Regional Highlight Article: Kentucky

By Jadd Campbell (NWTF KY Regional Biologist)

“A New Spring of Opportunity is upon us”

Well, spring is just around the corner, and with spring we all know what comes with it; Turkey Hunting!  With good weather permitting and with the abundance of noisy 2 year old toms predicted to be in the woods this year, the  2010 turkey season may prove to be yet another banner year for the KY Turkey Hunter.  This spring I would like to encourage each and every NWTF member to take some one new into the spring turkey woods.  For some, this 1^st adventure may result with an “I will never go again” and that turkey hunting is “just not my thing”, or on the other hand, some may very well just decide to make it their obsession and be hooked for life!!!  Either way, I’m sure we can all agree that it’s up to us to continue to share our passion with others.  You remember the ole saying? “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink!  I believe there are plenty of folks still thirsty, just waiting for the opportunity!

This brings us to the main topic, “Opportunity”.  Many of us are fortunate enough to be able to hunt turkeys on private land and better yet may be private land owners in Kentucky, but the reality is that a large percentage of hunters are not as fortunate. In a state where 94% of the land is privately owned, one may believe or find it difficult to find a location to hunt.  With this being said, lets stop and think about the other 6% of Kentucky.  This percentage of Kentucky’s public lands makes up over 1,600,000 acres in the state.   That’s nearly 2 million acres that you and I have the right to go and explore and chase wild turkeys on!!  Even though 6% seems like a small amount, it is still a significant and vital number of acres for the Kentucky hunter to have access to. 

Kentucky is in fact blessed to have two U.S. Forest Service Units that we all know by the Daniel Boone National Forest and Land Between the Lakes NRA.  These areas almost combine for a million acres of public land alone and allow turkey hunting on them.  Along with these areas, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources either own, manages, or co-manages with other agencies over 80 different Wildlife Management Areas all over the state from the east Kentucky/Virginia border to the Mississippi River in far west Kentucky covering well over 400,000 acres.  They are committed to public lands and continue adding and finding additional lands that will provide hunting access to the sportsman of Kentucky.

So…..what’s the take home message you might ask? Well, if you do not own or have permission to hunt private land in KY, do not let this dictate the outcome of your hunting season or whether you even have a hunting season!  Kentucky is rich in wildlife resources with an abundance of hunting opportunities.  Sometimes the best opportunities are the ones we create.  I wish everyone a safe and successful spring hunt; and you know what they say, “You can’t kill’em on the couch!!!”

2009 KENTUCKY WILD TURKEY STATUS REPORT

NWTF Meeting of the Kentucky State Chapter

May 17, 2008

Steven Dobey, Turkey Program Coordinator

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

#1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601

800-858-1549 ext. 4533 / steven.dobey@ky.gov

2009 Spring Hunting Season

Last summer’s brood survey documented the highest poult per hen ratio since 2000, and recorded the most poults ever seen in the 25-year history of the survey.  Now, in 2009, hunters are the ones reaping the benefits of last year’s reproductive success.  This year’s spring turkey season resulted in the harvest of 29,007 birds over the 23-day period; this is up 7.1% from the 2008 harvest of 27,073 (Table 1 and Figure 1). In addition, hunters this year set a new record for the spring harvest, surpassing the previous record of 28,834 set in 2006.  This year’s youth-only harvest of 1,797 birds was up 32.5% from the previous year’s season (n = 1,356). Statewide, juvenile gobblers accounted for 24.3% of this year’s spring harvest.  That was due in large part, again, to the dramatic reproductive success that was observed in 2008.  This spring, 75.9% (n = 17,718) of successful hunters checked a single bird.  

Collectively, all indications are that Kentucky’s turkey flock appears to be in exceptional condition.  While the 2009 season set a new harvest record, it’s important to keep in mind that birds hatched from last year’s reproductive boom will be vocal 2-year olds next spring.  So with another good year of reproduction, and with favorable weather, we should be in for an even more exciting spring turkey season in 2010.

Table 1.  Spring harvest numbers for wild turkeys in Kentucky, 2008–2009.