PANWTF: Turkey hunting license will benefit turkey management for generations

Pennsylvania 's turkey hunters currently enjoy favorable turkey hunting conditions throughout most of Pennsylvania , but leaders of the state's National Wild Turkey Federation want to take steps to ensure the glory days continue for generations.

The Pa. Chapter of the NWTF supports the turkey hunting license, which would provide necessary funds to support the Pennsylvania Game Commission's "Management Plan For Wild Turkeys In Pennsylvania."

The management plan's objectives and strategies are defined for managing the resources, but they need to be funded to effectively complete management strategies outlined in the plan.  The management plan, which will be approved in 2006, will be a 10-year plan, 2006–2015.

The Game Commission’s current revised 2006 “Management Plan For Wild Turkeys In Pennsylvania”, which outlines 7 objectives and 29 strategies how the Game Commission is to manage wild turkeys, may not been fully implemented because of lack of adequate funding.

Don Heckman, the Pa. Chapter NWTF Executive Officer and Wild Turkey Management Committee Chairman, said, “with more than 275,000 estimated turkey hunters and 375,000 estimated state-wide wild turkey population, additional work needs to be directed towards research and habitat improvements, defining better population, harvest, and hunter densities for managing the wild turkey resource.”

"We need to act now to assure that turkey numbers remain high for the future,'' Heckman said. "A steady source of funding for the management plan will allow the Game Commission to manage wild turkeys and turkey hunting more efficiently and effectively."

According to the Pa. Chapter of NWTF, the benefits of a license are countless:

• Improved and more detailed information on wild turkey harvests will become available.
• Better research data to provide the information biologists need to make management decisions.
• Leg banding and radio telemetry studies will provide better research data and information to the Game Commission for their needs to make management decisions.
• More habitat improvement projects helping to increase turkey populations and improve all wildlife habitats.
• Turkey hunter safety material will be provided directly to turkey hunters. Turkey hunting safety could be improved.
• Better law enforcement aimed specifically at wild turkey violations.
• Determine how many turkey hunters there are in Pennsylvania , allowing biologists to make turkey management decision recommendations based on factual turkey hunter density numbers, not on estimates.
• Provide additional turkey management data for the wild turkey population model.

"Our wild turkey resource is a valuable asset to Pennsylvania . We have managed the resource for nearly a century using the most basic information available to biologists," Heckman said. "In the 21st century, it is time to manage wild turkeys with the best available research and data. A turkey hunting license would be able to fund additional wild turkey research, improve methods to provide better wild turkey management data, improve wild turkey habitat, provide turkey hunter information, and ensure a bright future for these great birds in Pennsylvania ."

Wild Turkey biologist collected research and field data and developed turkey management criteria to properly manage the resource from the 1960's to the late 1980's. No state-wide wild turkey research projects, outside the TMA7B Research Project 1999-2001, have been started or completed prior to 2006.

The first ever state-wide wild turkey research project was started in January 2006 with the gobbler leg band study.  This study is partially funded through the National Wild Turkey Federation Research Grant-In-Aid program.

Through trap and transfer and conservative seasons and bag limits, wild turkey populations have now expanded their home range into new regions of Pennsylvania , and double their population numbers in this past 18 years. To continue expanding and increasing populations the PGC "Management Plan For Wild Turkeys In Pennsylvania" needs to be fully funded, all objectives followed and all strategies implemented.

As part of the increases in PGC hunting license legislative bills recently introduced by Rep. Bruce Smith, a turkey hunting license has been proposed to further fund the PGC Game Fund. 

"The $5 license fee will be three fold for turkey management," Heckman said. "First, the revenue generated from the license fee can be used to fund the wild turkey management plans 7 objectives and 29 strategies providing the necessary funding to establish and complete needed state-wide research data, collect better  turkey management and turkey hunter data,  provide for wild turkey habitat projects, develop hunter safety and ethics programs, and support law enforcement initiatives.”

“Second, with proper management tools available to collect research and field data, and hunting data, wild turkey biologists will be able to continue recommending and supporting future turkey hunting opportunities as wild turkey populations continue current expansion and 10 year population trending."

“Third, additional funds could be used for purchasing more game lands, providing additional public lands to hunt. Habitat enhancement projects on state and federal lands will attract turkeys to these lands, providing additional hunting opportunities.”

Funding of the annual wild turkey management plan budget will get the needed support and excess revenue generated from the turkey hunting license will remain in the Game Fund to support Bureau of Law Enforcement, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Wildlife Management, and Bureau of Information and Education.

"Turkey hunter opinions and satisfaction levels will be acquired more efficiently because the Game Commission will be able to contact turkey hunters directly,'' Heckman said. " Turkey hunter surveys will give you the ability to express your concerns and opinions about turkey management in Pennsylvania ."

For more information, contact: Bob Kasun, Pa. Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation public relations, 814-942-3990, or Don Heckman, PA Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation executive officer, 717-761-5925.

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March 30, 2006