Options for Spring Wild Turkey Hunting

To Increase Recreational Opportunity

December 2003

Prepared by: Mary Jo Casalena, Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Biologist II,

and Bob Eriksen, National Wild Turkey Federation Regional Biologist

Executive Summary

During the annual cooperative meeting between the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation last June, a variety of possible regulatory changes for spring turkey hunting were discussed, but more information was needed on the biological impacts of each option. This paper provides that information. In response to the recent growth in Pennsylvania’s wild turkey population, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has expanded fall hunting opportunities in many areas. Further increases in fall hunting are not advisable at this time because of the potential to negatively impact the population from this either-sex hunting season, and conflicts with other hunting seasons. The alternative is to increase spring gobbler hunting opportunity. There is increased interest in spring hunting among Pennsylvania hunters and spring gobbler season poses minimal potential for impact to the resource. During the meeting last June, it was expressed that the goal is to increase spring turkey hunting opportunities for all turkey hunters. This paper provides the biological implications of an array of spring hunting options for an informed decision-making process.

The five options for expanding spring hunting opportunities for Keystone State hunters are: 1) changing season dates; 2) extending hunting hours beyond the noon closure; 3) allowing each hunter to choose between taking one bird in the fall and one in the spring, or taking two birds in the spring and none in the fall; 4) providing a two-bird spring bag limit; and 5) regulating turkey hunter numbers. A summary of these options is provided in Table 1. The authors propose implementing only one option at a time so that the effects of any change in regulations can be properly evaluated.

Changes in season dates are possible by incorporating an earlier opening date, lengthening the season by adding days at the end of the season, opening the season on a weekday or having separate opening dates in different areas of the state. The “Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania, April 1999” (page 24) recommends against opening the season earlier because of the potential for additional breeding and nesting disturbance and illegal hen harvest. Adding days to the end of the season would provide greater recreational opportunity without jeopardizing nesting success or hen survival. This would result in a modest increase in the gobbler harvest, but would have minimal potential for impacting the population. Opening the season on a weekday might reduce hunting pressure on the first day, but would not provide additional opportunity unless the season opened earlier, which is not advisable. Establishing a split opening for the spring season is an option that some hunters have proposed. Nesting data from a recent study in the south-central region does not support the theory that there is a significant difference in the timing of nesting in various parts of the state. There are administrative and law enforcement concerns associated with having split opening dates, and increased hunting pressure in the areas that open earlier might cause declines in hunter satisfaction.

A second option is to extend hunting hours beyond the current noon closure to late afternoon or sunset. This could be done for the entire season length or for the second half of the season. Longer hunting hours would increase disturbance of hens and result in some nest abandonment, but is unlikely to affect the statewide recruitment rate. This option would increase hunting opportunity for all hunters, give youth hunters more time to hunt, provide those hunters who must work early in the morning a chance to hunt and might decrease hunter interference and increase safety. Increasing hunting hours only in the last two weeks of the season would provide the same benefits with less potential for substantially increasing the harvest or nest disturbance because more hens will be incubating later in the season.

The third option is to provide the choice between taking one turkey in the fall and one in the spring, or taking two birds in the spring and none in the fall. This provides more spring hunting opportunity to hunters who were unsuccessful the previous fall or who chose not to hunt in the fall. Spring hunting pressure and the spring harvest would increase, but the decrease in fall harvest might offset this. This option increases the spring bag limit without increasing the annual bag limit and is expected to have minimal impact on the turkey population.

Most states allow multiple birds to be taken in the spring. Increasing the spring season bag limit while maintaining the current fall limit is a fourth option. The harvest of a second spring bird could be allowed at any time during the season or could be restricted to the latter half of the season. This option has more potential to impact turkey populations because of the increase in the annual bag limit. The increase in hunting pressure might negatively impact hen survival, increase nest disturbance and decrease the number of older gobblers available for subsequent years. Impacts would be lessened if the taking of a second gobbler were restricted to the last half of the season. Restricting the harvest of a second bird to only private property would be another method of lessening the impact of this change on turkey populations on public land. Requiring hunters to pick up a second tag at an issuing agent or regional office after reporting their first bird might improve reporting rates and allow for the collection of biological data.

