Declaration Statement: I truly do appreciate all the work the SC DNR does especially with compromised funding and restricted budgets. Everything is a work in progress.
Part 1: The Introduction to the Situation At Hand.
Let's take a closer inspection of this problem why don't we?
Its March 12, 2013 and turkey season here in the Great Palmetto State starts on April 1, 2013. I previously went to the shopping center to buy some shells for the upcoming turkey hunting activities. I was standing there looking at an empty gun shell and bullet case. The Customer Service Manager of this store tells me they haven't gotten a shipment of ammo because of the current state of affairs with the 2nd Amendment being stepped on and gun ownership in America being thrown into some dark storm of distress, anger, and outrage.
I was outraged this political tirade was getting in the way of my turkey hunting by compromising my ammo availability. Its un-American and not to be heard. The Customer Service Manager sold me my box of shells at a discount after sending me off without paying then chasing me down in the store to tell me she has to sell them at the hunting counter or walk me up to the front and leave it with a cashier until I finish shopping for provisions. Great I thought. Crack-pots are ruining our lives and good times. Off I went thinking about hunting the turkeys. On the way home I saw five in a field migrating to their intended breeding grounds.
Whittling away in my inner sanctum I googled the 2013 Spring Turkey Season on Private Lands and WMA's off the internet. I already snagged a book from the hunting counter at the shopping center. I perused everything to plot my course. I had previously acquired my turkey tags to keep up with my limits in certain zones. There are five game zones in my state with defined do's and don'ts when hunting.
Today there was a post by the state DNR proclaiming the public could ask the 'Turkey Expert' any questions one might have. I thought that was a novel idea. I started to read the previous comments. My questions became unemotional reactionary questions because of what I was reading. The state I live in does not allocate enough money due to budgeting towards research of wild turkey in the state. There was a question on whether or not there was research done on poult mortality due to predation such as coyotes because since the establishment of 'fox pens' used for training dogs to hunt, coyotes are more rampant. Some 'fox pen' owners were acquiring 'coyotes' to put in the pens. Eventually due to hurricane damage or other unforeseen problems the coyotes escape and start to become a hazard to local wildlife. At this point I think coyotes transplanted into 'fox pens' become an invasive species to the local area and a damage to wildlife. It would be my opinion that 'fox pen' owner that are found to harbor clutches of coyotes in their pens should have to make financial amends to the habitats and wildlife. I wondered if this has anything to do with the well publicized open hunts for wild pigs and coyotes because now they are deemed 'nuisance' and 'pests'.Wild pigs and coyotes easily can go into a turkey nest and eat the eggs or crush them.
Back to our "Turkey Expert".
The walking contradiction (reminds me of the Korean/Scot on the Starburst commercial) I speak of is the comments made by the 'Turkey Expert' that there is no funding for wild turkey research but public statements about turkey herd health have been posted which to me could mislead the public into a false sense of security as they go out on their hunting excursions. Surveys that are mailed out are forms of research. Maybe rudimentary at best but something is better than nothing in the face of governmental agency poverty. Which limited budgets are a sign of interstate poverty in agencies. One gets grants and monies in feast while another aspect of the departments get the famine. The wild turkey got the famine while the deer sector got the feast. Poor turkeys.
This was the copy and pasted answer whoever was answering the questions applied to several questions:
No. Unlike our deer program, which has funding to conduct research through the sale of antlerless deer tags, the department's program has no dedicated source of funding. Therefore we are unable to conduct turkey research.
To me this indicates they have no current firm data on the aspect of turkey goings on in the state at all except ride bys looking out the window of a truck or walkabouts on the ground. Maybe they are going aquatic and viewing them from boats? Or planes?
Turkey season is April 1 to May 1. where bag limits are 2 turkey per zone with a total of 5 turkey statewide. Deer season is Sept 1 to Jan 1. The question I have about this is if the population of turkey which was previously restored at some point in time was in jeopardy why would the state agencies not fund that research to make sure the restoration program is not declining? Would not research be prudent to keep tabs on this game animal when by hunting season of thirty days and stringent bag limits that this would tell you the turkey population could be fragile at best if one excluded hunting from its ranks?
