Turkey Management Is Not Deer Management

By Don Heckman,

Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation Executive Officer

April, 2005

While attending sports shows, calling contests, and events this past winter, hunters asked me to comment on turkey management decisions and regulations. I explained Pennsylvania Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation position and my position on the special additional spring tag, turkey hunting safety, turkey hunter ethics and wild turkey management.

I explained our positions on needed funding for wild turkey management plan, needed changes for better, more accurate, turkey management data [in the field, in the ground/on the ground turkey management data], and a turkey hunting license to fund these strategies. I feel they walked away with a better understanding of wild turkey management.

Focusing my energies on positive impacts and turkey management successes as outlined in Pennsylvania Game Commission wild turkey management policy, and their current Management Plan for Wild Turkeys In Pennsylvania, I feel it is important turkey hunters know what has been done in the past to promote wild turkey management and what future possibilities hold.

It has been 40 years of successful turkey management to reach a state-wide estimated population of 350,000 birds from the early 1900's when PGC says estimated 20,000 birds inhabited Pennsylvania.
Hopefully those energies will translate into successful future turkey management decisions, measured by biologist's improved data and indices, better research data, when the PGC gets the opportunity to fund those strategies outlined in their wild turkey management plan.

Leave me repeat one of my comments to a turkey hunter, Turkey Management is not Deer Management!

I'm surprised, even puzzled, more turkey hunters do not hold that belief, once they separate themselves from PGC deer management policy, past or current PGC fiscal spending, or their disagreements with PGC in their deer management program.

I cannot believe any turkey hunter in Pennsylvania would even suggest, or support, managing wild turkey populations with a status quo mentality towards better data, in the field, in the ground/on the ground research data not being needed, no change in old research data is necessary, or if-it-is-not-broken-don't-fix-it attitude.

Yes, I know the importance of protecting the wild turkey resource from over killing, protecting and improving wild turkey habitat, and turning in poachers. I have been on the PA Chapter NWTF Board of Directors since day one, June 1975, and believe me, I have seen and heard it all over these past 30 years. I respect turkey hunter opinions; however, they need to speak to the facts and not just opinions.

Not supporting additional wild turkey research or improved hunter safety and turkey hunting ethics principles, not supporting habitat improvement or fundamental strategies outlined in the wild turkey management plan, and not funding the wild turkey management plan simply means you are supporting current turkey management in a status quo manner.

Using that thinking and logic is saying Don Heckman:

• Should not of put the 1996 TMA 7B Wild Turkey Task Force in place in cooperation with DCNR, PGC and PANWTF. PGC should not of done the TMA 7B wild turkey research project.
• PGC should not of started trap and transfer into WMU 5A and WMU 5B, should not of closed WMU 5A and WMU 5B to fall hunting to help stabilize wild turkey populations, should not of reduced WMU 5C and WMU 5D to 6 day, one Saturday, fall hunting season, and should of not reduced other western and northern WMU's from 3 weeks to 2 weeks in the past 2 years.
• The PGC should not have other WMU's on a watch list for future fall season length recommendation decisions, or not continuing winter mortality and summer sightings data collection.
• Jerry Wunz and PGC should not of started Turkey Management Areas, then increased them to 12, then went to 22 WMU's over a 20 year period.
• PGC should not of closed the turkey game farm in 1980.
• That's even saying the PGC should not of even started a state-wide trap and transfer program, probably the most dramatic single successful program for Pennsylvania's wild turkey restoration in the past 100 years.
• That's saying PGC should not of even started spring gobbler season in 1968.
• That's saying PGC should not of funded turkey biologist's Jerry Wunz, Arnie Hayden, and their teams to do wild turkey research in the 1960's-1980's, funding their research papers and articles in Game News.

That's saying PANWTF should not of put $3.5 million dollars in the past 20 years into wild turkey management, habitat, land acquisition, hunter information education ethics, outreach programs like JAKES, WITO, Wheelin' Sportsman.

That $3.5 million spent over 20 years has been spent in Pennsylvania with cooperation and partnership with our local chapters - our volunteers - turkey hunters - with PGC and their bureau's, DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Allegheny National Forest, Corps of Engineers, Delaware River Water Gap, right-of-way partnerships, and many private land owners through seed subsidy and conservation seed programs, Operation Appleseed and Wild Turkey Woodlands programs. Without speaking to Hunting Heritage Super Fund donations to JAKES, WITO, Wheelin' Sportsman programs, and other educational events.

That's saying heck with turkey management, just let public opinions and surveys run turkey management like has been done in deer management for the several decades.

Let me repeat again, Turkey Management is not Deer Management!

However, my main question to turkey hunters and PGC, why did you let the most prolific period of years for wild turkey growth and expansion go by, highest growth rate in state-wide wild turkey populations in any 2 decades in past 100 years, without collecting better data?