Some states and provinces regulate hunter numbers to reduce the potential for interference, decrease hunting pressure and reduce disturbance and illegal taking of hens. This option could be used in combination with other options, but is unlikely to be popular with hunters.

The authors recommend either extending hunting hours during the second half of the spring season, a two-bird spring bag limit during the second half of the season, or allowing a two-bird spring bag limit if the hunter forgoes a fall turkey. These options have low potential for adverse biological impacts (See Table 1). Support for any of the options presented in this report is currently not widespread. Hunters tend to be conservative in approaching changes in seasons and bag limits. Therefore it is recommended that an educational outreach program be developed to inform hunters of the benefits and impacts of any change.

Introduction

Pennsylvania’s wild turkey population has been increasing since the mid 1900s. Between 1995 and 2003 spring turkey populations grew from an estimated 307,500 birds to 363,900. The Game Commission responded to this growth by increasing fall turkey hunting opportunities in many Turkey Management Areas, now known as Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). Three-week fall seasons now occur in seventeen of twenty-two WMUs. Increasing fall season lengths beyond three weeks is not advisable at this time for several reasons; 1) harvest rate information is not available and studies have shown that harvesting more than 10 percent of the fall population may result in population declines, 2) studies in other states have indicated that when fall harvests approach or exceed spring harvest levels population growth occurs more slowly, and Pennsylvania’s fall harvests have exceeded spring harvests every year except 2001 and 2002, 3) extending the season beyond three weeks creates conflicts with other hunting seasons, and 4) hunting seasons are finalized in April prior to gathering data on turkey productivity and fall mast conditions. A longer fall season in a year with poor productivity or a poor mast crop could cause substantial overharvest of turkeys and population declines. Fall harvests typically are inversely proportional to abundance of fall mast crop.

The alternative to longer fall seasons is to increase spring hunting opportunities. The spring gobbler season begins after the peak of breeding has occurred in most years. Therefore, expanding spring hunting opportunities is likely to have less impact on the turkey population than expanding the fall either-sex season. Recent surveys indicate that spring turkey hunting has become more popular in Pennsylvania than fall turkey hunting. With increased interest in pursuing spring gobblers, a growing turkey population, and minimal potential for impacts to the resource, now is a good time to expand spring turkey hunting opportunities.

This report provides the biological aspects of five main options for spring turkey hunting so that informed decision-making can occur.

Changing season dates

Extending hunting hours beyond the noon closure

Allowing each hunter to choose between taking one bird in the fall and one in the spring, or taking two birds in the spring and none in the fall

Providing a two-bird spring bag limit

Regulating turkey hunter numbers

The authors recommend implementing only one option at a time so that the effects of any new management action can be properly evaluated. Implementing more than one change confounds the effects and makes it difficult to determine the effect each management action has on the wild turkey resource. Healthy turkey populations statewide, with existing population monitoring, assure that any negative affects could be corrected quickly with low likelihood of long-term impacts.

1. Changing season dates - Open season earlier

Many hunters have suggested opening the spring season in mid-April. This issue is covered in the “Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania, April 1999”, page 24. The authors recommend against this option for the following biological reasons. Although many hens are bred by April 15th, the peak of nesting (incubation) does not occur until about May 1. The average Pennsylvania statewide incubation date from a ten-year study, 1953-63, was April 28. More recently, during a radio-telemetry study (1999-2001) on South Mountain in south-central Pennsylvania, the average incubation date for adult hens was May 8, and May 13 for juvenile hens. Juvenile hens often breed later than adults.

