Question for the Missouri Department of Conservation about the Wild Turkey in Missouri

Questions that need to be answered!

Is this the major objective of the Missouri Department of Conservation for Missouri’s Turkey Season it has been to provide maximum hunting opportunity commensurate with the population’s ABILITY to sustain harvest?
 
Why from 1953 to 1975 –22 years while the Missouri wild turkey population restoration was taking place and since wild turkey hens do not matter to production, was their no fall archery or fall firearms season?
 
Why did MDC Bag limit reduced to 1 bird due to poor hatch in 1973 The Adult / Juvenile ratio dropped in 1973 to 1:1.9 but won’t do the same when it dropped 1:0.8 Hen/Poult for multiple years?
 
Why in a 20-year decline in Wild Turkey Population and Harvest nothing has been allowed to change. But as the wild turkey population grows the season expanded with archery, fall, youth and higher bag limits?
 
Do your computer models on turkey decline look at the equipment like Shotguns, Ammunitions, Compound Bows, Crossbows and., season Youth Season and bag limits since wild turkey restoration stopped in 1979?
 
What is the biological and scientific reason in killing hens? To maintain a balance approximately 2.5 poults per hen must be produce. When this ratio drops below 2.5 a population is decline indicated and when it goes above 2.5 an increase occurs. – Since the drop below 2.5 Missouri has killed 161,508 Wild Turkey Hens.
 
What is your response to other biologist looking at Missouri Hen Harvest Numbers? The past 6 season in the Spring, Fall and Archery Seasons Totals Hens killed. 20,492 Wild Turkeys Hens have been killed, while the 6-year average of poult production was .9 poults per hen. During a recent podcast on Voyage Outdoors - Jun 30, 2022, The NO. 1 Wild Turkey Biologist in the country "Mike Chamberlain" in country says there is no biological reason to kill the hens in Missouri for past 5 years in Missouri during a decline of population.
 
Do you disagree with the Missouri Department of Conservation Quail Biologist? - if 6% of the quail are making thru the breeding season it just COMPOUNDS THE NUMBER OF NEST AND NEST SUCCESS. Waterfowl Hens and Pheasant Hens are limited in harvest even at one time MDC has buck only counties for deer harvest, only Wild Turkey in Missouri does this not apply.
 
Can you explain why the next 5 years the population will continue to decline? The last Wild Turkey Biologist put out STATUS QUO slide that showed – DOING NOTING to regulations the wild turkey population in Missouri will go from 413,400 to 299,800 in 5 years.

Are the spring hens, and fall archery hens include in this computer model? In that same slide the past biologist said it will only make 1% difference in the population by not shooting hens during fall shotgun season.

Do you disagree with the research out of Iowa was in the Proceedings from The Sixth Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium - February 26 thru March 1, 1990?

EFFECTS OF FALL EITHER-SEX HUNTING ON SURVIVAL

 Fall hunting would not affect turkey populations IF FALL HUNTING MORTALITY IS COMPENSATORY that is, if there is a compensating increase in survival during other periods of the year to offset fall hunting, or if birds shot by fall hunters would have died anyway to some other agent. NEITHER OF THESE SITUATION EXISTED DURING THIS STUDY. AVERAGE ANNUAL SURVIVAL RATES OF ALL AGE-SEX CLASSES DECLINED AFTER FALL HUNTERS WAS INTRODUCED.

This implies that fall hunting may affect future turkey populations. SHOOTHING ADULT TURKEYS IN POOR PRODUCTION YEARS MAY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HENS AVAILABLE TO NEST as well as reduce gobbler numbers available to hunters. A REDUCTION IN HENS COULD REDUCE RECRUITMENT AND TOTAL TURKEY NUMBERS FURTHER AND PROLONG THE RECORVER FROM POOR PRODUCTION THAN WOULD HAVE OCCURRED WITHOUT FALL HUNTING.
 
