Kansas Commission Meeting

[nativeks]

They had an informational session on wild turkeys today. You can view it here https://youtu.be/Opc4uwFqknM
The turkey meeting starts around the 5 min mark.

Cliff Notes (note they will vote on things in November):
-Proposal to drop to a statewide 1 bird limit for 2023
-Limit NR hunters by 25% from where they are now (proposed to start spring 2023)
-Commissioner Lauber (he is the chair) continues to resist closing the fall season. I think the other commissioners may override him
-Bird numbers peaked in 2008.
-Avian pox and Lymphoproliferative Disease (LPDV) are the two most common diseases reported, and they see cases each year. No indication disease is the problem.
-Nest success ~25%. Some of their studies show as low as 5% and some 50%
-Poult Success ~25% 10%-75% range
Example- 100 nests=25 successful nests with say 10 poults give you 250 birds. 25% of those survive giving you 63 poults coming from 100 nests.
-90% of failed nests due to predation. They have landowners that have intensively trapped for 20 years. Not seeing increased turkey production and in fact are trending with the state. Predator numbers also remaining level on those properties.

Thats all I got for now. I am gonna head to bed. I'll add more cliff notes tomorrow.

[Hook hanger]

Good for KS they should make it a more restrictive season than what they are even proposing.

[nativeks]

Cliff Notes Continued

SE Kansas 2010-2015
- Winter Flocks 100-300 birds along major drainages
- Birds are in marginal habitats because the better habitat was already taken
-Hunters but resident and nonresident were happy and successful
-Landowners complained about turkey numbers- Claimed turkeys will follow the planter eating the corn

SE KS 2016 to present
-Winter Flocks 10% to 20% of what they were
-Birds absent from prime habitat
-Hunters are relatively unsuccessful and skewed more towards non residents
- Most common question fielded "What happened to the turkeys"
-Spring 2020 bag limit reduction was well received. Many folks called saying "What took so long" or "Its about time"
-Outfitters limiting spring hunts due to lack of turkeys and limited success.

Biologists notes:
Deer and quail are a priority for landowners. TSI and Native grass establishment top 2. In theory it should benefit turkeys.
Some KDWP employees haven't bought turkey tags in 3+ years
Landowners are pulling land out of spring WIHA because of the lack of turkeys. They would rather lose money than allow more turkey harvest.

[nativeks]

Law enforcement
-2 largest issues are tag fraud and trespassing

2020 for example
Non-resident Tenant Permits
2019- 249 permits sold
2020: 375 permits sold
~50% increase

74 investigated
-44 found invalid
-15 valid
-15 no action taken due to confusion

They expect an increase in tag fraud if going to a turkey draw. They see it alot with deer if folks don't draw.

Recommended NR Quotas
Unit 1 (Northwest)- 700
Unit 2 (Northcentral)- 2400
Unit 3 (Northeast)- 2800
Unit 5 (southcentral)- 900
Unit 6 (southeast)- 2900

[nativeks]

Commission meeting in 6 days about closing the fall season.

[deathfoot]

Thank you for this report. I hunted Northeastern Kansas in 2011 and there was a good number of birds. I had a blast but what I remember most was the ticks and coyotes. Ticks were terrible and the coyotes would literally stalk a turkey call. The closest one came to us was within 15 yards and scared us to death. Couldn't get a shot on them either. My thought after leaving Kansas was that was a huge problem for the turkeys.

I'm also glad to see states doing detailed reports like this and not afraid to cut back on tags when needed. We all love this sport but we all want to make sure that turkeys will flourish and be around for future generations.

[mcw3734]

Commission meeting in 6 days about closing the fall season.

Thanks for keeping us posted about this. While I don't hunt KS, it is interesting to hear the state agency's detailed discussions on populations, hunter situation and overall challenges. Appreciate your summary notes and look forward to hearing more in the future.

[Dtrkyman]

Farmers come up with the craziest BS I ever hear, the turkeys following the planter is a classic one.  I have spent an insane amount of time in and around corn fields, pretty much never see a missing stalk other than ones chewed down by coons!

I had a farmer on a lease we had make that claim, we are good friends, I asked him to show me where all his corn is missing, he had no answer.

[slave601]

So is Kansas going to a draw for non residents this spring (2023) season?

[nativeks]

So is Kansas going to a draw for non residents this spring (2023) season?

No outfitters wanted more time so moving it to 2024.

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