Our spring season is timed to begin around the average peak of incubation, the Saturday closest to May 1. In years when the end of the season would overlap with Memorial Day, the season opens one week earlier. Opening the season any earlier would create additional breeding and nesting disturbance, and illegal hen mortality. Research in Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia showed that incubating hens were less vulnerable to illegal spring harvest than non-incubating hens. In all three states, losses of hens during the spring gobbler season were greater when the season opened before the peak of incubation occurred. Losses of hens to illegal harvest in those studies ranged from 2.5 percent in West Virginia, 5.2 percent in Missouri to 6.0 percent in Virginia. Virginia’s higher hen mortality may be due to the season beginning prior to the peak of incubation in most years. In an ongoing study in Ohio hen losses during the spring gobbler season have been in the range of 5.0 percent. If 5 percent in Pennsylvania are harvested, this translates to 2,234 hens killed. Beginning the season earlier in Pennsylvania may have substantial impact considering the large number of spring turkey hunters. Pennsylvania has more spring turkey hunters than most other states (230,000), with no regulation on hunting pressure. Therefore, our season structure remains conservative to protect the resource.

Even when vegetation leafs out earlier than usual, the timing of wild turkey nesting does not vary noticeably. Nesting is more dependent on the length of daylight hours than the timing of spring green-up. Therefore opening the spring gobbler season earlier may negatively impact nesting activity throughout the state.

The peak of gobbling in Pennsylvania is not known. West Virginia’s peak gobbling period is April 22 - May 1. Peak gobbling in northern New Jersey occurs May 1 - 12 in most years. If gobbling peaks before the start of the spring season in Pennsylvania, hunter success might be improved, in some years, by moving the start earlier. However, a recent study in Iowa found that hunting activity suppresses gobbling. No matter when the season begins, gobbling activity will decrease when hunters enter the woods.

With the current season structure, the 2003 spring gobbler season was the earliest the season now opens because of the timing of Memorial Day (Table 2). When the season first began in 1968, opening day was May 6. So the current season actually opens earlier than it did in the past. In the four-year period, 1987-1990, the season opened earlier with the earliest opening day being April 21 (1990).

The “Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania, April 1999”, which directs the management of turkeys, states “Timing of the start of the spring gobbler season involves a trade-off between a detriment to wild turkey reproduction versus optimization of hunter success. Pennsylvania’s season is set to favor the resource rather than the hunter, particularly when the extent of benefits and harm are not well known. It is recommended that the spring season should continue to start on or near May 1.”

Like many eastern states, Pennsylvania experienced record breeding seasons from 1999-2002. These consecutive record hatches have helped establish an older age structure resulting in an abundance of older gobblers in the population. Some turkey biologists hypothesize that the dominant males suppress the gobbling of the younger males, with the net effect being less gobbling heard. In addition, following such good hatches hen numbers are higher than average. Therefore, with higher turkey populations, more spring turkey hunters in the field, and more hens to contend with, today’s gobbler may be more difficult for hunters to call in.

Recent Commission action established a youth spring gobbler season to occur the Saturday before the regular season opens (April 24th in 2004). This new youth opportunity limits potential for starting the regular season earlier. The youth season is designed to increase hunter recruitment and retention. Missouri, for example reports a very positive experience with their youth gobbler hunt, and adult hunters are very supportive. Adults cannot harvest a gobbler, but the opportunity to take a youth hunting a week before the regular season provides excellent scouting and calling benefits for adults, and can provide an unforgettable experience for youth and adults alike.

Important points that a recent West Virginia study made are: regardless of the timing of the spring season, spring harvests are dependent on production two years prior to the season; the majority of the harvest is usually two-year old gobblers; and there is little carryover of two-year old gobblers. Spring 2001 was a record harvest in Pennsylvania, two years after a record year of reproduction. The large percentage of two-year old gobblers in the population most likely was the cause.

According to the 2001 Pennsylvania Turkey Hunter Survey 48 percent of hunters were in favor of an earlier season, 33 percent disagreed and 20 percent were undecided. When asked if the spring turkey season should start on May 1st each year (if Sunday then May 2nd) and include the entire month of May, 43 percent agreed, 26 percent disagreed and 31 percent were undecided.