Why are the counties closed? Fall Deer & Turkey Regulations and information – NO FALL SHOTGUN SEASON FOR Dunklin, McDonald, Mississippi, New Madrid, Newton, Pemiscot, and Scott – if killing hens don’t matter or fall shotgun season doesn’t matter and opportunity is the priority –
 
 
Why did MDC publish ONLY the 1 year finding of the Putnam County Wild Turkey Research in the NWTF Missouri magazine, but not to the general public?
 
Why was this left out of the information that was printed from research? - "About 75% of nests failed due to predation of the actual nest, and 8% failed due to predation of the hen that was incubating the clutch"
 
Does the MDC consider Armadillo a NATIVE species and no there is no hunting or trapping season?

What was the population of Armadillo 20 years ago? What is the population today?

What research has Missouri Department of Conservation done on Armadillos in Putnam County wild turkey research OR for that matter in the STATE OF MISSOURI dealing with ground nesting birds?

Have you looked at the Tall Timbers Research Station and Martin Labs graph in research dealing with quail show that these are the top 4 nest predators - Snakes 29%, Raccoons 20%, Armadillos 16% and Opossum 12%?
 
Do you agree that Armadillo’s, are not looking for the turkey eggs, but he bugs under the nest, and they bulldoze the eggs and if they bust them, they will lick up the yokes as other research out of Florida has shown?
 
Have you seen the video from Tennessee Game Warden in 2021 shows Armadillo harassing hen on nest?
 
Does a wild turkey hen know the difference between a raccoon, opossum, bobcat, coyote, and an armadillo when being flushed off nest or are they just reacting to danger?
 
Does any study in Missouri exist with Wild Turkey hens showing they are very susceptible to nest abandonment when flushed from the nest by a predator or other wildlife?
 
Other research shows intentional flushes of known nests shows that upwards to 50% of all hens abandon their nests after only one contact. Hens that don't abandon after the first event almost never happens, and as high as 85%, suffer more than (2) flushes from the nest ever renest.

Does it matter if it’s an Armadillo, Raccoon or Wild Hog at flushes a hen off of nest?
 
 
How can the Putnam County and Northern Missouri Wild Turkey Research help Southern Missouri? When past turkey biologist that preceded said it does not.

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR RESEARCH
Guess what the Missouri Turkey Biologist Vangilder said in the 90's.
Nowhere is there an area in north Missouri of (15,000 ac) that is 70% timbered. Corn and soybean fields more than make up for the lack of trees and turkey densities in the northern part of the state are much higher than in the more heavily forested parts of south Missouri.
 
Biologists are sometimes forced to use data obtained from short-term, localized studies to model populations on large geographic areas. Often, the results obtained during these modeling efforts do not reflect actual changes in the population.
 
These types of problems are evident when comparing similar research between northern and southern Missouri. Obviously, average reproductive potential differs substantially between the 2 regions. Southern Missouri has a lower reproductive rate.
 
How does the Wild Turkey Research in Putnam County Habitat Type compared to places like 1.5 Million acres of Mark Twain National Forest in Southern Missouri?
Putnam County Wild Turkey Habitat
50% Cropland
31% Patureland
11% Woodland
8% Other

Is the turkey research happing on this property in Putnam County, would you consider this best turkey habitat?

Missouri Landowner - 2,800 acre Working ranch with frontage on Lake Thunderhead, in Putnam County, Missouri. It is currently used for recreational hunting and agriculture farmland. This ranch includes a 4,300 square foot lodge and multiple equipment barns. The property contains over 500 acres of CRP and 150 acres of year-round food plots. The rolling hills, timber and grassland intersected by a large network of gravel roads.
 
When you do your wild turkey hen harvest computer models do you include the variable below?

How many Black Bears are on those properties in your research? – Black Bears population in southern Missouri is growing by 9% a year, and in Pennsylvania are top predator of fawns, but no research exist for the what black bear affect have on wild turkey nest.

How many Wild Hogs in your wild turkey research in Putnam County? – Last turkey research shown in Missouri the number 1 food source for turkeys was acorns and the no 1 food source for hogs is acorns and would be direct competitors for food sources, also destroying nesting habitat and flushing hens on nest.

