I sent mine in. First time I've ever done anything like that. Really have my doubts anything will change but
Does East Tennessee really need a 2-bird limit? I imagine the number of hunters taking in excess of 2 birds a season around here is already quite low, and it seems our numbers are pretty good.
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Quote from: J-Shaped on May 12, 2020, 11:52:02 AM
Quote from: dzsmith on May 12, 2020, 11:41:59 AM
how I wish this would happen in Mississippi . TN has better bird numbers and harvests more birds and you guys are already considering dropping the limit...they'll become extinct in ms before any changes are made.
Yeah, in the email I wrote you could basically replace Tennessee with Mississippi and the same would be true.
TN may have better numbers in some areas, but I can assure you the majority of the state is not what you see on all the YouTube channels. My area and NW Mississippi are merely a shell of what they were 10-15 years ago.
oh no doubt about it. that's true for many places I imagine.
I can't speak for East TN, but western Mid TN, Humphreys County in particular, doesn't have the turkeys it did a few years ago. TWRA used to trap on the farm I own. On a rainy day, the creek bottoms would have 80-90 birds in it. I'm lucky to count a dozen now. I hope Humphreys gets reduced.
We still have good numbers in East TN but I feel like we should conserve what we have before it's too late like some west and middle Tn counties. If the limit is dropped to 2 that's 50 Percent more gobblers saved and hopefully have a chance to breed late nesting hens. We have had a massive harvest this year and we will be seeing the effects of it in the coming years I'm sure. I hear alot of guys complaining about the lack of gobblers and gobbling here on the east side.
The increased harvest in TN is due to folks being out of work, high school and college age kids being able to hunt all the time, not because we have more birds. That is another topic as they ride up and down the road, shoot from the road and get dropped off to slip in on another man's property. I killed birds, but it has been a frustrating season. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be glad when this season is over.
Quote from: timberjack86 on May 13, 2020, 07:21:07 PM
We still have good numbers in East TN but I feel like we should conserve what we have before it's too late like some west and middle Tn counties. If the limit is dropped to 2 that's 50 Percent more gobblers saved and hopefully have a chance to breed late nesting hens. We have had a massive harvest this year and we will be seeing the effects of it in the coming years I'm sure. I hear alot of guys complaining about the lack of gobblers and gobbling here on the east side.
Again, I don't think it's 50% more gobblers saved because a very tiny percentage of all the gobblers harvested were someone's 3rd or 4th bird. Might be a statistically significant marginal effect, but not trajectory-changing.
It's more people than normal getting their 1st and maybe 2nd bird.
I do however wish that we managed public lands better for turkeys for the past 20 years. A few WMAs are now heading in the right direction with clear cutting and controlled burns, but there might be more decline before we really cash in those efforts.
I only hope there's a ceiling to public land pressure. In a given place within close distance of a forest service road in Cherokee NF, much of it requires over an hour of driving just to get out of the car, and even many smaller WMAs prohibit ATVs, meaning you have to walk miles to get to the other side.
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Quote from: shatcher on May 13, 2020, 07:41:37 PM
The increased harvest in TN is due to folks being out of work, high school and college age kids being able to hunt all the time, not because we have more birds. That is another topic as they ride up and down the road, shoot from the road and get dropped off to slip in on another man's property. I killed birds, but it has been a frustrating season. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be glad when this season is over.
I completely agree!! There has been a large influx of hunters this spring that would normally either not hunt at all or not near as much as this season. That definitely has increased the harvest of birds that would have likely survived and carried over to next season ( I would estimate > 5000). Unfortunately, that will not happen. Therefore, next spring will be quieter and there will be a lot of frustrated hunters due to the lack of a hunt able population of gobblers. I want to be optimistic that the TWRA and TFWC will actually get their heads out of the sand and realize that if they don't implement changes, our turkey populations will continue to decline. As others have said, just because one region is good; doesn't mean others are the same. Also, many hunters from areas that the populations are declining are traveling to areas with more birds. Ultimately, the populations in these areas cannot withstand this constant increase in pressure and harvest. Finally, these regions will decline as well and our statewide turkey populations will be dismal. I have sent my comments to the TWRA and emailed commissioners. Hopeful they are listening to the public now more than ever.
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2 bird statewide and 1 bird non resident fingers crossed
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Agree with the two bird limit....put in my suggestions to TWRA today....