2. Lengthen the season

The current spring season is four weeks with five Saturdays. Increasing season length would result in greater recreational opportunity because after the drop in harvest following the first week the harvest remains relatively constant for the remaining three weeks. With the current 20 percent hunter success rate, additional days most likely would be utilized. Adding days following the Memorial Day weekend would result in less hen mortality than adding days prior to the current opener, and is the recommended method for this option. Adding an additional week may increase the harvest by twelve percent, or 5,360 gobblers.

Season lengths in surrounding states are: Delaware (3 weeks), Ohio and West Virginia (4 weeks), Maryland and Virginia (5 weeks), New Jersey (6 weeks) and New York (the entire month of May). Of these states, New York’s season runs through the Memorial Day weekend, as do most of the New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut), and the province of Ontario.

3. Open the season during the week, not on a Saturday

Opening days in surrounding states are: Saturday - Virginia; Monday – Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia. Maryland begins on April 18, and New York begins on May 1. With the new youth turkey hunt on the Saturday prior to the regular season opener, Pennsylvania could potentially open the regular spring season during the week after the youth hunt. However, the same biological concerns occur with this option as with option 1a. On average, after opening day, 28 percent of the harvest, approximately 12,500 birds, are taken during the first week, Monday – Friday. This could result in substantial hen disturbance prior to peak nesting, and is not recommended.

4. Split the opening date – open season in southern PA one week earlier than northern PA.

Turkey hunters in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, where differences in latitude and altitude influence leaf out, have suggested this option. Florida and South Carolina currently have split opening dates for spring gobbler seasons. New Jersey had split opening dates with a four-week season for two years but abandoned the format for a longer season with an earlier statewide opening date. There are administrative and law enforcement concerns associated with this option because of the multiple opening days. Hunting pressure increases associated with an earlier opener in one part of the state could cause declines in hunter satisfaction, especially on public land.

Pennsylvania’s biological data from South Mountain in south-central Pennsylvania showed later nesting (May 8 for adults) than the statewide average (April 28), and, therefore, does not support an earlier season in southern WMUs. West Virginia determined there was only a three-day difference in incubation dates between southern and northern WV.

5. Extending hunting hours beyond the noon closure.

a. Extend hours for the entire season

When the spring gobbler season first began in 1968, hunting hours were set conservatively from one-half hour before sunrise to 10:00 A.M. to reduce harvest, and breeding and nest disturbance. In 1973 hours were extended to 11:00 A.M. Since 1990, hours for spring wild turkey hunting have been until 12:00 P.M., with a recommendation that hunters be out of the woods by 1:00 P.M.

Sunset during the spring season ranges from approximately 7:52 P.M. in eastern Pennsylvania on opening day, to approximately 8:18 P.M. during the last week of the season. Hunting hours end later for each meridian west so hunting hours in western Pennsylvania end 20 minutes later. A sunset closure would provide approximately eight additional hours of turkey hunting for most hunters. Closing the hours prior to sunset could potentially minimize shooting turkeys on the roost. Roost shooting currently is not illegal but this issue does raise ethical concerns. The roost shooting issue could also be addressed by regulation changes. The biological impacts of roost shooting appear to be minimal. Potential exists for additional hen mortality because positive identification of a bearded bird is difficult when turkeys are roosted. Closing hours prior to sunset raises law enforcement issues. For example, with this option a hunter who wants to roost a turkey for a morning hunt may be required to first leave the woods to deposit their gun before returning to roost a turkey.

Twenty-two states and Ontario conduct a morning spring turkey hunt while twenty-seven other states (including Hawaii) allow all-day spring hunting (Figure 1). Northeastern states have maintained more conservative spring hunting hours. Beginning 2004, Virginia will have all-day hunting during the last two weeks of their five-week season. Additionally, Ontario is considering an all-day spring season, possibly for 2004.

