This is exactly right. While sportsmen saw the population declining in TN, TWRA denied it. When the population REALLY started to decline 5y ago, TWRA biologist finally admitted there was a problem.
Yet year after year after year, they recommended NO changes to the season to slow the bleeding. Perhaps there is NOTHING we can do to keep turkeys from becoming extinct, TWRA failed miserably on 1st denying there was a population decline, then after admitting there was a population decline, attributed it to just normal fluctuations in turkey numbers. THEN... after a decade of decline, they said, oh $HIT, they are really declining, but we recommend NO changes to the season, because we don't think anything we can do will stop the decline, so just kill em all.
Well, those of us who love turkeys MORE than TWRA said this $hit of doing nothing HAS to stop. We aren't biologists, but we are going to throw a bazillion darts at the dartboard and hope one of them stick. And that what hundreds if not thousands of folks in TN who love turkeys did was we lambasted the commissioners and told them that turkeys are going to go back to pre 1985 levels if something doesn't happen. TWRA wants to maintain status quo, which is failing miserably. Let's try pushing season back 2 weeks and see if that makes a difference in nesting success. Some wanted to lower the limits even further, many wanted to make harvest of jakes illegal (me included). Others wanted to make the use of decoys illegal. All of which have sound THEORETICAL biological benefits, but admittedly, have zero proven real world benefits on the population. But again the alternative is DO NOTHING as TWRA recommended.
If turkeys die out, at least I want to know that we at least attempted to adapt reactively (I think most of the decline could have been prevented PROACTIVELY if the decline was admitted by the TWRA 'biologist' at the time in the late 2000s).
So yup, there is zero proof 2023 reg changes will make a difference. But there is a decade of proof that status quo will result in the wild turkey population being reduced to unhuntable numbers in the majority of the state in the next decade.