The sound of a wild turkey gobbling gets louder every year in Georgia. Pretty amazing, considering that wild turkeys were nearly silenced in the 1900s following a century of habitat loss and market hunting. If only Ben Franklin were alive today-the bald eagle would surely take a back seat to the cagey bird the American statesman considered the most regal of our winged friends.
Many hunters in Georgia, and throughout the nation, agree with the Founding Father and have done their part to restore wild turkeys to historic numbers. Georgia's Eastern wild turkey population now stands at 300,000, up from only 17,000 as recently as 1973. Georgia trails just behind Texas and Missouri for the most wild turkeys in the nation. But the comeback story could not be told without mentioning the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), federal and state wildlife agencies, such as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) and NWTF corporate partners and volunteers who have done their part to reintroduce the grand gamebird, which now roams across the entire state of Georgia.
From 1973 to 1991, WRD with help from the NWTF, trapped and released more than 4,000 wild turkeys. Today, turkey hunting is open in every county and trapping is no longer necessary to establish turkey populations. Even Fulton County, which surrounds metropolitan Atlanta has a gobbler season.
"The renaissance of the wild turkey, especially in Georgia, is something that should make us all proud," said Haven Barnhill, WRD Sr. Wildlife Biologist. "In no small measure, our success has come from cooperation with our partners, and in particular, support from the Georgia State NWTF and local chapters. Their dedication to the conservation cause is truly a blessing."
Some of the money for recent restoration projects comes from the NWTF's Wild Turkey Super Fund, which started in 1985 for research and conservation efforts that benefit the wild turkey. Since then, more than $144 million has been spent on over 6,000 projects, including land purchases to preserve wildlife habitat, support for hunter safety and education and scholarships for graduating seniors. Money raised for the Super Fund comes from NWTF's state and local chapters, individuals and corporate donations.
More than $1.3 million has been spent in Georgia alone, mainly for wild turkey habitat improvements on wildlife management areas (WMA) and other public lands including the Chattahoochee and Oconee national forests. Together, Georgia's National Forests offer 865,000 acres on which to hunt, over 500 miles of hiking trails and 18 lakes for fishing. Hunter dollars through license sales and the excise tax on firearms and ammunition is used to improve wildlife habitat on the national forests and over 70 state managed WMAs, where many of Georgia turkey hunters bag long beards each year.
Recently, $200,000 in Super Fund projects, the majority of which will pay for habitat improvements on public land, were approved by the NWTF. They include:
· $6,000 for a rotary mower to maintain wildlife openings within Rum Creek WMA. Wildlife openings are fields and meadows in the middle of the woods where turkeys raise their young, hide their nests and find much of their food.
· $10,000 for a grain drill for planting permanent openings on Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee WMAs, to maintain the areas' plentiful turkey populations.
· $12,000 to track turkey harvests and hunter demographics. The survey will help state wildlife officials set seasons and bag limits.
· $2,136 for photography equipment to document turkey hunting violations.
For more information on the Super Fund or other NWTF projects, visit their website at
www.nwtf.org or call 1-800-THE-NWTF. For more information on WRD, visit their website at www.gohuntgeorgia.com.
About the NWTF: In 1973 when the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded, there were an estimated 1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Thanks to the work of state wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners, today there are an estimated 5.6 million wild turkeys and approximately 2.6 million turkey hunters. Since 1985, more than $144 million NWTF and cooperator dollars have been spent on over 16,000 projects benefiting wild turkeys throughout North America.
The NWTF is a 390,000-member grassroots, nonprofit organization with members in 50 states, Canada and 11 foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.
For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, call (803) 637-3106, check out our web site at www.nwtf.org or e-mail questions to nwtf@nwtf.net.