The main biological concern with extending hunting hours is additional hen disturbance. Hunter surveys in Virginia showed that hens are flushed on approximately 1.0 - 1.5 percent of spring gobbler hunts. Biologists determined that increasing hunting hours would increase the number of hens flushed from nests and consequently nest abandonment would increase. West Virginia reported higher flushing rates of hens when they lengthened their hunting hours from noon to 1:00 PM (increase in hens flushed from 7.8 percent to 11.2 percent of hunts).

Currently in Pennsylvania, turkey hunters spend 894,300 days afield during the half-day season. If 1.0 - 1.5 percent of these hunts result in a hen being flushed from her nest, then approximately 8,943 - 13,415 hens are flushed from nests. If hunting hours are extended, and effort increases 10 percent, then 9,837 – 14,756 flushing events could be expected. The difference is 894 - 1,341 nest disruptions. The fates of these nests that are disrupted are expected to vary depending on the date they are flushed. Early in incubation hens are likely to abandon the nest whereas hens that are flushed later in incubation are more likely to return to the nest. Overall, however, the net effect of the longer hunting hours is increased flushing and nest abandonment. The effects are likely to be local in nature, have less of an effect later in the season, and probably will not affect the statewide recruitment rate. The local effects are likely to be more significant on public lands. If this option is adopted, impacts on the population can be monitored over time. If substantial impacts are detected, hunting hours could be adjusted accordingly.

States with all-day spring hunting estimate the following percentage of harvest occurs in the afternoon:
Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee 10%;
Kentucky 10-15%;
Texas 14%;
North Carolina 16% of the shots at gobblers were taken during the afternoon;
Iowa 15-25%;
South Carolina 25%.

The extent to which these percentages are additive to morning harvest are unknown. It is likely that some birds that were killed in the afternoon would have been killed later in the season, in the morning. Based on harvest patterns in other states, an additional 10 - 15 percent harvest can be expected from afternoon hunting. Afternoon participation is generally greater than harvest and afternoon hunting success is lower than during the morning hours. Additional harvest during the afternoon hours in Pennsylvania should not exceed that experienced in all-day spring hunting states. The authors believe that additional spring male mortality of up to 10 percent would not have substantial detrimental impacts to turkey populations. According to current harvest figures, an additional 4,470 gobblers might be harvested, increasing the spring harvest to approximately 49,170. However, Pennsylvania’s gobbler harvest rate is not known and most likely varies among wildlife management units. Therefore, impacts would vary across the state.

Research in Kentucky showed that the greatest factor affecting the male turkey population was their spring turkey season. The average harvest rate of adult males was 62 percent, higher than any other recorded in the literature. The harvest rate for juveniles was 23 percent. Survival of both juvenile and adult males during the rest of the year was greater than 80 percent. Kentucky has a three-week spring season beginning in mid-April (two-bird season limit, one per day) with all-day hunting. Studies in other states (Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and New Jersey) have indicated that hunters typically take an average of 30 to 40 percent of the available gobblers during the spring hunting season in states with half-day hunting. The researchers in Kentucky concluded that further liberalization of the season would cause a decline in the quality of spring turkey hunting. They also believe that high levels of adult male harvest are being sustained only because the population is still expanding rapidly after restoration. The lower vulnerability of juvenile males to being harvested and their high survival rate outside spring turkey season results in a high recruitment into the adult population.

Some biologists feel that all-day spring hunting is popular with hunters who work mornings or prefer not to rise early to pursue gobblers. To the degree that extended hunting hours staggers participation through the day, turkey hunting safety and interference with other hunters might be improved slightly.

Support for extended spring hunting hours among Pennsylvania's turkey hunters might be limited. Sixty-five percent of the respondents to the 2001 Turkey Hunter Survey were satisfied with existing spring turkey seasons and regulations. When asked if legal hunting hours for spring turkey season should be from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, rather than one-half hour before sunrise to noon, 45 percent disagreed, 42 percent agreed, and 13 percent were undecided. Hunters were not asked their opinion regarding extending hours to 5:00 or 6:00pm. Support may have been limited in the past because Game Commission educational efforts have stressed the importance of hunters leaving the woods by 1 P.M. to minimize disturbance of nesting hens. Although states with all-day spring hunting have not shown substantial nest disturbance, Pennsylvania is unique with more spring turkey hunters (approximately 230,000) than most states. Acceptance may be greater if the Game Commission develops this change on an experimental basis for three to five years, during which time population fluctuations can be monitored via harvest and summer turkey sighting survey data.

