Discuss....
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/index.html
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Executive Summary
Act 41 temporarily sets a March 20 to May 5 statewide season for hunting wild turkey on
private land by suspending until July 2019 Section 50-11-520 which historically prescribed the
wild turkey season in South Carolina. This had the effect of opening the season 10 days earlier
and increasing the number of days in the season by 50 percent for 34 of 46 counties in the state.
In an effort to mitigate increased harvest rates associated with the increase in season length the
Act reduced the bag limit in most o
f the state from 5 gobblers to 3.
Act 41 is
co
ntroversial among some hunters and legislators. The controversy is due to
concern for negative impacts on turkeys related to the earlier opening date and increased season
length for most of the state. The Act required the South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources
(SCDNR)
to conduct an analysis of the turkey resources in the state
and report to the legislature
by November 1, 2018 recommending any changes to seasons and bag limits. SCDNR
accomplished this during 2015-2018 by compiling turkey harvest and hunter effort data, turkey
recruitment data, and by conducting a major 4 year
field study to determine the timing of
gobbling activity and nesting chronology.
Unlike other
game
birds,
wild turkeys are hunted during spring, a timeframe coinciding with
reproductive activities such as breeding and nestin
g. There is a delicate balance between the
timing of spring gobbler season and the timing of nesting because hens must breed in order to
successfully nest. Given this period’s biological importance, wildlife managers and legislators
are challenged to avoid negative population impacts due to harvest while simultaneously
providing quality hunting opportunities.
Total turkey harvest under the new season framework (Act 41) increased in spite of a
declining trend in harvest prior to the new season and poor turkey recruitment during the 3 years
of the new season. The increase in harvest is likely due to the increase in season length afforded
to most of the state and not incre
ases in turkey abundance.
This is supported by an increase in
hunter effort and decrease in efficiency as demonstrated by increased time (effort
) required to
harvest a gobbler during the new season framework.
The attempt to mitigate increasing harvest ass
ociated with the season length increase by
reducing the bag limit from 5 to 3 appears to have been unsuccessful because the percentage of
hunters who harvested 3 birds nearly doubled under the new framework
(94% increase)
. This
essentially negated
any net reductions in harvest gained by limiting the few hunters who killed 4
or 5 birds under the previous 5 bird bag limit. While the 3 bird limit is an important component
to improve South Carolina’s turkey population, in this case, season length appears more
important. Finally, there has been little controversy associated with the bag limit reduction.
Gobbling activity exhibited significant daily variation across
the turkey reproductive and
hunting seasons. Compared to an unhunted study area, gobbling activity was immediately and
negatively affected by the onset of hunting via a combination of gobblers being killed and
disturbance from hunters. Based on the “natural” gobbling distribution documented on the
unhunted study area and the chronology of gobbing activity on hunted areas, the hunting season
could begin 2 weeks later with little effect on the amount of gobbling available to hunters
through mid-
May
. Furthermore, our data indicates that gobbling activity at the beginning of a
season with a later opening dat
e would be substantially greater than it is on March 20, providing
hunters with higher quality opportunity and giving turkeys more time for successful breeding.
The 4
-year nesting study
found an average nest initiation date (egg-laying) of April 9 and an
average nest incubation start date of April 22. Nesting success was poor during the study with
only 13 percent of hens successfully rearing a brood to 15 days. The
re should be concern that the
current March 20 opening date for turkey season occurs 20 days p
rior to average nest initiation
3
and 33 days prior to average nest incubation start date
. Based on these dates
approximately 60
percent of the annual gobbler harvest occurs prior to average nest initiation under the March 20
opening date. Hunting activity not only immediately and negatively impacts
gobbling through
gobbler deaths, but additionally these males are lost from a reproductive standpoint which could
affect successful reproduction by hens.
Male wild turkeys are dramatically different both physicall
y and behaviorally than females.
These differences are driven by sexual selection in which one sex, in this case the hen, chooses a
mate based on characteristics that may improve her reproductive success and the fitness of her
offspring. The removal of dominant males by hunting prior to breeding may disrupt the natural
process of selection, with potential implications for reproductive fitness (genetics) in the
population.
The decline in turkeys in South Carolina and other southeastern states has been well
documented. Although causes of this decline remain uncertain
, they may include changes in
habitat and forestry management practices, fire suppression, predation, and potentially the timing
and intensity of hunter harvest. However, the only factor that can be managed from a regulatory
standpoint is hunter harvest activities
, which are typically dictated by season framework and bag
limits.
It is important to note that the study areas for the gobbling and nesting research are in the
lower coastal plain and for that reason should represent the earliest gobbling and nesting activity
in the state. Therefore, parts of t
he state fa
rther north may have gobbling and nesting timing
distributions that are somewhat later which could increase any negative effects of early
season
opening dates.
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Recommendations on Spring Turkey Season and B
ag L
imits in South Carolina
The average start date for spring turkey season among the 15 southeast states is April 3
and the average closing date is May 7. Average season length is 36 da
ys. Average bag limit is
2.8. Many southeast
ern
states have concern
s with their season opening date and a recent meta
-
analysis suggests most Southeastern states open spring turkey seasons an average of 15 days
prior to the predicted
average
nest initiation
date.
Notably, several states have recently adjusted
seasons to later start dates.
The white paper entitled “Establishing Opening Dates for Spring Wild Turkey Hunting
Seasons” which was adopted by the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
(SEAFWA
) Board of Directors in October 2016 recommends opening spring seasons concurrent
with average date of nest initiation. Applying the data from this 4-year nesting study to the
SEAFWA white paper would yield a recommended season opening date of April 9. Benefits of
this recommendation include; reduced risk of illegal female harvest, diminished risk associated
with early gobbler harvest, hunter exposure to quality gobbling activity, and increased
responsiveness of gobblers to hunter calls. Similarly, thi
s white paper indicates that conservative
seasons should open concurrent with or following average date of nest incubation which would
yield
a conservative opening date of April 22. Benefits of this approach include minimized risk
of illegal female harvest
and elimination of risks associated with excessive early gobbler harvest.
Based on the SEAFWA recommendations on season timing, a 4-
year field study recently
completed in South Carolina documenting the timing of gobbling and nesting, as well as the
avera
ge season length and bag limit among southeastern states, SCDNR offers the following.
SCDNR Recommended Wild Turkey Season Structure
Season Dates:
April 10 to May 15 (36 days)
Youth Day:
Saturday prior to April 10
Bag Limit:
3 gobblers per season, no more than 2 per day
Rationale
-
April 10 start date is in keeping with the
S
EAFWA recommendation to begin the
spring turkey season concurrent with average date of nest initiation (egg-
laying) which reduces
potential negative effects of early gobble
r harvest on the reproductive success of hens. It also
reduces the likelihood of inadvertent/illegal harvest of hens when hunters encounter and attempt to
harvest gobblers because hens actively involved in the nesting process are less likely to associate
with gobblers. Season length and bag limit are average among southeastern states.
Liberal Alternative Wild Turkey Season Structure
Season Dates:
April 5 to May 10 (36 days)
Youth Day:
Saturday prior to April 5
Bag Limit:
3 gobblers per season, no more than 2 per day, no more than one (1) prior to April 10
Rationale
-
Early season bag limit adjustment is an effort to mitigate April 5 start date which is
prior to average date of nest initiation (egg
-laying). This should partially mitigate potential
negative effects of early gobbler harvest on the reproductive success of hens. The likelihood of
inadvertent/illegal harvest of hens increases because fewer hens are involved in nesting activities
and still associating with gobblers. Season length and bag limit are average among southeastern
states.
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