Springtime is noisy. The clucking, the strutting, the yelping — and that’s just the hunters preparing for the opening of turkey hunting season in Georgia.
The highly anticipated day is March 23 and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division expects that the 2013 season should be a good one.
"Hunters will hear some vocal 2-year-old birds in the piedmont, ridge and valley, and blue ridge regions of the state thanks to good production in 2011," said Kevin Lowrey, Wildlife Resources Division wild turkey project coordinator. "Coastal plains hunters may need to work a little harder to call in some seasoned gobblers as birds were not as productive in this area in previous years. Overall, statewide reproduction declined by 30 percent last year and while hunters won’t feel the effects this year, it may be noticed in 2014."
Georgia’s current turkey population is estimated at 335,000 birds and turkey hunters in this state are privileged with one of the longest turkey seasons nationwide. With a bag limit of three gobblers per season, hunters have from March 23 through May 15 to harvest their birds. With many pursuing wild turkeys on private land, hunters are reminded to always obtain landowner permission before hunting.
Georgia offers excellent turkey hunting on several wildlife management areas. Through the WMA system, resident hunters have access to nearly one million acres of prime hunting land for $19 a year. Detailed below are some of the WMAs with the highest 2012 turkey hunting season success rates in the state:
Northwest: Berry College and Paulding Forest WMAs
Northeast: Lake Russell and Dawson Forest WMAs
West Central: Clybel and Rum Creek WMAs
East Central: Di-Lane and Tuckahoe WMAs
Southeast: Griffin Ridge and Sansavilla WMAs
Middle: Moody Forest and Horse Creek WMAs
Southwest: River Creek and Chickasawhatchee WMAs
Complete 2012 WMA harvest results can be viewed at
www.georgiawildlife.com/Hunting/Quota
Summaries.
A WMA license is required for any person 16 years or older who does not possess a valid honorary, sportsman or lifetime license when hunting wild turkey on a WMA or public fishing area. In addition, a valid hunting license and a big game license are required to legally hunt wild turkey. Legal firearms and archery equipment for hunting wild turkey are shotguns (loaded with No. 2 or smaller shot), any muzzleloading firearm, longbow, crossbow or compound bow.
Where can you get a license? Buy it online, find a list of retail license vendors at
www.georgiawildlife.com/licenses-permits-passesor buy it by phone at 1-800-366-2661.
The restoration of the wild turkey is one of Georgia’s great conservation success stories. Although the bird population currently hovers around 335,000 statewide, as recently as 1973, the wild turkey population was as low as 17,000. Intensive restoration efforts, such as the restocking of wild birds and establishment of biologically sound hunting seasons facilitated the recovery of wild turkeys in every county. This successful effort resulted from cooperative partnerships between private landowners, hunters, conservation organizations like the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Wildlife Resources Division.
The Georgia Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has donated more than $3.4 million since 1985 on projects that benefit wild turkey and other wildlife. The NWTF works cooperatively in partnership with the Wildlife Resources Division and other land management agencies with the focus on habitat enhancement, hunter access, wild turkey research and education. The NWTF has an exciting new initiative called "Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt" focused on habitat management, hunter access and hunter recruitment.
For more information regarding wild turkey and hunting opportunities, visit
www.gohuntgeorgia.com.