Nonbiological benefits of extended spring turkey hunting hours include; 1) additional hunting opportunities for all hunters; 2) youth hunters would have the opportunity to hunt after school; 3) adult hunters would have the opportunity to hunt after work, and with their children during the week; 4) an extension until 5:00 or 6:00pm would minimize roost shooting; 5) extended hunting hours may encourage more hunter participation, and possibly retention, from both resident and non-resident hunters; 6) the bag limit would not change, but hunter success rates may improve from the current 20 percent average success rate, and 7) staggering participation throughout the day may decrease hunter interference and improve hunter safety.

b. Extended hours for the last one or two weeks of the season

Beginning in 2004 Virginia will have all-day hunting during the last two weeks of their five-week season. Virginia decided on this option rather than all-day hunting for the entire season because of concerns with their already high mortality rates of gobblers and illegal hen harvest. Because Virginia’s season begins earlier than Pennsylvania’s and likely opens prior to peak incubation, their biologists speculate that all-day hunting early in the season could substantially interfere with breeding. This compromise option was selected to minimize such impacts. Most of the traditional turkey hunting pressure will have already occurred, but this option does increase hunting opportunities for those unsuccessful during the first part of the season. Mississippi, an all-day hunting state, reported that public land had more afternoon harvest than private lands. It was also reported that afternoon hunting pressure might suppress gobbling activity on public land earlier than on private land. This option will minimize that impact to public land.

Gobbler harvest rates in Pennsylvania most likely are high because there appears to be little carry over of two-year-old gobblers, which typically comprise the majority of the spring harvest. This option is more biologically conservative than (a) and is a good first alternative to (a) with possible expansion after initial (3 – 5 year) assessments are made.

3. Allowing each hunter to choose between taking one bird in the fall and one in the spring, or taking two birds in the spring and none in the fall.

Under this option, for fall turkey hunters who do not harvest a turkey, or for hunters who decide not to hunt fall turkey, this option provides increased spring turkey hunting opportunities. This management strategy also places more emphasis on spring turkey hunting than fall hunting. Spring turkey hunting poses less of a risk of overharvest than the either-sex fall turkey season. Over time hunter emphasis on spring hunting has become more pronounced. During the last three years hunter participation has been higher during spring than fall (approximately 224,400 spring hunters versus 222,800 fall). Four states have hunter options: Alabama, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Maryland and Virginia have had a decrease in fall hunter participation and harvest, some of which can be attributed to this option.

One negative effect is that hunting pressure during the spring season will increase slightly. However, with the current 20 percent average spring hunter success rate, this increased pressure should not be significant because not all successful spring hunters will either have a second tag, or have interest in pursuing a second spring turkey.

Spring harvests would increase, but not significantly. During the last three years spring harvests have averaged 44,700 birds. Of these successful hunters, only one-quarter to one-third (11,175 – 14,900) would be expected to have a second tag and pursue a second spring turkey (based on data from New York and Virginia). At most, 50 percent of these hunters would harvest a second bird, possibly increasing the harvest by 7,450 to approximately 52,150 bearded birds. This increased harvest would be offset slightly by a decrease in the previous fall season harvest, decreasing potential impacts to the population.

There is potential for increased hunter interference. Increased hunter interference may lead to decreased hunter satisfaction, and possibly more hunting-related shooting incidents. These factors could be monitored so that changes could be made if problems arise.

