Conservative Turkey Season Again Proposed by AGFC
September 25, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – Biologists from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission again have proposed a conservative turkey season. The AGFC has tried to address declining turkey harvests through the regulations process starting in spring 2005.
AGFC turkey biologist Mike Widner told the Commission, that the shorter season of 30 days in 2005 and 2006 undoubtedly aided gobbler carryover somewhat. “However, the reduction in season length was not enough to reverse the trend in declining spring harvests and the index of gobbler carryover from the 2005 and 2006 brood surveys,” he said.
Widner said that the best way to achieve long term harvest management goals is to utilize a short, later turkey season such as the one in place during the 2007 and 2008 season. “The data we have collected strongly supports this conclusion. After the first year of this regulation, we saw positive results and we believe those positive results continued in 2008,” Widner explained. “When we first approached the Commission with a conservative season recommendation, we stressed that a one-year change wouldn’t result in turkey harvest recovery. Our intention was to bring harvests in line with reproductive trends,” he added.
Widner went on to say that it is going to take at least two good years of turkey brood production to see a significant increase in turkey numbers and turkey harvest. “Even when that finally occurs, there is plenty of data to suggest a conservative season is in the best long-term interest of turkeys and turkey hunters in the state. Of course, we haven’t seen those two good years of turkey reproduction yet, so continuation of the conservative season structure now in place is especially important,” he said.
The AGFC Wildlife Management Division turkey team recommended a spring 2009 season structure to open with a two-day statewide youth hunt April 4-5. In zone 17 the youth hunt would be March 28-29. The regular-season proposal was April 11-May 1 in zones 1 Zones 1, 2, 3, 4B, 5, 5B, 6, 7, 7A, 8, 9 and 10; April 4-26 in zone 17; April 11-24 in zones 4, 4A, 5A and 9A. Zone 1A would be closed.
According to Widner, turkey numbers currently are extremely low in Zone 1A. Hobbs SP-CA and Beaver Lake WMA are proposed for closure for the same reason.
Other proposed changes include closure of Bald Knob NWR to turkey hunting, a change to regular season quota permit hunts on McIlroy Madison County WMA and Mike Freeze Wattensaw WMA, a change to a 4-day regular season quota permit hunt on Sylamore WMA later followed by public hunting for the rest of the season, the addition of a regular quota permit hunt on Choctaw Island WMA and public archery-only hunts on Harold E. Alexander WMA and Moro Big Pine Natural Area WMA after quota permit hunts are completed.
Comments on the proposed basic season structure or on the specific changes listed above are welcomed by AGFC and should be sent prior to Oct. 17 to AGFC, 2 Natural Resources Dr., Little Rock, ARÂ 72205 or by calling (501) 223-6359 or (800) 364-4263 or by email to information [at] agfc [dot] com
Commissioners will formally approve the season at the agency’s Oct. 22 meeting in Pine Bluff.
 In other business, the Commission:
*Discussed proposed commercial fishing and turtle farming regulations. The regulations will be approved at the October meeting.
*Approved an agreement for land conveyance on the Arkansas River. Echubby Lake Hunting Club will donate to the Commission Coal Pile Lake and adjacent lands totaling about 538 acres. There is no cost to the Commission other than closing costs that are expected to be less than $1,500. The lake will be managed for public fishing and as a waterfowl rest area.
*Approved the return of more than $659,650 in fine money, collected during fiscal year 2008, to the Arkansas Department of Education. The money will be sent to the counties where the offenses occurred and used for school fish and wildlife conservation programs.
*Approved a budget increase of $200,000 for initially funding of a new bridge over Crooked Creek. The bridge will provide year-round access to the Fred Berry Crooked Creek Conservation Education Center in Yellville. The low-water bridge that had provided access to the center was damaged during repeated flooding in the creek.
*Approved a cost-share agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help control nuisance aquatic vegetation in Felsenthal Reservoir. The AGFC will provide approximately 35,000 triploid grass carp in an effort to control the vegetation. The vegetation is so thick that it impairs boat access to fishing and hunting areas.
*Approved a $145,000 budget transfer to be used for re-surfacing the Pendleton Access Area on the Arkansas River in Desha County. The area is heavily used by anglers and is a popular tournament site.
*Approved a land exchange for 80 acres of land in the Gene Rush Buffalo River Wildlife Management Area in exchange for 80 acres of isolated and excess land on the Bayou Meto WMA. In addition to the land, the AGFC will also pay $70,200 for the 80 acres in Searcy County. The money will cover the purchase and closing costs.
*Approved a land exchange of just over 16 acres for land on Bayou Meto WMA. The land swap will make land that was inaccessible, due to Little Bayou Meto, a contiguous part of the WMA.
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Pheasant Numbers Down, Yet Good Year Still Expected in North Dakota
September 22, 2008
North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August revealed lower bird numbers than last year. Total pheasants and brood observations were down 31 percent statewide from last year, while average brood size was down 13 percent, according to Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the state Game and Fish Department.
Pheasant observations in the northwest, southwest and southeast portions of the state were all down approximately 25-30 percent from 2007, Kohn said, while the northeast region, which doesn’t hold much of a pheasant population, was down 63 percent. The final summary is the result of 232 runs made along 95 brood routes across North Dakota.
