FUNDING CRITICAL RESEARCH IN TENNESSEE

[TurkeysForTomorrow]

Turkeys For Tomorrow is helping restore turkey populations in Tennessee by contributing funding to an ongoing research project in Spring 2023.

Dr. Craig Harper and Dr. David Buehler, both with the University of Tennessee, have led a comprehensive study of wild turkey ecology and management in five counties of south-middle Tennessee for the past six years. Their preliminary findings are both striking and encouraging. In brief, findings indicate low nest success and poult survival as a result of predation is limiting the population, and a two-week delay applied to the hunting season's opening has not impacted any aspect of reproductive success. By helping fund an additional year of study, Turkeys For Tomorrow will help Harper, Buehler, and their team collect another year of data that will include reproductive success, survival, habitat use, and a predator index, all of which will help provide managers and agencies with information needed to make key decisions related to the impact of predators and season-date decisions on public and private lands.

Because the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission has set the entire state's spring turkey season later by two weeks for 2023, researchers have the unique opportunity to record and analyze gobbling activity and correlate it to hunter success and satisfaction through the end of May. The opening of turkey season has been delayed by two weeks in five Tennessee counties for the past several years, but that delay did not extend the season — it just subtracted two weeks from the total available hunting time. Beginning in 2023, the season will be moved back two weeks statewide. This move leaves hunters in Tennessee with the same number of days to hunt by extending the season through the end of May. Researchers on the Harper and Buehler project are uniquely positioned to measure gobbling activity through that time and correlate it with hunter success and satisfaction.

"Support from Turkeys For Tomorrow will be critical in allowing us to conduct an additional year of our work to the level at which it should be conducted," Harper said.

"We believe it's important to understand what needs to be done, then actively do it," said Ron Jolly, co-chairman of Turkeys For Tomorrow. "This study confirms what we've long believed: predators are limiting turkey reproduction and recruitment into the fall population. Predator numbers likely are at an all-time high, and they are eating turkey eggs and turkey poults at an alarming rate. The Tennessee study is documenting just how much pressure predators are putting on turkey survival. We're honored to be part of the work Harper and Buehler are conducting."

[Dtrkyman]

Wow ground breaking work, only took 5 years and a ton of money to determine there is a predator problem?

Take all that money and hire some trappers!

[Greg Massey]

It only took about 6 years to come to this conclusion about predators and needing another year to gather more information, very interesting. Not sure funding another year or moving the season back 2 weeks is the answer. 

[timberjack86]

Unless twra starts an all out war on predators our turkeys are doomed. They did allow year round coon and possum trapping but only on private land. Our public land turkeys are left to suffer. Me and several other hunters have been advocating legalizing night time predator hunting. A new sport would recruit new hunters and hopefully result in lowering predator population. Twra says we can't do it, because their afraid we will be shooting deer at night and shooting into peoples houses

[jhoward11]

It took me 1 year and 10 dog proof traps to come to the conclusion that coons are a major predator of turkey eggs and by putting these out, my turkey population increased. Could someone please send me the same funding? Universities....what a waste of money!

[GobbleNut]

"By helping fund an additional year of study, Turkeys For Tomorrow will help Harper, Buehler, and their team collect another year of data that will include reproductive success, survival, habitat use, and a predator index, all of which will help provide managers and agencies with information needed to make key decisions related to the impact of predators and season-date decisions on public and private lands."

Unless I am misinterpreting the TFT synopsis, it seems a major factor for the turkey decline has been identified already, at least in the area in question.  As others have stated above, why add another year to this study? ...Or at least present some viable, proposed actions as part of the synopsis? 

I am not against spending money on research/studies when I understand a clear vision being presented as to what the proposed actions might be to solve the problem.  I see none being presented here other than some generalities.  After this many years of research that has come to the conclusions indicated, it seems to me that there should be some pretty specific recommendations already being proposed as solutions. 

For me personally, I would like to know what the proposed "end game" is,...other than to "provide managers and agencies with information to make key decisions".  The fact is that those key decisions should have been in the formulative stages well before now.  Sharing some thoughts on those would be helpful to the skeptics in the crowd...   

[Dtrkyman]

What was the total investment in those 5 years?

Probably could have paid 10 commercial trappers to crush the egg eaters and got actual results!


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[ol bob]

Been saying this for years, and I'm a dumb redneck. should never have took 6 years to figure this out, guess it will take 6 years to decide what to do about it, by then the turkeys will be gone, and the problem will solve its self.

[tal]

 My father told me there is one thing worse than an elected official, it's an appointed one. Predation is key with hunting/taking predators implemented right away. Research can catch up. It's win win move

[Dtrkyman]

My opinion is that habitat trumps all, followed closely by nest predator control which is extremely difficult on a large scale.

Central Illinois had a distemper break out back in the 90s some time and it flat wiped the coons out, couldn't even find a track, and the turkeys blew up!  Fast forward to last year and some friends caught a couple hundred coons just around their lodge.

Central Illinois turkeys are down drastically, add the influx of bush honey suckle too the predator boom and you have serious problems!

[kelley91]

coons not only effect turkey numbers but quail,ducks rabbits any nesting critter. i had a mallard hen hatch 13 little ones this past spring. made a point to remove snapping turtles before they hatched. nest was on a nesting platform in middle of pond. at two weeks i started losing a baby duck each night. i knew i had a coon but was having trouble catching it. lost 8 baby ducks before i got the coon. never lost another one after that. now i didn't see the coon Catch a duck so you can form your option. Where i live in tn they are completely out of control. For that matter so are snappers. i catch everyone i can.we all need to be doing what we can to help. You can have all the studies you want but they don't help one bit just waste money that could been better spent.TWRA needs to listen to the hunters MORE

[Paulmyr]

So let me get this straight. Most of you who have replied are against the continued funding for 1 year of a study that has already proven Tenn moving the season back 2 weeks has no apparent impact on reproductive success and has the possibility of proving hunter satisfaction and success is greater during the 2 weeks taken away from the season compared to satisfaction  and success rates to the 2 weeks at the end of the season and provide the  data  needed to wave at the twra and say see the only thing your season changes did was make hunting harder and less pleasurable for us. Give us the 2 weeks at the beginning back, because you think it's about predators?

[Hook hanger]

NWTF, TFT, AND STATE CONSERVATION  need to put up or shut up! Won't be long if they don't show actions they will be defunded!!!! Enough with wasted money on studies!

[Paulmyr]

NWTF, TFT, AND STATE CONSERVATION  need to put up or shut up! Won't be long if they don't show actions they will be defunded!!!! Enough with wasted money on studies!

So TFT has been around for maybe a year and already they need to put up or shut up? Curious, what would  be considered putting up?

[Hook hanger]

Studies have already found predators to be the issue.  So what are these organizations doing to address the problem? NWTF and state conservation departments are not willing to address the issue. We shall see if TFT will or not.