Although this option does not increase turkey-hunting opportunities for all turkey hunters, it is expected to have minimal impact on the wild turkey resource. Even though there may be more hunters pursuing turkeys throughout the spring season, disturbance to hens will continue to be limited to the morning hours. Hen mortality should remain low because hunting hours will remain during the morning when most incubating hens are on the nest and less susceptible to disturbance or accidental harvest.

A simple licensing change for implementing the hunter choice option would be to make the fall turkey tag an either season tag.

Responses from the 2001 Turkey Hunter Survey were mixed. Forty-five percent of the respondents disagreed with this option, 36 percent agreed, and 18 percent were undecided. However, this option does not increase the annual bag limit. Successful spring hunters who opt for a second spring turkey would have given up their opportunity in the fall. These successful hunters often would be successful regardless of the season.

4. Providing a two-bird spring bag limit.

a. Anytime during the season

This option would increase the annual bag limit to three turkeys. Thirty-two states plus the province of Ontario have spring bag limits of more than one bird (season limits of two to five, most commonly two), and 17 states have a one-bird spring limit (Alaska does not have a wild turkey season).

Some potential disadvantages of this option are increased breeding and nesting disturbance, additional illegal spring hen mortality, a possible decline in the percentage of adults in future spring harvests, and increased hunter interference. It is assumed that more hunters would participate in this option than the fall hunter option (option #3) because hunters would not be required to forgo harvesting a fall turkey to take two birds in the spring. Of the average 44,700 successful spring hunters, 30 - 45 percent would be expected to harvest a second bird, increasing the harvest by 13,410 - 20,115 to approximately 58,100 - 64,800 bearded birds (based on data from New York and Virginia). However, this option likely would not substantially harm existing turkey populations, since most of the breeding has been completed before the spring hunt and sufficient polygamous males remain to mate with the remaining unbred hens. Also, hunting would be limited to the morning hours. In addition, if turkey populations and harvests did decline in the future, it could be detected in a timely manner for proper management action to encourage population recovery.

Current support for a two-bird spring bag limit is not strong. The 2001 Turkey Hunter Survey showed 54 percent disagreed with a two-bird spring bag limit, 30 percent agreed and 15 percent were undecided.

b. Second bird during second half of season

Biological impacts of this option would be less than option (a) because hunter pressure would be dispersed throughout the season. With the majority of the hen population incubating by this time, hen disturbance would be low. Also, overall hunter pressure would be lower than option (a) because some hunters would lose interest in hunting toward the end of the season.

This option received the least hunter support during the 2001 Turkey Hunter Survey, with only 19 percent agreeing, 58 percent disagreeing, and 23 percent undecided. When New York State instituted a second bird spring bag limit in 1982, they restricted harvesting the second bird until the second two weeks (but not two during the second half) to spread the harvest among hunters. In 1988 they changed to allow one bird anytime during the season and the second bird during the second two weeks. In 1991 it was determined that the size of the turkey population (250,000) and spring harvest levels (35,000-39,000) provided ample hunting opportunities throughout the season, and the season was opened to two birds throughout the season, one turkey per day. Current hunter success rates in New York (20-30 percent) are only slightly higher than Pennsylvania (20 percent).

If the daily limit during the second half of the season is increased to two birds, the total harvest with this option would probably be slightly less than option (a). The main difference would be that the harvest during the second half of the season would have less impact on hens than during the first half of the season.

c. Second tag for private land only

Biologically, this option would not place any additional hunting pressure or harvest on public lands, thereby would not impact gobbling activity or hen disturbance on public lands. Approximately 40 percent of Pennsylvania turkey hunters do most of their hunting on public-owned land. Connecticut, a state with a small percentage of public land, is the only state with this option.

d. Second tag issued by issuing agent and/or regional office after first bird is reported.

This option might have the affect of improving reporting rates by providing an incentive to report. Spring reporting rates have been decreasing recently, and currently are 12 percent. Improving reporting rates is an important turkey management issue. Requiring reporting of harvested birds to issuing agents and/or regional offices could also provide an opportunity to collect additional biological data such as information on age of harvested birds.