“I don’t believe poor production this summer is a direct result of loss of Conservation Reserve Program acres, at least not yet,” Kohn said. “I suspect the cool, rainy days the first part of June caused problems with newly-hatched chicks, and the warm, dry days in July and August may have affected insect production. The quantity and diversity of insect numbers can be crucial in maintaining body condition of pheasant chicks the first 15-20 days of life.”
Average brood size is down in all four districts, possibly due to hatching of partial clutches on first nest attempts, but it may also indicate a good amount of renesting by hens, Kohn said. “Renests have fewer eggs, and this makes for fewer chicks in the brood,” he said.
Even with the lower numbers, Kohn still believes hunters will have a pretty good pheasant season. “Traditional areas will have some good pheasant hunting spots, with many other areas requiring some additional effort to find birds,” he said.
Statistics from southeastern North Dakota indicate 17.6 broods and 148 birds per 100 miles. The average brood size was 5.55. “There will be local areas of good pheasant hunting, but in many areas of the district hunters are going to have to spend more time in the field to fill their bag,” Kohn said. “Hunting in this area prior to the harvest of corn and soybeans may be a challenge.”
Results from the northwest indicate 13.5 broods and 102 birds per 100 miles. Average brood size was 5.36. “Numbers are lower than the record breaking years of 2006 and 2007,” Kohn said. “Hunters will find numbers similar to 2005, which was still a pretty good year.”
The southwest showed 23.4 broods and 205 birds per 100 miles. The average brood size was 6.12. “This area of the state will likely have the best pheasant numbers in the state, though still below population numbers of the last two years,” Kohn said.
The 2008 regular pheasant season opens Oct. 11 and continues through Jan. 4, 2009. The two-day youth pheasant hunting weekend, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger can hunt statewide, is set for Oct. 4-5.
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Crowing Survey Suggests More Nesting Pheasants in 2008
June 19, 2008
Thirty-five percent increase rangewide means more nesting birds; production outlook hopeful
PRATT — Each spring, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) conducts a survey of pheasants throughout their statewide range. As the mating season approaches, roosters increase crowing, and KDWP staff drive routes, stop at established stations, and listen for birds. Data from this survey, combined with the summer brood count survey in August, helps determine the outlook for the fall pheasant crop. A windy spring made surveying difficult this year, but last year’s production combined with good winter carry-over appears to reveal an increased number of breeding pheasants over last year.
This year’s spring survey period was April 25 through May 20, five days later than normal due to windy conditions that made hearing calls difficult. All 63 established routes were assigned for 2008, and 59 were successfully run. Forty-eight of the routes were completed in both 2007 and 2008 by the same observers.
Rangewide, the 2008 Pheasant Crowing Survey (PCS) index was 18.4 crows per station, up 35 percent from 2007. Overall, 40 of the 47 comparable routes increased in counts this year.
In the northwest, all 12 routes were run, 10 by the same observers as in 2007, and the crowing birds counted increased 36 percent from 2007. Nine of the 10 routes run by the same observer in both years increased. The Sherman County route sharply decreased but was not used to calculate regional change because this decrease was likely due to substantial irrigation-engine noise this year compared to no such noise in 2007.
In northcentral Kansas, all 12 routes were run, eleven by last year’s observers. Ten routes increased, one decreased, and the average count increased 40 percent over last year.
In the northeast, eight of the 10 routes were run and seven were completed by 2007 observers. Four of the seven comparable survey routes increased; two decreased; and one was unchanged.
In southwest Kansas, 16 of 18 routes were completed, and 13 of those were run by the same observer as last year. Eleven of the13 comparable routes increased, and two decreased, yielding an average increase of 37 percent over 2007.
In southcentral Kansas, all of nine survey routes were successfully run, and seven of those had the same observers as in 2007. This yielded an increase of 32 percent over last year. Five of the seven comparable routes increased, and two decreased.
“This spring’s increases in the PCS index appears to reflect the good production that occurred in 2007,” says Randy Rodgers, KDWP upland game bird research biologist. “Much of the state’s 2007 wheat crop was set back about two weeks by a late hard freeze. This provided a longer time-frame for nests to hatch and chicks to grow large enough to evade harvest machinery. Although heavy late-May rains appeared to have hurt 2007 pheasant nesting in central Kansas, increases in the PCS index this spring, even in these areas, suggests the heavy cover that resulted from those rains provided good re-nesting opportunities last summer.
“And last winter did not appear to put unusual stress on pheasants,” Rodgers adds. “Some areas of western Kansas currently have excellent breeding populations, but highly-variable moisture this spring will probably dictate 2008 production success. Parts of southwest Kansas are currently experiencing severe drought, and some areas in northwest and northcentral Kansas have had exceptionally heavy rains with large hail that has probably hurt pheasant production locally. Outside these extremes, most of the 2008 wheat crop has had good moisture and temperature conditions and has developed relatively slowly, all of which are beneficial to pheasant reproduction. Wheat harvest will also occur late in most areas, further increasing the potential for good pheasant production.”
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