It isn't avian pox — which infects some 230 species of wild and domestic birds — that has depleted Pennsylvania's wild turkey population. It isn't West Nile virus, a disease that is devastating the closely related ruffed grouse. Or overharvest by a growing number of Pennsylvania turkey hunters.
The chemical that killed an estimated 7% of the state's wild turkey population over several years is referred to by scientists as a mononuclear oxygen hydride and inorganic hydroxy compound.
We call it water.
Excessive rain and snow melt during consecutive soggy springs created puddles. Fuzzy little poults walked in and drowned by the thousands. Add predation and other factors and, in 15 of Pennsylvania's 23 wildlife management units, turkey populations are below management goals.
A rebound may be in the air. Dry skies and minimal snow melt during the critical spring hatching weeks of 2021 could have been the start of a slow reversal of the trend.
When the fall turkey season opens Saturday across most of Pennsylvania, the Game Commission will attempt to further correct the population decline without alienating hunters, whom the agency sees as the most effective wildlife management tool at its disposal. In addition to standard manipulation of hunting seasons at the management unit level, during the fall turkey season rifles and handguns are banned from the hunt.
The spring gobbler hunt is exclusive to males, and when an alpha tom is killed, another will service its harem. In the fall, hunters take male and female turkeys, directly impacting the number of hens available to lay eggs.
Earlier this year, Game Commission turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena said the practice of manipulating the fall season length in response to turkey population trends is growing in importance as the hunter-turkey dynamic changes.
A decade ago, the 10-year average turkey population was about 215,00 statewide.
"Right now, we have more turkey hunters [200,000 in the fall, 226,700 in the spring] than we have turkeys in Pennsylvania [estimated 196,000]," she said. "So it's really important that we do what is necessary to preserve the future of the resource."
Instead of limiting the hunt to roosters only, or further reducing hunting opportunity by trimming season length, the Board of Commissioners removed the junior hunt and accepted Casalena's proposal to ban the use of centerfire and rimfire rifles and handguns during the fall hunt. The use of shotguns, archery gear and blackpowder guns remains legal.
Rifles are unlawful to use during Pennsylvania's spring gobbler hunt. They are the sporting arm of choice among just 14% of fall turkey hunters yet are responsible for 33% of the fall turkey harvest, according to recent survey data collected by the agency.
Eliminating the use of long-shot sporting arms, it is believed, could reduce the statewide harvest by as much as 20% without impacting the routines of most turkey hunters. The restriction is expected to protect a large number of the all-important hens.
The regulation adjustment will change the strategies and tactics of some fall turkey hunters. No more scoping and dropping a bird at 100 yards or more, although some blackpowder hunters may be OK with those distances.
But fall season hunters unaccustomed to limiting their shots to the lethal ranges of shotguns or archery gear will have to beckon the birds closer using turkey talk appropriate to the animals' fall habits. The spring gobbles of a randy tom and a hen's poult assembly calls are likely to be less effective. When in doubt, make your calls simple, their quantity few and their volume lower.
It is not known how long the fall turkey rifle and pistol restrictions will continue.