I also noticed that this Turkey Expert podium was a way to pump the general populace for problem solving tactics towards fund raising. The anonymous expert reported it was all a budgeting issue which I am sure it is.
A commenter mentioned paying for a turkey stamp and another mentioned charging for turkey tags. These are tags that are not public draw. If hunters want to hunt a particular WMA that requires a specific tag they have to appy and pay for it. Additional charging for turkey tags has to be approved into law by the General Assembly. There was also a question as to the change in legsilation.
Here were the posted links:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/index.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/baglimits12.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/springseason09.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/2012TurkeyHarvest.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/2012BroodSurvey.html
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/fallseason.html
Then the expert commented:
Anecdotally based on our deer research it would appear to be the case. However, unlike our deer program, which has funding to conduct research through the sale of antlerless deer tags, the department's turkey program has no dedicated source of funding. Therefore we are unable to conduct turkey research beyond the survey work we do now. Definitely agree that we need to be doing research along these lines.
We have an ongoing cooperative research agreement with Clemson, however neither Clemson or DNR has money for turkey research. Grants are available through some entities, but they are very competitive and currently most grants are related to non-game species.
With these statements I wondered this: If I have a yardful of chickens/turkeys and I don't feed them then walk out my front door one day to find all them dead....do I have a situation? Should I throw up my hands in exasperation because I didn't see that coming? Can I readily replace them? Should I have been more vigilante and responsible in my ability to feed said chickens/turkeys or take care of their needs to propagate my flock? Was I living in a dream world of magical corn that appeared for the chickens/turkey to eat while I was busy doing something else? Are all my eggs rotten? All my chicks dead?
I also thought: Prior planning prevents piss poor performance.
I looked at the 2012 Wild Turkey Summer Survey based on DNR data. Where I live is the North Coastal plain. This being a previous restoration area.:
Figure 1. Map of physiographic regions for 2012 Summer Turkey Survey.
Table 1. Summary of reproductive data for 2012 Summer Turkey Survey by region.
| Region | Gobbler Hen Ratio | No. Hens w/Poults | No. Hens w/o Poults (%) | No. Poults | Average Brood Size | Total Recruitment Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Piedmont
|
0.68
|
576
|
726 (56)
|
2,261
|
3.9
|
1.7
|
Midlands
|
0.74
|
122
|
205 (63)
|
551
|
4.5
|
2.1
|
Northern Coastal
|
0.84
|
163
|
227 (58)
|
679
|
4.2
|
1.7
|
Southern Coastal
|
0.91
|
369
|
311 (46)
|
1,565
|
4.2
|
2.3
|
Statewide
|
0.78
|
1,208
|
1,472 (55)
|
5,085
|
4.2
|
1.9
|
Table 2. Statewide Summer Turkey Survey reproductive data 2007-2012.
| Year | Gobbler Hen Ratio | No. Hens w/Poults | No. Hens w/o Poults (%) | No. Poults | Average Brood Size | Total Recruitment Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 |
0.77
|
904
|
1,269 (58)
|
3,240
|
3.6
|
1.5
|
| 2008 |
0.71
|
1,504
|
1,446 (49)
|
6,336
|
4.2
|
2.1
|
| 2009 |
0.66
|
1,296
|
1,499 (54)
|
4,889
|
3.7
|
1.8
|
| 2010 |
0.69
|
1,687
|
1,151 (41)
|
7,508
|
4.5
|
2.6
|
| 2011 |
0.76
|
1,442
|
1,223 (46)
|
5,987
|
4.2
|
2.3
|
| 2012 |
0.78
|
1,208
|
1,472 (55)
|
5,085
|
4.2
|
1.9
|
| Average |
0.73
|
1,340
|
1,343 (50)
|
5,508
|
4.1
|
2.1
|
I read this on a link posted above:
Much of the state, particularly in the coastal plain, had no open season because there were few or no turkeys. In 1975, a comprehensive biological plan was developed by the Department for the restoration of turkeys in the coastal plain. This restoration plan was implemented between 1976 and 2003, resulting in the capture and translocation of approximately 3,542 turkeys on 204 restoration sites statewide. In 1993 a portion of all counties were open to spring gobbler hunting and in 1998 all counties were fully opened with the exception of recent restoration sites.
