Lawrence County

[FARMTOFIELD]

I pulled the numbers and they show the decline no matter what the average may be. I wish I could get numbers from 2000-2005

2006-469
2007-388
2008-346
2009-347
2010-305
2011-262
2012-269
2013-263
2014-261
2015(to date)- 183 we won't break 200 this year and if so not by much

Pretty good decline in harvest numbers, and I imagine if you could see on back to 2000 it would be as dramatic as anywhere

 

[callemquacktn]

Your putting in the wrong days or something. I have the complete print offs for each season since 06.

06 -513
07-414
08-364
09-370
10-331
11-296
12-290
13-279
14-296
As of yesterday yall had 189 killed

 

[bowhunterfanatic]

Wrong numbers or not it's still plenty obvious the decline is real.

 

[Setterman]

That's eye opening

 

[ZachMarkus]

Wrong numbers or not it's still plenty obvious the decline is real.

Yes.

 

[ZachMarkus]

By the last day we'll be close to 100 birds less than last year.

 

[callemquacktn]

Like I said earlier on another post yall had bad flooding in the last couple springs that and you have 70 jakes getting taken in a spring season so that is 70 less 2 yr old the next yr. It's an epidemic. What yall need is a restart button and a education seminar. Shut your county down 2 yrs and educate the people on not getting desperate to feel a Tage with a jake. Then and only then will you see an increase again.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Like I said earlier on another post yall had bad flooding in the last couple springs that and you have 70 jakes getting taken in a spring season so that is 70 less 2 yr old the next yr. It's an epidemic. What yall need is a restart button and a education seminar. Shut your county down 2 yrs and educate the people on not getting desperate to feel a Tage with a jake. Then and only then will you see an increase again.

Yea I'll call a county meeting and tell everyone not to hunt for 2 years and not to shoot jakes, that will go over well.

But I completely agree with what you said 100% I wish they would close Lawrence completely for 5 years.

As far as floods I don't remember anything in the last 2 years that would greatly affect anything outside of the shoal creek bottoms.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

I'll add another detail, I'm willing to bet that the 50% decline or 200+ less birds has mainly came from south of 64 highway

 

[Andy S.]

.....and I imagine if you could see on back to 2000 it would be as dramatic as anywhere

If you really want the data, contact TWRA. I am pretty sure I recall BigGameGuy (Daryl Ratajczak, TWRA Chief of Wildlife and Forestry) posting a year or so back that he could pull harvest data as far back as the mid 90s.

 

[woodsman87]

It is real and getting worse.

Next year will be probably will not be any better. No poults as well.

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[Roost 1]

I am going to say its a combination of things. However I would rate over-hunting #1 and poor reproduction #2. We cant control Mother Nature but we should be able to do something about over-hunting.....Its a snowball effect, I bet the guys in Lawrence didn't stop hunting they just went somewhere else. Now that area is over-hunted and so on and so on....

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

I am going to say its a combination of things. However I would rate over-hunting #1 and poor reproduction #2. We cant control Mother Nature but we should be able to do something about over-hunting.....Its a snowball effect, I bet the guys in Lawrence didn't stop hunting they just went somewhere else. Now that area is over-hunted and so on and so on....

We never over hunted our property but you are correct but I don't over hunt the properties I hunt now. the last count I had on my main property before I killed my 4th bird was 8 Longbeards and at least 8 or 9 jakes

 

[ZachMarkus]

I am going to say its a combination of things. However I would rate over-hunting #1, I bet the guys in Lawrence didn't stop hunting they just went somewhere else. Now that area is over-hunted and so on and so on....

Yep that's what it is, I killed them all of my property in Lawrence when they were gone I moved to Giles and Marshall and now the population is declining there, dang, I guess I'll just have to quit turkey hunting all together.

 

[woodsman87]

I am going to say its a combination of things. However I would rate over-hunting #1 and poor reproduction #2. We cant control Mother Nature but we should be able to do something about over-hunting.....Its a snowball effect, I bet the guys in Lawrence didn't stop hunting they just went somewhere else. Now that area is over-hunted and so on and so on....

I do not Think overhunting is my issue. I have let gobblers walk during last week of the season because I had already got three in Tennessee, plus the birds I kill in Alabama.

With that being said, I knew that there were numerous gobblers and hens left over. So my thinking is, these left overs slowly died of old age, predation, hunting, and maybe an occasional disease. Too add, the poult recruitment, for whatever reason, has not been good enough to sustain the population.

Another of my theories is that for some reason after winter break up they seem to migrate and move and/or stay to the north of me.




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[callemquacktn]

Like I said earlier on another post yall had bad flooding in the last couple springs that and you have 70 jakes getting taken in a spring season so that is 70 less 2 yr old the next yr. It's an epidemic. What yall need is a restart button and a education seminar. Shut your county down 2 yrs and educate the people on not getting desperate to feel a Tage with a jake. Then and only then will you see an increase again.

Yea I'll call a county meeting and tell everyone not to hunt for 2 years and not to shoot jakes, that will go over well.

But I completely agree with what you said 100% I wish they would close Lawrence completely for 5 years.

As far as floods I don't remember anything in the last 2 years that would greatly affect anything outside of the shoal creek bottoms.

I was talking about something TWRA mandated.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Like I said earlier on another post yall had bad flooding in the last couple springs that and you have 70 jakes getting taken in a spring season so that is 70 less 2 yr old the next yr. It's an epidemic. What yall need is a restart button and a education seminar. Shut your county down 2 yrs and educate the people on not getting desperate to feel a Tage with a jake. Then and only then will you see an increase again.

Yea I'll call a county meeting and tell everyone not to hunt for 2 years and not to shoot jakes, that will go over well.

