Roger D. Shields

Many states throughout the range of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) have delayed their spring wild turkey hunting seasons to allow reproductively active males more time to breed before being harvested and to potentially increase population fecundity rates. Six states in the Southeast recently delayed their spring hunting season by 7 to 14 days. However, there are no published data indicating their previous season frameworks had a deleterious effect on wild turkey reproduction or that delaying the season increased fecundity. In addition to potentially affecting turkey...

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission initiated “Special-opportunity Turkey Hunts” (SOTHs) on select wildlife management areas with the 1997 spring season. Participants of these fee-based, public Florida wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo osceola) hunts completed satisfaction surveys each year from 1998-2006. We analyzed survey responses to identify factors that influenced satisfaction with the SOTH program and to determine how harvest indices related to satisfaction. Factors related to perceptions of hunter crowding, encounters with other hunters, and opinions on the...