Re: All Day hunting last three week in VA-2022 season
Gobblenow wrote:
If I understand the kill records for National Forests in Va from last spring , less than a thousand birds came from over a million acres in VA?
Seems like a very small harvest number from such vast acreage. Perhaps the half day hunting should have remained on the public land for the entire season, With a low bird population in the NF and much of it at elevations where birds might still be in serious breeding mode in last three weeks of the season, a little less pressure would be good thing for restoring some of the flock?
Exactly GN, you must have been a fly on the wall in the 2012 management plan we had for the State. That was one of many recommendations along with breaking it down by counties or management areas, ie (national forest/private lands). Where areas are low less harvest or season, where high keep it the same. Again many good things brought up but nothing ever implemented.
But finally after decades some states are really starting to put a lot more money into turkey management research and getting some great data to implement a turkey management plan, hopefully not to late. One example is seed that farmers have started using I think over the last 10-15 years is coated with brightly colored pesticide, corn and soy are just two. The coating is Neonicotinoids (sp) EPA found that seed eating birds can be harmed by eating these seeds coated with neonic and is causing reduced reproductive activity.
The studies are still ongoing on the effects of turkeys but they are looking at not just the seed but the insects that eat the plants and have it in thier system and then the turkeys eat the insect. Since some of thier studies have found the decline of turkey populations around agricultural areas that is why they are looking into the effects of these treated seeds. Money and research well spent.
I believe the NWTF web site has something on it, but one can today just google it.
Earl