Midwest US turkey decline

[jims]

I would agree that eliminating hen (either-sex) tags in the fall would likely help.  Many of the Midwest states don't seem to be willing to change things in response to the increase in hunting pressure (tag numbers, fall either sex tags, etc) and the declining number of birds (poor poult crops, predators, etc)!  Hopefully they figure this out before numbers drop even lower than they already are!  It would be super nice to see a rebound....but they may need a little help!

[owlhoot]

Is it right that Kansas has reduced the fall tags from 4 to a limit of 1 this year. These are for any sex bird and a very long season.
This would be a great move by KDWP and hopefully other states will follow.
Heard about coons dying from disease a lot too this year.

[Kylongspur88]

I don't know about the Midwest but numbers were down in Kentucky this past year. We had a few bad hatch years and the coon population has exploded in the past few years. My area isnt a big ag area so farming practices aren't to blame. I'm going to try and kill some coons this winter and maybe help a few poults hatch in spring 2019.

[jims]

It's getting towards that time of year...spring gobblers!  It sounds like several mid-western states are taking eye to declining turkey numbers.  Some states I've noticed have lowered quotas.  Hopefully many states heads are up to prevent the downward spiral of turkey numbers.  Keep your fingers crossed that winters aren't too severe and there are decent poult crops this summer.

[GobbleNut]

Anybody that knows anything about wild turkey management understands that spring gobbler harvest in properly-timed spring hunting seasons has absolutely no effect on overall turkey population numbers.  Decreasing spring gobbler harvest as a tool to increase turkey numbers is a useless management decision. 

Regardless of how low turkey numbers become in any area or region, decreasing spring gobbler harvest will have no impact towards population increase. Gobbler harvest is NEVER the reason turkey numbers are declining!  Any wildlife manager that implements decreased-gobbler-harvest policies without corresponding research/investigation, and then remedial action, into the REAL causes of population decline should have his wildlife credentials revoked. 

Here's what turkey hunters in every state that is experiencing (long term) population declines should do.  DEMAND that your wildlife agency inform you as to what they are doing to combat that decline that provides REAL benefit.  If it has anything to do with gobbler management, tell them to go back to school until they understand wild turkey biology!

Secondly, if you are an NWTF member, DEMAND that the organization explain what they are doing in your state to reverse turkey population declines.  If they are not providing expertise and funding to address the problem, let them know that you will have a hard time supporting the organization in the future if they do not try to fix it.  That was the NWTF mission at one time and they have strayed from it.  Insuring healthy wild turkey populations across the country, as well as promoting sound management policy, was, and still should be, their first priority.

[jims]

Gobblernut, The decrease in quotas I was referring to that may possibly make a difference are the either-sex tags issued in the fall.  I would expect more hens that don't get shot has the potential for producing more poults in the spring?  I have a feeling back-to-back horrible conditions during nesting...plus the rise of predators has something to do with the decline.  Coyotes were almost non-existent where I hunt in Nebraska 2 to 5 years ago due in part to mange.  Now I see coyotes on just about every hillside!

It seems to me that there is significant decline in turkeys from where I've hunted in S Dakota south to Kansas so something is obviously is going on through the Midwest.

[GobbleNut]

I understand, jims.  Reducing harvest of hens in the fall is an entirely different ball-of-wax than the knee-jerk reaction of some wildlife managers to reduce gobbler harvest thinking it will impact turkey population numbers.  It is true that reducing gobbler harvest can impact "hunt quality" in an area, leaving more gobblers in the field for hunters over time, but that concept does in no way correlate to more turkeys overall.

As for predators, I personally believe that coyotes have very little impact on turkey populations.  Adult turkeys are very capable of avoiding coyotes from what I have seen.  I think the jury is still out as to whether they have a significant impact on turkey nesting and poult survival.  Don't get me wrong, I am certainly an advocate of coyote control.  I just don't think they contribute very much to decreasing turkey populations.

As I stated earlier in this discussion, if I was to speculate, I would put agricultural practices, climatic changes resulting in increased spring flooding during nesting season, and nest predation from increased numbers of nest-raiding predators as the primary culprits, with the first two being significantly more influential than the third.

[DrDirtNap]

There are many possible factors, either singly or collectively, that are the possible culprits.  When it comes down to it, turkey population stability is a function of nesting success and poult survival.  The real question, to me, is what are wildlife management agencies doing to address the issue?  And the secondary question is what is the main organization focusing on wild turkeys, the NWTF, doing to assist in addressing the issue in both funding and expertise?

Not living in the Midwest or Southeast, and hence not being directly involved in what's going on, I am not familiar enough with the situation to know much about it.  If I lived there and was witnessing what some here are indicating is happening, I would be doing what I could as a turkey hunter and conservationist to get to the bottom of the issue. 

I can tell you this.  If the turkey population is significantly decreasing over time, the first response in terms of hunting change is to curtail the hunting of hens, assuming that hen numbers are considered to be low.  If there are plenty of hens about and population recruitment is still going downhill, then hen harvest is not the problem.  There is something going on environmentally that is the issue.

The second thing to look at related to hunting is to make sure the spring hunting season takes place after the onset of the breeding season so that the gobblers have had a chance to fertilize the hens.  In addition, overly long spring hunting seasons have the potential to disrupt nesting, as well, although that is probably not as big an issue as the first two in most places.