How many Baited Wild hog Traps and bait sites in your wild turkey research? Supplement feeding raccoons and other nest predators just before nesting season. – Over 1,000 in Southern Missouri just before nesting season.

February 2, 2022 – The Missouri Department of Conservation anticipates, but does not guarantee, the below estimated amounts of corn will be needed for each region.

Southwest Region – Estimated Amount 100 Tons of Corn
Ozark Region – Estimated Amount 215 Tons of Corn
Southeast Region – Estimated Amount 415 Tons of Corn


Why did MDC not do Wild Turkey Research on Peaks Ranch, which has bears, elk, armadillos, wild hogs, wild hog baited sites large tracks of timber? – Pecks Ranch was the center for restoration for Missouri!

How many Elk in your research? Do elk compete for wild turkey food sources?
 
Do you think mountain lion in Missouri are killing any wild turkeys?

2019 – Mountain Lions 30 Confirmed sightings from photos, videos, tracks to DNA proof from deer and two elk calve carcasses. The six-county region of Shannon, Texas, Oregon, Carter, Ripley, and Reynolds counties continues to be a “hot-spot” for confirmations with one of the last two confirmations falling in
 
Does the MISSOURI YOUTH SEASON GOES AGAINST THE VERY BIOLOGICAL REASON FOR THE DAY THE Regular firearms SEASON OPENS? - The season opens Monday closest to April 21st. This corresponds to the historical records of the second peak Missouri Ozark Gobbling. This is the biological reason for the opening day.

Research dictated that if we are to guard against overharvest of mature gobblers, the spring season must begin after the peak in breeding activity in early April Which may lead to the great successes in turkey population because the hens get to breed with the dominate birds with the first peak gobbling.
 
Over 74,000 Gobblers have been killed, Does any research show this compounded over time and affect breeding in Missouri? 2001 First spring youth season When the youth season was study – Only Hunter Recruitment and Hunter Retention was considered, the wild turkey population was never considered in research done in Missouri.
 
Why not open the season the SATURDAY AND SUNDAY before the Monday closets to April 21st for Biological Reason? (Example early: April 4 and 5 – 2020 Youth Season)
 
This research was done in Georgia have you seen it and what are your thought on it?
Nest success and poult survival are keys to turkey population trends.
Turkeys have a complex mating system. Toms begin gobbling and strutting in March to determine their pecking order before breeding begins in early April.
 
If the boss gobbler is killed, the others in his close group may not be able to breed hens immediately. Hens don’t just breed with the next gobbler available.
 
Letting dominant toms get most hens bred in late early April gives the local population its best chance at more successful nests and putting the greatest number of poults on the ground at the same time.
Jakes will try to breed, but their sperm isn’t viable.
 
A nest is less likely to contain any infertile eggs if the hen was bred multiple times, and by different toms, over the 10 to 12-day laying period. She will move around to visit different gobblers and breed with the most dominant ones.
 
Hens can store sperm for 30 days, but viability drops rapidly (which is one reason why the more she breeds, the better the odds of a successful nest). Eggs laid within a few days after breeding do better than those laid with stored sperm.
 
Most hens are laying at the end of April thru May. Competition to breed is most intense as hens are laying. Disturbance and disruption from hunters during this period have more impact on total poult production for the year than does hunting during the latter half of April and in May.
 
Reduced gobbling
 
As toms are harvested, gobbling activity decreases: Fewer birds to gobble, and remaining birds gobble less because of disruption to the pecking order, and disturbance from hunting.
 
Nesting behavior of hens stimulates gobbling to increase, but this effect is weaker than the impact of hunter disturbance, which causes birds to gobble less. Net effect is less gobbling once hunting season opens even though hens are nesting.
 
Hunters remove the most vocal birds. Domestic breeders do this purposefully, and it works.
 
