Oklahoma regulation changes proposal

[nativeks]

At least here we have been saying we are a couple good hatches away since 2007. Do I know what the answer is...no. Maybe its all just coincidence but when they really opened up the seasons we saw the turkey numbers start to fall. We used to run the 2nd Wednesday in April to May 15th. Now we get special archery and youth seasons starting April 1, and we run the season out till May 31st. Pressure is insane, poaching is rampant. We just got 7" of rain and flooding that likely wiped out alot of nests. Another year of low turkey recruitment on the horizon. Kansas biologists had a plan set up that when certain triggers were met they would start throttling back. When they attempted to implement the plan the commissioners road blocked it until the problem was so glaring they could not ignore it anymore. I started hunting turkeys in 1996. I got to see the good ole days of KS turkey hunting just like my father got to see the good ole days of KS quail hunting. I don't think my kids will ever see it like that again.

[PNWturkey]

Regarding recruitment/poult survival:

Does Oklahoma have any annual data on what percentage of hens successfully nest and/or the average number of poults per hen?

I used to live and turkey hunt in Iowa, the state had a "roadside survey" which kept tabs on upland game birds (pheasants, quail, partridge).  The game wardens would drive specific routes at the same time each year collecting data on hens and poults.

It seems like something of this nature could help figure out how much of a factor lack of breeding and/or nest predation is playing in OK turkey declines?