PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION

MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR WILD TURKEYS IN PENNSYLVANIA

APRIL 1999

 

SECTION V. MANAGEMENT GOAL, OBJECTIVES, AND STRATEGIES

 

 

Management Goal:  To maintain and enhance wild turkey populations in all suitable habitats throughout Pennsylvania for hunting and viewing recreation by current

and future generations.

 

 

 

Population Objective:  To obtain reliable indices and estimates of Pennsylvania's wild turkey populations for each TMA by 2005.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Annually assess population trends with harvest and summer sightings indices.

 

B.  Evaluate the reliability of present wild turkey population indices and develop additional     approaches as needed.

 

C.  Conduct banding and radio-telemetry studies to obtain data for population modeling by TMA:

 

 1. harvest sex & age composition

 2. mortality rates - by sex and age group,and cause

 3. recruitment rates - by age group.

 

D.  Review and select a population modeling technique.

 

 

 

Harvest Management Objective:  To maintain or exceed 1995 spring and fall statewide hunter success.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Annually assess turkey harvests, harvest densities,hunter numbers and hunter success.

 

B.  Annually evaluate wild turkey seasons and bag limits to optimize recreational opportunities without limiting  the growth of turkey populations.

 

C.  Develop TMA harvest goals by 2005.

 

D.  Review and update TMA boundaries at ten year intervals beginning in 2005.

 

 

 

Habitat Objective:  To optimize life requirements in and minimize loss of suitable wild turkey habitat throughout the state.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Investigate the application of GIS technologies for assessing the status and trends of turkey habitat in Pennsylvania by 2002.

 

B.  Establish a turkey habitat management demonstration area on a game lands in each Region by 2005.

 

C.  Continue purchase of wild turkey habitat.

 

D.  Aggressively pursue cooperative habitat efforts on behalf of wild turkeys on properties supervised by the DCNR Bureaus of Forestry and State Parks, USFS Allegheny National Forest, private individuals and private industry.

 

E.  Continue and encourage additional participation in outreach programs directed toward private landowners, e.g., Forest Stewardship Program, Pennsylvania State University Extension Programs, The Game Commission Forest Wildlife Program, the Bureau of Forestry Service Forester Program, to provide direction and assistance with habitat enhancement for wild turkeys and other forest wildlife species.

 

F.  Initiate and annually conduct Landowner Appreciation Days for those landowners who continue to keep their lands open to public hunting by 2002.

 

G.  Monitor status of important forest health issues, such as, insects, disease and acid rain, and attempt to correlate with changes in turkey population abundance and distribution.

 

H.  Initiate prescribed burning as a tool to enhance turkey brood range and to encourage oak regeneration by 2003.

 

 

Information and Education Objective:  To improve the

publics knowledge and appreciation of the wild turkey resource and its management.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Conduct surveys to determine attitudes, characteristics and levels of satisfaction of hunters and other  publics toward wild turkeys and wild turkey management issues at 5 year intervals beginning in 2000.

 

B.  Update and enhance the existing wild turkey video by 2002.

 

C.  Conduct Wildlife Conservation Officer training in dealing with agricultural and suburban nuisance turkey conflicts by 2003.

 

D.  Develop a publication, or series of publications, on various aspects of wild turkey biology and management, such as; life history, population & harvest management, habitat management and misconceptions by 2002.

 

E.  Develop a wild turkey page at the agency web site by 2003.

 

F.  Develop an annual wild turkey status report including harvest, summer sighting, and hunting participation trends along with an assessment of recent trends by 2003.

 

 

 

Hunting Safety, Conduct, and Ethics Objective:  To improve the safety, conduct, and ethics of wild turkey hunters.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Reduce the frequency of turkey hunting incidents by:

 

    1. Standardizing and implementing a one-half hour  segment of turkey hunting education to include  safety, ethics, and hunter responsibility into the existing basic hunter education program by 2003.

 

    2. Developing and implementing a voluntary advanced hunter education course by 2002.

 

 

    3. Develop spring and fall hunter density criteria for optimum turkey hunter safety and satisfaction by 2004.

 

    4. Encouraging the public to report all game law

       violations.

 

    5. Developing wild turkey educational and safety

  materials to mail to turkey hunters by 2002.

 

 

 

Law Enforcement Objective:  To improve hunter compliance with existing laws and regulations regarding wild turkey management.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Increase use of wild turkey decoys to discourage road hunting for wild turkeys.

 

B.  Conduct additional field patrols to encourage compliance with fluorescent orange turkey hunting regulations by 2003.

 

C.  Improve turkey harvest reporting rates with prosecutions for failure to report turkey harvests.

 

D.  Develop guidelines for regional action regardingturkey-human conflict situations by 2000.

 

E.  Conduct training on tools and techniques for handling suburban and agricultural wild turkey conflicts by 2003.

 

F.  Support legislation to legalize the use of blinds for turkey hunting.

 

 

 

Game Farm Turkey Objective:  To increase awareness and reduce incidence of problems caused by the propagation, importation, exportation, and release of game-farm turkeys in Pennsylvania.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Conduct surveys to assess trends in the number of propagators raising turkeys by 2003.

 

B.  Conduct surveys to assess propagator characteristics,attitudes and turkey release practices by 2002.

 

C.  Develop educational materials identifying problems associated with game-farm turkeys by 2003.

 

D.  Encourage legislation to prohibit game-farm turkey propagation, importation, exportation, and release.

 

 

 

Trap and Transfer Objectives:  To provide wild turkeys for restoration or range expansion programs in other states or provinces.

 

Strategies:

 

A.  Continue to train and equip Regional personnel to capture wild  turkeys.

 

B.  Educate the public on the benefits of out-of-state transfer programs and the biological problems with in-state transfers to augment low populations.

 

 

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