Post by dcheckman on Jan 1, 2013 11:25:30 GMT -5
Pennsylvania Game Commission Annual Report, 2011-2012
Conserve, protect, and restore wildlife populations for their many values.
Wild Turkey Accomplishments
As FY11 closed we completed the sixth successful year of the 10-year (2006-2015) wild turkey management plan. Four strategies have been completed (spring season fluorescent orange requirements were changed in 2008; in 2009 the 2-bird spring bag limit was determined to have no effect on the turkey age structure; in 2010 the 4-year tri-state gobbler study was completed (with results published in the Journal of Wildlife Management); and in 2011 a Successful Turkey Hunting course was created). Partnerships (monetary and personnel) become more important each year to assist with accomplishing the plan on schedule, particularly via support from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (PANWTF), the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and Pittman-Robertson (P-R) funding.
Fall turkey season length continues to be our primary means of managing turkey populations; season lengths vary from a closed season to three weeks, depending on WMU.
The fall 2011 turkey harvest was 14,300 birds, which was 10 percent below the 2010 harvest and 36 percent below the previous 5-year average. The number of fall turkey hunters decreased 11 percent from 2010, but was only 3 percent below the previous 5-year average. However, the number of hunter days continues its long-term declining trend. One reason for the addition of the 3-day Thanksgiving turkey hunting season was to encourage more hunting participation. Although such an effect is not yet evident, it should be noted that when new hunting seasons are established it typically takes at least three years before full participation is achieved.
Hunting hours during the second half of the 2011 spring gobbler season were extended to allow all-day hunting, providing increased hunting opportunity at a time when risks of hen mortality and nest disturbance are low. Afternoon harvests comprised 5 percent of the total reported harvests for the entire season, and 22 percent of harvests during the all-day portion of the season.
The half-day youth turkey hunt on the Saturday prior to the regular season accounted for 6 percent of the total statewide harvest in 2011, demonstrating the popularity and importance of this youth opportunity.
The 2011 spring gobbler harvest (based on the Game Take Survey and including youth and second bird harvests) was 34,972. This was a 3 percent increase from the 2010 harvest, but 12 percent below the previous 5-year average. The number of spring turkey hunters in 2011 (234,031) was slightly below 2010 (237,037), but above 2009 (228,903), and three percent higher than the previous 3-year average of 227,484.
The third year of the hen turkey harvest and survival rate study continues. Knowledge of fall harvest rates and annual survival rates will help us develop a more systematic and transparent process for determining fall turkey hunting season recommendations, which will allow for more explicit incorporation of uncertainty (spring weather, reproduction) into decision making and help us address the competing objectives of optimizing hunting recreation and turkey abundance. As of early July 2012, we were monitoring 37 transmittered hens. The highest mortality rates have occurred during the nesting season (primarily from predation). In 2012, despite the early spring, temporal patterns of nesting behavior were similar to 2010 and 2011. This confirms that the timing of nesting is controlled more by photoperiod than by weather, and supports the current timing of our spring season.
A new disease has emerged, or is now being recognized, in turkeys in Pennsylvania, as well as other mid-Atlantic and southeastern states. It can resemble avian pox externally, but is caused by a different virus. The first case has been confirmed in samples from a hen found dead this spring. Descriptive disease information concerning Lymphoproliferative Disease (LPDZ) in turkeys and sampling instructions were provided to region staff.
Conserve, protect, and restore wildlife populations for their many values.
Wild Turkey Accomplishments
As FY11 closed we completed the sixth successful year of the 10-year (2006-2015) wild turkey management plan. Four strategies have been completed (spring season fluorescent orange requirements were changed in 2008; in 2009 the 2-bird spring bag limit was determined to have no effect on the turkey age structure; in 2010 the 4-year tri-state gobbler study was completed (with results published in the Journal of Wildlife Management); and in 2011 a Successful Turkey Hunting course was created). Partnerships (monetary and personnel) become more important each year to assist with accomplishing the plan on schedule, particularly via support from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (PANWTF), the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and Pittman-Robertson (P-R) funding.
Fall turkey season length continues to be our primary means of managing turkey populations; season lengths vary from a closed season to three weeks, depending on WMU.
The fall 2011 turkey harvest was 14,300 birds, which was 10 percent below the 2010 harvest and 36 percent below the previous 5-year average. The number of fall turkey hunters decreased 11 percent from 2010, but was only 3 percent below the previous 5-year average. However, the number of hunter days continues its long-term declining trend. One reason for the addition of the 3-day Thanksgiving turkey hunting season was to encourage more hunting participation. Although such an effect is not yet evident, it should be noted that when new hunting seasons are established it typically takes at least three years before full participation is achieved.
Hunting hours during the second half of the 2011 spring gobbler season were extended to allow all-day hunting, providing increased hunting opportunity at a time when risks of hen mortality and nest disturbance are low. Afternoon harvests comprised 5 percent of the total reported harvests for the entire season, and 22 percent of harvests during the all-day portion of the season.
The half-day youth turkey hunt on the Saturday prior to the regular season accounted for 6 percent of the total statewide harvest in 2011, demonstrating the popularity and importance of this youth opportunity.
The 2011 spring gobbler harvest (based on the Game Take Survey and including youth and second bird harvests) was 34,972. This was a 3 percent increase from the 2010 harvest, but 12 percent below the previous 5-year average. The number of spring turkey hunters in 2011 (234,031) was slightly below 2010 (237,037), but above 2009 (228,903), and three percent higher than the previous 3-year average of 227,484.
The third year of the hen turkey harvest and survival rate study continues. Knowledge of fall harvest rates and annual survival rates will help us develop a more systematic and transparent process for determining fall turkey hunting season recommendations, which will allow for more explicit incorporation of uncertainty (spring weather, reproduction) into decision making and help us address the competing objectives of optimizing hunting recreation and turkey abundance. As of early July 2012, we were monitoring 37 transmittered hens. The highest mortality rates have occurred during the nesting season (primarily from predation). In 2012, despite the early spring, temporal patterns of nesting behavior were similar to 2010 and 2011. This confirms that the timing of nesting is controlled more by photoperiod than by weather, and supports the current timing of our spring season.
A new disease has emerged, or is now being recognized, in turkeys in Pennsylvania, as well as other mid-Atlantic and southeastern states. It can resemble avian pox externally, but is caused by a different virus. The first case has been confirmed in samples from a hen found dead this spring. Descriptive disease information concerning Lymphoproliferative Disease (LPDZ) in turkeys and sampling instructions were provided to region staff.