But I completely agree with what you said 100% I wish they would close Lawrence completely for 5 years.

As far as floods I don't remember anything in the last 2 years that would greatly affect anything outside of the shoal creek bottoms.

I was talking about something TWRA mandated.

That's what it would take

 

[letsgohunting]

When will TWRA wake up....

 

[PickettSFHunter]

My county seems to be stabilizing around 200 birds a year.... At least I hope it's not still declining. TWRA is asleep at the wheel on this issue, no doubt about it.


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[woodsman87]

According to some on here they are awake, but continue to drive into on coming traffic and Think that it is ok and everything is peachy swell.

I'm going to be honest, if they would just act like they cared it would change my opinion on them.

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[FARMTOFIELD]

Speaking of limits here's a reminder of what Lawrence County is seeing.

For what its worth there have been 126 birds killed in Lawrence so far this year. I'm betting at least 100 of those came from the extreme north end of the county

 

[All-Around-Hunter]

According to some on here they are awake, but continue to drive into on coming traffic and Think that it is ok and everything is peachy swell.

I'm going to be honest, if they would just act like they cared it would change my opinion on them.

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I agree. Changes were made in West TN to account for their population decline. I don't understand how they can let the southern middle region go unchecked when it is obvious that numbers are decreasing by the year. Unfortunately, the problem is not just in Lawrence Co. It's in multiple counties throughout the southern middle region. Lewis, Wayne, and Giles to name the main ones off the top of my head. Only thing I worry about is the changes that might be made if we get what we wish for. I can deal with a lower limit, but quota hunts only on the WMAs and closing the region down for half the season would put a damper on things

 

[ZachMarkus]

Speaking of limits here's a reminder of what Lawrence County is seeing.

For what its worth there have been 126 birds killed in Lawrence so far this year. I'm betting at least 100 of those came from the extreme north end of the county

Yep, when I took my turkey to the taxidermist the other day he said his farms in summertown has plenty of birds. Where are you seeing 126? I'm seeing 162, either way it sucks seeing how the county to our north is at 729.

 

[myboomisdoom]

I don't see how changing the limit will do much change if so many hunters are struggling to have an encounter with a bird. My fear is that if the limit lowers we will give up something we won't be able to recover... More opportunity to take another bird.


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[FARMTOFIELD]

Speaking of limits here's a reminder of what Lawrence County is seeing.

For what its worth there have been 126 birds killed in Lawrence so far this year. I'm betting at least 100 of those came from the extreme north end of the county

Yep, when I took my turkey to the taxidermist the other day he said his farms in summertown has plenty of birds. Where are you seeing 126? I'm seeing 162, either way it sucks seeing how the county to our north is at 729.

Got em backwards lol

 

[scn]

When will TWRA wake up....

TWRA thinks everything is great, so they won't wake up until the squeaky wheel gets loud enough. I spoke before the Commission last year on the turkey decline, but it is going to take a lot more than one person to get their attention.

 

[Bone Collector]

I did this Friday, but right at the end of work and we got off early, so I went home and never got on the internet this weekend. There is a harvest report floating around on the internet that the TWRA posted. It goes through 2011. The disclaimer I will add here is the #'s don't always match what comes up on their website, from 2006-2011. There are slight variances in the total kill #'s (+/- 30-50 birds in a given year). However it is what we have to work with. It starts in 1990 and some counties didn't have a season then.

Here is a graph I put together. I think the issue there became an issue when the limit went to 3. The kill #'s were already sinking for the most part, when it went to 4.
That being said, I don't think the TWRA has the workforce to do a bag limit, for each county, so I don't know what can be done other than either closing the season, for a couple of years or doing units, like they do for deer, which of course will just bring people from the lower bag limit units to the higher bag limit units to shoot extra birds. I don't think that is a good idea, but it's gonna happen anyway probably. That big yellow box down towards the bottom is supposed to say "under the 3 bird limit..."

 

[Roost 1]

Speaking of limits here's a reminder of what Lawrence County is seeing.

For what its worth there have been 126 birds killed in Lawrence so far this year. I'm betting at least 100 of those came from the extreme north end of the county

Yep, when I took my turkey to the taxidermist the other day he said his farms in summertown has plenty of birds. Where are you seeing 126? I'm seeing 162, either way it sucks seeing how the county to our north is at 729.

I would say thats a pretty low number for Maury Co. They usually break 1000!!!

 

[Oak]

I did this Friday, but right at the end of work and we got off early, so I went home and never got on the internet this weekend. There is a harvest report floating around on the internet that the TWRA posted. It goes through 2011. The disclaimer I will add here is the #'s don't always match what comes up on their website, from 2006-2011. There are slight variances in the total kill #'s (+/- 30-50 birds in a given year). However it is what we have to work with. It starts in 1990 and some counties didn't have a season then.

Here is a graph I put together. I think the issue there became an issue when the limit went to 3. The kill #'s were already sinking for the most part, when it went to 4.
That being said, I don't think the TWRA has the workforce to do a bag limit, for each county, so I don't know what can be done other than either closing the season, for a couple of years or doing units, like they do for deer, which of course will just bring people from the lower bag limit units to the higher bag limit units to shoot extra birds. I don't think that is a good idea, but it's gonna happen anyway probably. That big yellow box down towards the bottom is supposed to say "under the 3 bird limit..."

Nice graph BC,

Does this include fall kill numbers also?

As you stated, there appears to be some variances on the numbers from the hunters toolbox website.

Some flocks in Lawrence have disappeared completely, especially in the Mid to Southern portions.

It's almost come to the point that we need to consider bringing back a restocking program AND lower the limits.

 

[Bone Collector]

Thanks Oak.

No those are spring harvests only.