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May Fish & Wildlife Commission Meeting
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<blockquote data-quote="Southern Sportsman" data-source="post: 5111920" data-attributes="member: 10399"><p>To my knowledge, nothing has pinpointed the problem definitively. But both SEAFWA and the NWTF have recommended that season dates be structured to open coinciding with or after peak nesting. A very good article in the Journal of the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies was published in 2018 ("Considerations for Timing of Spring Wild Turkey Hunting Seasons in the Southeastern United States") explaining it. It acknowledges a knowledge gap, but also points out that it is imprudent to ignore the potential impacts of high early male harvest on reproduction.</p><p></p><p>"Effect of male harvest on turkey production remains a considerable knowledge gap. Yet, it is imprudent to ignore evidence which suggests high, early spring harvest (Exum et al. 1987) or insufficient adult male abundance (Isabelle et al. 2016) may locally suppress turkey productivity. In fact, many authors (Vangilder 1992, Kurzejeski and Vangilder 1992, Healy and Powell 2000) have warned about potential implications of high male turkey mortality on population productivity when it occurs early in the breeding season."</p><p></p><p>I just feel like Tennessee has ignored common sense for a while now. We know that peak breeding/nesting in TN happens between April 14 and May 1. We currently start hunting around April 1st. About 60% of the annual harvest takes place in the first 2 weeks of the season. So in a declining population, we kill 20,000 males before the hens have bred. That certainly isn't helping hens breed or nest more timely or produce more poults.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Southern Sportsman, post: 5111920, member: 10399"] To my knowledge, nothing has pinpointed the problem definitively. But both SEAFWA and the NWTF have recommended that season dates be structured to open coinciding with or after peak nesting. A very good article in the Journal of the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies was published in 2018 (“Considerations for Timing of Spring Wild Turkey Hunting Seasons in the Southeastern United States”) explaining it. It acknowledges a knowledge gap, but also points out that it is imprudent to ignore the potential impacts of high early male harvest on reproduction. “Effect of male harvest on turkey production remains a considerable knowledge gap. Yet, it is imprudent to ignore evidence which suggests high, early spring harvest (Exum et al. 1987) or insufficient adult male abundance (Isabelle et al. 2016) may locally suppress turkey productivity. In fact, many authors (Vangilder 1992, Kurzejeski and Vangilder 1992, Healy and Powell 2000) have warned about potential implications of high male turkey mortality on population productivity when it occurs early in the breeding season.” I just feel like Tennessee has ignored common sense for a while now. We know that peak breeding/nesting in TN happens between April 14 and May 1. We currently start hunting around April 1st. About 60% of the annual harvest takes place in the first 2 weeks of the season. So in a declining population, we kill 20,000 males before the hens have bred. That certainly isn’t helping hens breed or nest more timely or produce more poults. [/QUOTE]
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