I am doing the math here: 1975-2013= 38 years ago. I hope they have updated their plans. How would we know? Not sure. They don't have money to figure that out or evaluate whether the current system is actually beneficial or working. I also took into account that this was done in the Piedmont region which is up near the top of the state as it was reported one of the areas that was turkey plentiful. Not the case in the lowlands so how the 'Turkey Expert' felt this would reasonibly answer my question became quite a mystery to me because as stated the area I live in which is Zone 4 was a restoration area because there was 'no purported turkey'.
Based on the fact there was a restoration project would make one think that intermittent turkey research with concrete data instead of abstract data would be more prudent and effect in making long-term decisions or evaluations of wild turkey populations in this state. Making decisions on vague or non-existant facts is a false sense of security and even worse lack of the value of responsiblity for our wildlife's habitat, health, and future in general. Undoubtedly there is some limited data collected as seen in the 2012 reports.
After reviewing this online conversation I was a little upset with the fact the expert just posted out-dated information as an answer to pressing current questions and problems without current empirical scientific data to support current trends in turkey populations in previous restoration sites versus restoration sites that were not in jeopardy of low to no turkey. Also in my opinion I feel that if any statement is made as to the nature of the current turkey populations especially in the lowlands where I live then I would wonder just how accurate or true these statements are based on the lack of long term scientific research put toward the wild turkey. If you are sending out surveys to hunters without reaching a broad range of people in different zones that information could be very emaciated in terms of content, quanitity, or quality.
I also understood how the 'Turkey Experts' hands were tied if there is no budgeting for wild turkey research. I guess they will pull that magically out of the air when a problem arises because the public will want answers immediately.No backlash there in the media if persons start to question why it took so long to get on that problem to solve it or head it off. Reminds me of those bovids in the Cambodian jungle that were left to become extinct or near extinct.
I know that the season starts on April 1 but there is also the problem of a slow spring where the weather fluctuates mostly to cold. This in itself could cause the wild turkey to be slow breeders. If this is the case there will be a lot of shooting with very little incidences of breeding to make up for an improvement in turkey populations for next year. If its not laid, hatched or lives to tell a tale then all we'll be shooting at next year is a printed turkey target or air.
Sidenote on Hunter Participation or a Naturalist: (Which granted by the comments and the lack of knowledge of this type of participation existing is that its not better marketed. This would give people access to data om terms of content and quality.) I would wonder if the DNR doesn't need better marketing strategies to get the information out there. I guess Q & A is one thing but its not in the spirit of educating the public if you're just tossing a page at them without making sure they understand what is before them. The other problem this poses is no education on surveyors because misguided or careless people could be tromping around in the woods, handling eggs, and scaring off the hens to abandon the nests could happen. If the survey period is July 1 there should be some kind of public seminar to train or educate people at least a month in advance.
“Anyone interested in participating in the annual Summer Turkey Survey is encouraged to sign-up”, said Ruth. The survey period is July 1-August 29 annually and those who participate typically spend some reasonable amount of time outdoors during that time period. Cooperators obviously must be able to identify wild turkeys and must be comfortable in telling the difference between hens, poults, and gobblers. Cooperators are provided with survey forms prior to the survey and a reporting notice and postage paid envelop at the end of the survey period. If you would like to participate in the survey, send your name and address to Summer Turkey Survey, P.O. Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202. You will be added to the cooperator list and receive materials at the end of June annually. Those interested in the survey can also download instructions and survey forms at the following website:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/volunbroodsurvey.html
Get involved I say, ask questions and for the love of God don't wonder when someone is going to do something about problems. You are that somebody. Go make it happen.
Written by W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
Here is some good sites to go visit to learn more about Wild Turkey:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/my-life-as-a-turkey/wild-turkey-fact-sheet/7299/
www.nwtf.org