What's the argument, here?
That it takes a certain number of gobblers to breed late breeding hens? That there won't be enough mature gobblers to breed hens the next year?
I'm willing to do whatever it takes to let turkey populations stabilize and rise again. But lowering the bag limit statewide isn't the ticket if harvest isn't the problem statewide.
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Quote from: Tennessee Lead on May 13, 2020, 10:27:06 PM
2 bird statewide and 1 bird non resident fingers crossed
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as hateful and overreaching as it may appear. I do think different bag limits for non residents in a interesting idea. Would love to see that in the Ms. even myself when im hunting on the road, I generally leave after killing a bird in that state.
Quote from: shatcher on May 13, 2020, 05:39:57 PM
I can't speak for East TN, but western Mid TN, Humphreys County in particular, doesn't have the turkeys it did a few years ago. TWRA used to trap on the farm I own. On a rainy day, the creek bottoms would have 80-90 birds in it. I'm lucky to count a dozen now. I hope Humphreys gets reduced.
I agree completely!
Quote from: dzsmith on May 14, 2020, 08:05:24 AM
Quote from: Tennessee Lead on May 13, 2020, 10:27:06 PM
2 bird statewide and 1 bird non resident fingers crossed
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as hateful and overreaching as it may appear. I do think different bag limits for non residents in a interesting idea. Would love to see that in the Ms. even myself when im hunting on the road, I generally leave after killing a bird in that state.
My state of SC allows 3 gobblers for residents, but 2 for non-residents. The NR hunting license is already quite high, but SC also charges NR's an additional $100 for the tags while charging residents only $5. I don't like the idea of treating NR's differently. I usually hunt multiple states and while I don't mind paying more for a NR license/tag, I would mind having my out of state bag limit being reduced especially when much of my hunting is done on National Forest land.
To clarify, I don't mind the disparity in what a NR pays to hunt out of state compared to a resident-to a point, however, once a NR pays up, I think he or she should have the same opportunity to bag the legal limit.
Quote from: AppalachianHollers on May 13, 2020, 10:45:54 PM
What's the argument, here?
That it takes a certain number of gobblers to breed late breeding hens? That there won't be enough mature gobblers to breed hens the next year?
I'm willing to do whatever it takes to let turkey populations stabilize and rise again. But lowering the bag limit statewide isn't the ticket if harvest isn't the problem statewide.
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For the Southern Middle TN counties and the MS River counties, TWRA is planning to push season back two weeks and reduce the limit to two. The reason for pushing the season back two weeks is to allow more hens to be bred by available gobblers before they are killed because traditionally the season starts prior to peak breading. Reducing the limit to two birds helps with the breeding as well as ensuring more birds make it to the following year to breed. I think that this is important going forward to at least help with all of the birds killed this year. The record harvest is linked to more people hunting and more time in the woods than more turkeys being available.
There are many, many other areas that are seeing the same effects now as Southern Middle TN did a few years ago including my area that's not isolated to just one small farm. Some small pockets seem to be flourishing like mine was two years ago, but there are more and more areas across the state starting to see drastic decline. Many people say that we could have exceeded the carrying capacity for certain areas and starting to level out. This is not true for my area as there is lot of good turkey habitat that is basically void of birds for no reason that held a strong population just a few years ago. These actions may not be a fix all or even help, but it is something that the state can do proactively to help manage the turkey population.
Added the below to the original post:
The actual meeting can be found on youtube via the link below. Around the hour and 57 min mark is where they talk about turkeys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy5EbwkDjjY
I hope it is reduced. Ohio has waited too long in my opinion.
Ours has always been 2, we need ours reduced to 1.
I'm sure others will say no, but something needs done. Our public land deer and turkey populations are hurting.
Today is the last day to email TWRA. Make your voice heard both to TWRA and the commission. I feel like the commission has the most pull at this point.
I emailed the chair of the commission asking about public participation at the meeting next week (5/28 and 5/29). He said that public participation would be allowed but may not be able to be inside the building the entire time due to social distancing rules. Public participation at these meetings have seemed to have the most pull over the years. I just thought that I would check if it would still be possible due to the current circumstances, and it will be.
The meeting will be at the Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin.
Thanks for the updates LRD. I know it's merely anecdotal evidence, but judging from what I've seen online and just within my circle of turkey hunting friends, it appears they're getting a lot of public feedback. I know folks who would never consider contacting the TWRA or their commissioner that wrote letters to them this year.