Regulating turkey hunter numbers

This option has more social than biological impacts. Biologically, this option could be used to decrease hunter pressure, gobbler harvest rates and hen mortality and disturbance in areas where these are too high. Hunter numbers could be regulated by Wildlife Management Unit or on public land. Current harvests and hunter pressure do not appear to be limiting. Hunter support for this option is low. When asked, in the 2001 Turkey Hunter Survey, if the number of turkey hunters should be managed to increase safety and satisfaction of turkey hunters, 16 percent agreed, 24 percent were undecided and 61 percent disagreed. When asked if fall season length should be the same in all management areas (three weeks), and harvests should be managed by adjusting hunter numbers in each Turkey Management Area, 20 percent agreed, 36 percent were undecided and 44 percent disagreed. This option may be useful in the future after other spring options are explored.

Conclusion

From these options, the authors recommend either extending hunting hours during the second half of the spring season, a two-bird spring bag limit during the second half of the season, or allowing a two-bird spring bag limit if the hunter forgoes a fall turkey (Table 1). These options increase hunting opportunities while pose minimal biological concerns.

The wild turkey population management goal is to maintain and enhance wild turkey populations in all suitable habitats throughout Pennsylvania for hunting and viewing recreation by current and future generations. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has the same philosophy as Pennsylvania’s sportsmen/women; as turkey populations grow so should hunting opportunities. Whether it is by extending spring hunting hours, increasing the spring bag limit, or giving the hunter the option of one turkey each season or two bearded birds in the spring, these options could possibly increase hunting opportunities without adversely impacting the populations. Population growth rates would likely decline with increased harvest and reduced reproduction. The magnitude of the decline in growth rates is unknown, and may not be significant. Effects of any option would be monitored over a period of three to five years for changes in trends. Alternatively, effects could be determined annually if turkey harvest rates were known through experimental leg-band studies.

Table 1. Summary of Spring Turkey Hunting Options1

1 Implementing one change at a time will allow proper evaluation of effects.

Table 2. Pennsylvania spring gobbler season dates. Bold = Years when the spring season began earlier than at present.

Year Dates Length

1968 May 6 – 11 6 days

1969 May 3 – 10 1 wk

1970 May 9 – 16 1 wk

1971 May 8 – 15 1 wk

1972 May 6 – 20 2 wks

1973 May 5 – 19 2 wks

1974 May 4 – 18 2 wks

1975 May 3 – 24 3 wks

1976 May 1 – 22 3 wks

1977 Apr 30 – May 21 3 wks

1978 Apr 29 – May 20 3 wks

1979 Apr 28 – May 19 3 wks

1980 Apr 26 – May 17 3 wks

1981 May 2 – May 23 3 wks

1982 May 1 – May 22 3 wks

1983 Apr 30 - May 21 3 wks

1984 Apr 28 – May 19 3 wks

1985 Apr 27 – May 25 4 wks

1986 Apr 26 – May 24 4 wks

1987 Apr 25 – May 23 4 wks

1988 Apr 23 – May 21 4 wks

1989 Apr 22 – May 20 4 wks

1990 Apr 21 – May 19 4 wks

1991 Apr 27 – May 25 4 wks

1992 May 2 – May 30 4 wks

1993 May 1 – May 29 4 wks

1994 Apr 30 – May 28 4 wks

1995 Apr 29 – May 27 4 wks

1996 Apr 29 – May 25 4 wks

1997 May 3 – May 31 4 wks

1998 May 2 – May 30 4 wks

1999 May 1 – May 29 4 wks

2000 April 29 – May 27 4 wks

2001 April 28 – May 26 4 wks

2002 April 27 – May 25 4 wks

2003 April 26 – May 24 4 wks

2004 May 1 – May 29 4 wks

Pennsylvania’s spring gobbler season is presently (would it be simpler to say) 4 weeks long including 5 Saturdays, ending on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Beginning 2004; youth spring gobbler hunt the Saturday prior to regular season).