The natural/environmental/ecosystem factors are considerably more complex and difficult to identify.  However, the solution lies in actually getting the folks that are supposed to be addressing the problem to do so. In my opinion, the three areas to focus on (as others have stated) are agricultural practices (both farming and poultry operations), nest predation, and nest failure due to increasing spring flooding.

Finally, in terms of gobbler harvest, that is usually a non-factor.  However, it can be if conditions are such that population recruitment (successful hatches) do not occur over an extended period.  If jakes are not recruited into the population over a period of time, then each year, hunters are taking our a few more of the mature gobblers until you reach a point where there are practically none there.  It sounds to me like that is probably the situation in at least some of the described areas. 

The "ace in the hole" for us as turkey hunters is that, turkey transplants have proven to be a very successful tool in wild turkey management. The worst case scenario is that turkey populations have to be supplemented with transplants.  That is not the ideal solution, but it is always there.

That's about as well written as it can be.  Well said.  It's frustrating to me to see such a population decline across so many states and see our wildlife officials make little or no change to our regulations.    I understand turkey populations go up and down and weather and habitat are big factors but to see such a decline across so many states indicates to me that something else going on...and the N "WTF" seems to be more focused on raising money for a shooting complex.


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[jims]

That's a great read in the post above.  I've noticed where I hunt turkeys in Nebraska many farmers have recently been plowing more and more areas that are possibly great nesting habitat for turkeys, pheasants and other game birds and animals.  I'm pretty sure this is in response to the increase demand of corn used for gasoline?  I wonder if some of the pheasant and turkey organizations have any influence in convincing farmers to leave critical nesting habitat?  I expect this may have some impact on overall turkey, pheasant, quail, and other wildlife numbers?

It would be interesting to know which predator species have the highest impact on turkey egg and poult recruitment?

[jryser]

That's a great read in the post above.  I've noticed where I hunt turkeys in Nebraska many farmers have recently been plowing more and more areas that are possibly great nesting habitat for turkeys, pheasants and other game birds and animals.  I'm pretty sure this is in response to the increase demand of corn used for gasoline?  I wonder if some of the pheasant and turkey organizations have any influence in convincing farmers to leave critical nesting habitat?  I expect this may have some impact on overall turkey, pheasant, quail, and other wildlife numbers?

It would be interesting to know which predator species have the highest impact on turkey egg and poult recruitment?

Raccoons and possum.


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[GobbleNut]

That's a great read in the post above.  I've noticed where I hunt turkeys in Nebraska many farmers have recently been plowing more and more areas that are possibly great nesting habitat for turkeys, pheasants and other game birds and animals.  I'm pretty sure this is in response to the increase demand of corn used for gasoline?  I wonder if some of the pheasant and turkey organizations have any influence in convincing farmers to leave critical nesting habitat?  I expect this may have some impact on overall turkey, pheasant, quail, and other wildlife numbers?

It would be interesting to know which predator species have the highest impact on turkey egg and poult recruitment?

Racoons and possum.

I wouldn't be able to say for sure, but the question that needs to be asked is what has changed in the last decade or so that may be causing the current declines in turkey numbers in wide areas while other regions are not experiencing the same declines? 

Regarding predators (and especially nest raiding predators), the first thing that comes to mind for me is the feral hog problem that seems to be getting worse.  Is there a correlation between increasing feral hog populations and turkey declines in these regions?  ...And conversely, looking at regions that have stable turkey populations, are there feral hog problems there? 

In the agriculture industry, the questions that arise for me are whether there have been changes in chemical usage in farming practices that may be impacting egg fertility and/or poult survival?  Are there new crop growing and harvesting practices that might be significantly impacting turkey-nest location choices and corresponding poult survival in cropland areas?  Finally, what about poultry diseases that may have been introduced to regions through the influx and increase in domestic poultry farming?

These two topics don't even touch on the climatic changes that seem to be increasing the occurrence of flooding in widespread areas during nesting season.  Again, though, one of the first steps in determining causation is by comparing differences in regions with stable turkey populations with those that are declining.

These most certainly are not all of the questions that need to be asked.  I can think of a number of others. Perhaps wildlife agencies are doing all of the above, but if they are, they are doing a damn poor job of informing us turkey hunters as to how they are approaching wild turkey number declines,...and how they plan to address this seemingly significant problem.

[tnanh]

We are seeing a decline in turkey numbers in Tennessee also. We have a 4 bird spring limit. Bearded only. Some people have asked for it to be cut back to two birds and their reasoning has been that all of the hens may not be getting bred due to the possibility that all the males in an area may be getting killed. Do you think this is possible or are turkeys like deer. A buck will travel a long way to breed if need be.

[owlhoot]

We are seeing a decline in turkey numbers in Tennessee also. We have a 4 bird spring limit. Bearded only. Some people have asked for it to be cut back to two birds and their reasoning has been that all of the hens may not be getting bred due to the possibility that all the males in an area may be getting killed. Do you think this is possible or are turkeys like deer. A buck will travel a long way to breed if need be.

I have seen a group of toms move about five miles during spring mating season. This is in open pasture , crp and crop ground area. Has happened multiple years in this area since the population has been going down.