With increased state-wide predator populations, increased number of turkey hunters during 1989-2004 - why let those years go by and not do multiple research, data collection, projects on WMU's, in the field wild turkey research projects - started/completed? Using that research data, update the 1960's-1980's database!

Anybody with an answer to these questions, please let Don Heckman know.

Noted exception: PGC TMA 7B wild turkey research project was completed in 2002. PANWTF helped fund TMA 7B 2 1/2-year research project for $84,400. However, not one dollar was spent on statewide wild turkey research data between 1989 and 2004, the most prolific growth period in Pennsylvania's wild turkey history.

No research data to document greatest increase in wild turkey population growth in Pennsylvania history and all there is to show for this dramatic population increase is, yes everybody can stand up and say statewide wild turkey populations doubled in size. Yes, today I am now seeing wild turkeys in places unheard of in the 1960's – early 1980's. I believe in and I trust the various PGC wild turkey biologist's indices used to chart and measure wild turkey population, harvest, and hunter growth, however I also believe in the field, in the ground/on the ground, research data is also needed.

To me that is unacceptable, but it happened over the wishes of several turkey hunters seeing the bigger picture. PGC Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania was signed in April 1999. The management plan has 8 objectives and 35 strategies that need funded. Updated revised 5-year wild turkey management plan is due to be signed by June 2005.

Without the answers to 1989-2004 questions how will state-wide wild turkey populations be managed when the flocks start to exceed 450,000 - 500,000? Or do turkey hunters just except status quo as the answer or suggest populations be halted around 350,000, while using public opinions and surveys to manage this remarkable renewable resource.

Leave me repeat a question I have had for 20 years, why is there no turkey hunting license to support funding wild turkey management in Pennsylvania? How will wild turkeys be managed in Pennsylvania in 2010 if factual in the field better data is not available to wildlife managers to make recommendations?

Wild turkey biologists have structured wild turkey management policies in place for many decades and it has worked. That was the easy part, 1950-2000. Winter mortality routes, summer sightings route, requirements to shorten or close fall seasons if the population is declining in certain WMU's. Add in research projects like the old TMA 7B project, all those Jerry Wunz and Arnie Hayden wild turkey research projects in the 1960's-1970's-1980's, continued trap and transfer when or where needed, and the management results speak for themselves.

Include continued biologist's recommendations for conservative seasons and bag limits and you have the equation for successful wild turkey management. That got us to a stable 350,000-bird population, what will be needed to get Pennsylvania to a stable statewide 500,000-bird population?

Our wild turkey biologists have never in 40 years given turkey hunters bad information or incorrect recommendations to the commissioner's for decision making. These past 40 years of turkey management history have paved the way to today's wild turkey management success story.

Now what needs to take place desperately is to update the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's research data with more current data, more accurate in the field better data. Wild turkey population management is accomplished by using fall hunting season lengths. Several western PA WMU's have been reduced to a 2 week fall season length, instead of the traditional 3 weeks, to allow fall populations to recover from 2 recent hard winters and 2 bad spring hatches. These are recommendations and regulations supported by PANWTF.

There is no rush to get them back to 3-week seasons. Several other western and northern WMU's are on the current watch list. While back to back good to excellent spring hatches can solve many regional population declines, the fall season - bag limit is and will remain 1 turkey. Fall hunting seasons do not run 4-5-6 weeks, and will not run 4-5-6 weeks in the future, for reasons explained in the wild turkey management plan.

Turkey Management has nothing to do with Deer Management, although both share their habitat with other wildlife species, both have various hunting seasons, and both provide recreational opportunity to many different people of Pennsylvania. Successful PGC regulation management measures the history of wild turkey management in Pennsylvania. If a regulation as voted on by the commissioner's is not performing as needed, they get changed!

No where, no place, no document, no formal spoken statement in the last 30 years does any one see or heard any "official policy statement or wild turkey management regulation" that speaks to gobbler restrictions, bigger hens or heavier toms, bigger longer beards. You can't find it and you won't find it in the future.

During the past 30 years there are distinct differences between Wild Turkey Management and Deer Management. Wild Turkey Management has a history of keeping public opinions out of wild turkey management decision making process.

Based on successful wild turkey biologist's recommendations and management and hunting regulation changes so far, I would say it has been a very successful management plan. Thank you Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania's turkey hunters.

If turkey hunters are looking to get involved with PA Chapter NWTF, there is turkey habitat to be planted, herbaceous openings to be cut and planted, turkey hunting safety and turkey hunter ethics clinics that need to be held, NWTF Hunting Heritage Super Fund Banquets, JAKES, WITO, Wheelin' Sportsman, Wild Turkey Woodlands events to attend. NWTF's Northeast Operation Appleseed, Seed Subsidy, Conservation Seed programs, PROJECT HELP, and GET IN THE GAME programs to get you involved. And there are probably two dozen other conservation organizations - sportsmen's organizations - PGC programs and events you can get involved.

There is absolutely no shortage of "volunteer help appreciated" signs posted if you want to get involved