Nesting issues
 
“Predator swamping” is when all the hens lay their nests within the same few weeks, so that predators can’t get them all before the poults hatch. Also, a shorter nesting period means most poults are equally vulnerable at the same time, “swamping” the ability of local predators to get them all before they’re able to fly.
 
Breeding season disruption (discussed above) causes many hens to start their nests later, and a few will not attempt to nest at all.
 
If a hen loses her 1st nest early, she may re-nest, but these, 2nd or even 3rd attempts usually fail to produce poults that survive to the next spring.
 
When hens are starting their 1st nests over the course of several weeks, the predator swamping effect is lost.
 
If there is a big size difference in the poults that do survive, hens are less likely to group up their poults in late summer, which also increases their vulnerability to predation
 
Do you think the fact that Raccoons are having 4 kits on average and Wild Turkey are having 1 or less is now a bigger issue in Missouri since the Raccoon Pelts sold/registered has gone from 200,000 to 24,000?

To maintain a balance approximately 2.5 poults per hen must be produce. When this ratio drops below 2.5 a population is decline indicated and when it goes above 2.5 an increase occurs.
Missouri – Just one Example of the primary egg eater of Wild Turkeys
Poult: Hen Ratio - Year -Raccoon Pelts Sold/Registered
2.6       1998    200,000
2.3       1999    107,267
2.3       2000    55,254
2.1       2001    50,254
1.7       2002    110,603
1.6       2003    103,550
1.6       2004    102,448
1.2       2005    116,396
1.6       2006    84,654
1.0       2007    122,155
1.1       2008    118,166
1.2       2009    122,155
1.1       2010    49,290
1.7       2011    109,586
1.7       2012    158,356
1.3       2013    138,865
1.7       2014    134,715
1.5       2015    85,497
0.8       2016    34,758
0.8       2017    32,106
0.9       2018    26,340
0.9       2019    22,562
1.0       2020    24,652
Now add in Bobcats, Coyotes, Opossum, Skunks, Foxes, and Crows, etc., etc. who population has only increased since the dismal fur markets relying on China and Russia.
What does the research show on what affect avain predators have on wild turkey in Missouri?
 
2021 - The number of bald eagles in the lower 48 U.S. states — a population once on the brink of extinction, has quadrupled in the last dozen years to more than 316,000, federal wildlife officials – common sense tells you that Hawks and Owls must me at an all-time high.
 
Does the research show that habitat can overcome un-natural predator population after 74 years of research on Wild Turkeys, it's been the same story, only difference today no fur market and less trappers?
 
1948 - Alabama –
Raccoon – 31 Nest Destroyed.
 
1980’s - KENTUCKY
Raccoon - 52 Nest Destroyed 48.6%
 
1980’s – Florida
The turkey had a 59% success rate when predator control was not practiced.
The turkey had a 72% success rate where predator control was being carried out during the nesting season.
 
1980’s – Alabama
Nest Losses – 44.5% - The nest predation
On predator control areas a total of 55.1% of the hens (1971-75) was accompanied by poults compared to only 24.4% on non-predator control areas.
Total poult production was much higher on predator control areas than non-predator control areas for the 5 years.
176 hens and 609 poults seen on predator control areas. 5 year average of poult:hen ratio of 3.5 on predator control areas.
156 hens and 169 poults seen non predator control areas. 5 year average of poult:hen ratio 1.1
 
1995 – Missouri
In this study, predation caused, on average, 68% of the hen mortality on the two study areas
In this study, legal harvest accounted for 30% of the adult gobbler mortality, and predation accounted for 51% of the mortality.
 
2021 - Missouri
"About 75% of nests failed due to predation of the actual nest, and 8% failed due to predation of the hen that was incubating the clutch"
 
2022 - Oklahoma
Work started with 28 hen turkeys fitted with GPS or VHS radio trackers. Predators killed seven during mating season. Of 21 remaining, only nine are documented to have attempted a first nest and all those nests were lost.
Of those hens, seven attempted a second nesting. By the first of June only four nests remained active. Predators took the eggs of one nest, two nests failed due to predators killing the hens and one nest of four eggs saw a successful hatch of three poults.
The day after the poults were fitted with transmitters all three were killed. One died of unknown causes, one was killed by “a mammalian predator,” and one transmitter was found inside a cottonmouth snake. None of the hens attempted a third nest.
 
