The National Wild Turkey Federation beginning an initiative to stimulate wild turkey population growth across the region.
The Habitat for the Hatch Initiative works with both private and non-private landowners, educating them about how to better manage their habitat for turkey populations. District Biologist Derek Alkire said the initiative looks at commonalities across population declines across the state, as they noticed poult per hen numbers decreasing.
“We started the initiative in hopes to increase reproduction for wild turkeys,” Alkire said. “The Habitats for the Hatch Initiative really has a focus on habitat management during the spring time of the year.”
Alkire said this time of year is high risk for poults, as the initiative serves to increase brooding and nesting success for the birds.
Alkire said the 10-year initiative is geared toward habitat management, increasing sunlight to the forest floor. Alkire said the Southeast has many closed canopy areas, where sunlight cannot make it to the forest floor to promote grass, foliage and grub. Alkire said these are vital to wild turkeys.
“Encouraging and working with landowners and land managers to better manage their habitat,” Alkire said. “And that might mean harvesting timber, that might mean utilizing prescribed burning, that might be a variety of other things that would allow entry of sunlight to the forest floor.”
Wild turkey management comes with some challenges. Alkire said there are some things researches still do not understand about the response from wild turkey populations from certain habitat practices.
“One of the hurdles that we want to overcome through scientific research is how the work that we do equates to population growth and recruitment success,” Alkire said.
Alkire said timber markets influence when a landowner will harvest their timber. Alkire said if markets are down, maybe they will be less likely to harvest timber. Alkire said harvesting is necessary to getting sunlight to the ground.
