RESPONSIVE MANAGEMENT SURVEY OF TURKEY HUNTING ON GEORGIA WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS
Abstract: Best management of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and turkey hunting includes understanding hunter attitudes to balance quality and quantity of hunting opportunity. We conducted Responsive Management telephone surveys of a random sample of 1,410 turkey hunters from 26 Georgia wildli...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1995-01-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.1995.tb00238.x |
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| Summary: | Abstract: Best management of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and turkey hunting includes understanding hunter attitudes to balance quality and quantity of hunting opportunity. We conducted Responsive Management telephone surveys of a random sample of 1,410 turkey hunters from 26 Georgia wildlife management areas (WMAs) during the 1991‐93 spring turkey seasons. Results indicated that the average hunter was male (98.9%), Georgia resident (99.0%), and 37 years of age, had 8 years of turkey hunting experience, and hunted 16.3 days annually on public and private lands combined. A total of 49% depended solely on public lands for their turkey hunting. For a given WMA and year, the average respondent hunted 6.4 days, was disturbed by other hunters 3.0 days, heard gobblers 4.7 days, and harvested 0.11 gobblers. Of those surveyed, 63.6% favored quotas and 73.3% favored closing roads to improve hunt quality. Hunt quality increased as gobblers heard, hunter success, and harvest per respondent increased and disturbance by other hunters relative to days that gobblers were heard decreased. Hearing and harvesting gobblers appeared to be the determining factors affecting hunt quality ratings, even on public lands with relatively high hunter densities and high levels of hunter disturbance. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-5540 |