2022 – Alabama
ALABAMA RESEARCH UPDATE (YEAR 1) - Turkeys For Tomorrow
TFT’s preliminary results of this study are as follows:
A total of 20 hens were monitored during spring/summer 2022.
18/20 hens survived (90%).
15 hens (75%) attempted to nest. All hens in the study were adults at time of capture.
2 hens (10%) successfully hatched at least one poult. All other nests failed.
Brood survival was 0% (none of the hatched poults lived).
 
2022 IOWA RESEARCH UPDATE (YEAR 2) Turkeys for Tomorrow.
Dan Kaminski, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR, has been marking hens and poults with GPS or VHF/radio transmitters since 2021. This has enabled Dan to evaluate population demographic parameters related to hen and poult survival, cause-specific mortality, and nesting rates.
A portion of Dan’s research is listed below and gives a glimpse into the challenges the wild turkey is facing in Iowa. These results are only for one year and so additional years of data are needed to understand how these numbers fit into the greater picture of turkey reproduction in Iowa.
- A total of 73 hens were marked last winter.
- As of early August, 27 hens have died for a mortality rate of 38%.
- Of 63 hens available to nest starting on May 1, only 7 nests hatched successfully (i.e., hatched at least one egg; 11% hen success rate).
- Of 33 hens marked with GPS transmitters, 7 hens did not incubate a nest, 17 incubated 1 nest, 8 incubated 2 nests, and 1 incubated 3 nests.
- Most of the nest failure was due to predation, however, one nest failed due to hay mowing and one failed due to abandonment by the hen
- The median day of nest failure was 8 days, and a preliminary nest survival model indicates 50% of nests failed by day 10 of incubation.
- Of the 7 nests that successfully hatched, the average clutch size was 9.9 eggs per nest and the average number of eggs hatched was 7.7 eggs per nest.
- Of the 54 eggs that hatched, 18 poults were observed during poult captures conducted within 1-3 days post-hatch and a total of 12 poults were marked with VHF/radio transmitters.
During 4-week flush counts for 6 of the 7 hens that hatched a nest, a total of 4 poults remained alive.
 
 
So, in your wild turkey hen harvest models do you consider all the variables?
Loss of Habitat, Seed Coatings, Logging, Pesticides, Over Harvest, Predators land and air, modern weapons, and equipment whatever the reason.
 
When it comes to Wild Turkey Population. Does Missouri have some good population, some in decline, some almost non-existence?

Has this been documented for management purposes in Missouri?
 
Do you believe that ½” trigger pull is all you can control, when making your own wildlife management decision on your property of what NOT to shoot?
 
In Missouri are we killing female turkeys beyond the level at which the population can replace itself in the short-term?

Wildlife is managed under the principles of The North American Wildlife Conservation Model. The Model should not be exclusive to wildlife or game species but invasive also.

In cases where population ****REDUCTION***** is the management goal, managers must implement *****FEMALE***** harvest beyond the level at which the population can replace itself in the short-term.

​Do you agree with this statement? That the Wild Turkey Hens are going to die anyway – Might as well kill them in the fall. Using ALDO LEOPOLD - "SURPLUS THEORY" as the basis.
  
Nearly 100 years ago Aldo Leopold, the father of game management, coined the term “harvestable surplus.” The intended meaning of the term is that SOME wildlife species and populations may produce more young in a given year than can survive to the following year.

Those individuals doomed to die over the winter, for example, represent the “surplus” in the population. Leopold observed that those surplus animals could be killed by hunters during the fall, instead of succumbing to winter mortality, and there would be little impact on the population. So, in theory, hunting would be sustainable because the population would not change.

So, are the Missouri Wild Turkey Hens producing enough young in past 20 years in Missouri to replace themselves in long term and short term?

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