Quote from: J-Shaped on May 19, 2020, 10:54:55 AM
Thanks for the updates LRD. I know it's merely anecdotal evidence, but judging from what I've seen online and just within my circle of turkey hunting friends, it appears they're getting a lot of public feedback. I know folks who would never consider contacting the TWRA or their commissioner that wrote letters to them this year.
I would encourage anyone that can attend the meeting in person to do so to voice his or her concerns. In the past, in person has had the most pull.
Quote from: perrytrails on May 14, 2020, 12:57:28 PM
I hope it is reduced. Ohio has waited too long in my opinion.
Ours has always been 2, we need ours reduced to 1.
I'm sure others will say no, but something needs done. Our public land deer and turkey populations are hurting.
Im not sure about a blanket 1 bird per season in Ohio, But I do not hunt public as you specified. Myself I don't care for the all day hunting, but I understand it is to increase opportunity for people. It's just not for me. Turkey will always be a 0 dark 30 til noon thing for me.
I just saw where the TN harvest was 40,000 birds this year! TN had been in the 28,000-30,000 bird range. That's way too much of a year over year increase.
Any idea on the time of those upcoming TWRA meetings?
I think the meeting starts at 9am on 5/28. The location is listed above, and public input will be allowed. The meeting should be live streamed as well.
I agree that TN killed a large percentage of birds this year that will hurt the next few years. I hope I'm wrong, but numbers have been declining in many areas of the state.
I know for a fact that 3 nonresident hunters harvested 8 longbeards between them. One guy got his 4, one guy got 3. last guy got one. He was a new hunter however. Only his second bird ever. That's just too many. However, at least they traveled over most of the state. Not just one area.
Thursday and Friday of this week will be the meeting to decide. Email your commissioners and attend if you have an opinion either way.
I had a couple of them get right back to me. That may or may not mean anything....... Will you post how they vote?
Yes sir, the meeting will be streamed live via the TWRA website and put on youtube afterwards for viewing.
What's your gut tell you, LRD? We had 40,000 birds killed here this season. That cannot be sustained.
Quote from: shatcher on May 26, 2020, 05:43:28 PM
What's your gut tell you, LRD? We had 40,000 birds killed here this season. That cannot be sustained.
You didn't ask me, but they might bet there won't be a total lockdown next spring, and consequently there will be a dip in harvests next year mainly because of fewer hunting days spent afield.
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Quote from: shatcher on May 26, 2020, 05:43:28 PM
What's your gut tell you, LRD? We had 40,000 birds killed here this season. That cannot be sustained.
Based on watching the April meeting and recommendations from TWRA, they will still propose to reduce the limit to two and delay the start of season two weeks in only the Southern Middle TN and MS River counties. I don't see them recommending anything for the remainder of the state. In the meeting, they acted like the record kill this year was no big deal and that everything would be back to normal in a year or two. It may not be a big deal in some areas, but lots of areas have been hit hard due to all of the time off. The 40k kill is not a function of more birds statewide but a function of more time afield equating in a larger percentage of birds killed. I hope that I am wrong, but I see it hurting some areas for a long time if nothing is done. Lots of areas are starting to see the same issues that the Mid TN counties did several years ago where there are flocks of turkeys everywhere to basically none all across those counties in a matter of a year. The sky isn't falling, but there are many areas that are hurting for whatever reason due to poor poult recruitment whether that be mother nature, predators, gobblers getting killed before peek breeding, or all of the above. I do know that the Commission is getting a lot of pressure from many different angles, however, there was a lot of pressure in 2018 as well with nothing done. I really don't know if the Commission will vote to make a change statewide. I would say maybe a 50% chance.
After much discussions and several amendments voted down, they decided on the following:
- 3 bird limit statewide with no change to season dates
Except
- Southern Mid TN counties will start two weeks later
- MS River counties will start two weeks later and the limit will be 2
That's a start. Would like to have seen the statewide reduced to 2 birds. Maybe even cutting out-of-staters to 1.
The problem with delaying opening season in portions of the state will put even more pressure on the rest of the state opening early. Also the delayed opener will see insane pressure when opened. If the state has 2 separate opening days 2 weeks apart guys will take advantage of it.
I plan on hunting tennessee next spring.when and where I hunt will be influences by these rule changes.