EDGEFIELD, S.C. — For the fourth consecutive year, the National Wild Turkey Federation has announced new funding for a series of wild turkey research projects — a move that reinforces the organization’s commitment to its mission: the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage.
To showcase how research benefits habitat, hunters and overall ecosystems, the NWTF is launching a series of articles exploring the “why” behind the organization’s research efforts — inspiring broader engagement in the wild turkey research happening throughout the country.
“I think it’s a good reminder for folks that this organization started with research, and we’ve never left that core principle,” said Jared McJunkin, NWTF acting director of science and planning. “And the research we fund comes from the people and agencies that are directly managing wild turkeys.”
NWTF founder Tom Rodgers created the NWTF in 1973 on the principle of using research to conserve the wild turkey. Only a few years later, the NWTF established its National Wild Turkey Technical Committee and funded its first wild turkey research project, led by Bill Healy a retired Ph.D., of the USDA Forest Service for research on wild turkey reproduction, poult survival and habitat selection.
The research that the NWTF funded in its formative years was key to helping wildlife managers with successful restoration efforts and creating effective harvest strategies when some of the first hunting seasons were developed. Large-scale wild turkey research started in the 1950s, which was aligned with wild turkey restoration efforts.
“Wild turkey populations across the United States were at a low point in the early 1920s following unregulated hunting pressure and habitat loss due to human expansion,” McJunkin said. “Restoration efforts started in the 1930s with failed introductions of pen-raised birds, but gradually, populations across the country went through a significant growth period with the improvement of trap and transfer techniques, like using the rocket net and the ability to move wild turkeys across state lines with restoration continuing well into the early 2000s.”
Research then shifted to focus on learning more about habitat limitations related to moving birds into suitable habitats supported by the NWTF’s Target 2000 program, which was a critical initiative created by James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., former NWTF chief conservation officer, to fund trap and transfer programs.
While habitat suitability research continued, successful restoration efforts shifted research toward learning more about harvest strategies and impacts of hunting and season lengths. As wild turkey managers began to see declines across some regions of the wild turkey range, research again shifted with investigations focused on cause-specific mortality, disease and habitat limitations, while studies into harvest strategies continued.
Today, this same science-based approach still drives the wild turkey management strategies and how the NWTF makes investments into wild turkey research. Some recent metrics indicate wild turkey populations could be stabilizing in some regions that were historically experiencing declines. In regions like the Midwest, populations continue to remain stable and out West, populations are more abundant. In other regions, populations remain lower than desired.
Current research remains focused on cause-specific mortality, diseases and habitat limitations and is expanding to help us better understand the potential impacts of environmental conditions and factors. New and emerging technologies are giving researchers unprecedented volumes of data from individual birds, yielding insights into questions that were once difficult to answer. These questions inform the habitat enhancement projects the NWTF is funding across the country.
“When we manage land to support wild turkeys, we end up creating rich, healthy habitats that benefit countless other wildlife species like songbirds, deer, rabbits, pollinators, and even reptiles will all thrive in a well-managed ecosystem,” said Kaylee Szymanski, NWTF district biologist for New England.
As the NWTF pushes forward into the future of conservation in a dynamic world, having sound research as the basis for its efforts is critical.
“When it comes to the policy work we do, we always challenge ourselves to make sure that whatever position we’re going to take on an issue, whether it’s legislative, regulatory or even a land management plan input, we make sure that our input is based on the science, a lot of which has been informed by the research we’re talking about and that we help fund,” said Doug Little, NWTF director of conservation operations for the East.
If it weren’t for the efforts of early wild turkey pioneers — like Wayne Bailey, James Earl Kennamer, Lovett Williams and many others — the success of the wild turkey would not be what it is today. Generations of researchers have dedicated their personal lives and professional careers to sustaining and increasing the wild turkey population. Thanks to state agencies, the NWTF and universities across the country, science-based research continues to drive the conservation of the wild turkey.
“The reason we fund research is because the NWTF is an organization built on the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage,” said Derek Alkire, NWTF district biologist for Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. “The decisions that the NWTF makes to impact those two things are based on the best available science, because it’s important for the game species that we are managing. There’s a lot of opinions, and there’s a lot of things that you could look at and make inferences about, but without science to support it, that’s all they are: guesses. Science really keeps us grounded.”
And staying grounded in sound research will be important as we continue to manage the wild turkey in an ever-changing world.
