New turkey-hunting law: the good and the bad

The South Carolina Legislature has passed a bill changing the state's turkey season and bag limit.

Gov. Nikki Haley signed the bill into law in early May. The legislation establishes a statewide private land season in all game zones that runs from March 20 through May 5. WMA lands will be open April 1 through May 5.

The new bag limit will be three birds per person. Youth Day was changed to a two-day Youth Hunt Weekend on the Saturday and Sunday prior to March 20. The new regulations will go into effect next spring.

The legislation increases the maximum fine for illegally taking or attempting to take a wild turkey from $100 to $500 and requires a person convicted to reimburse the S.C. Department of Natural Resources up to $500 for each illegally harvested turkey. The law will allow DNR to establish emergency regulations when necessary to control the harvest of wild turkeys.

The bill also contains a "sunset clause," which directs the agency to report back to the Legislature in three years with data gathered on how the changes have affected the turkey population, and with any recommendations proposed at that time.

According to Charles Ruth, the Deer and Turkey Project supervisor for DNR, there are several wild turkey studies ongoing using radio telemetry and sophisticated recording devices. Based on results, the agency will be prepared to make recommendations to the Legislature.

But if legislators do nothing, at the end of three years, the new law will expire and the current regulations will return.

A number of bills have been filed to change the season and bag limits over the past four to six years, according to Ruth. DNR supported the March 20-May 5 proposal because it also offered a reduction in the bag limit.

Apparently, discussions about changes to turkey hunting laws in South Carolina have been "going on for a while," as one legislator put it, but the turkey-hunting public was conveniently left out.

There were no public meetings. No news releases. No stakeholder discussions. The National Wild Turkey Federation has supported the new law, but not all turkey hunters are members of the NWTF.

Wild turkey populations have been a concern to wildlife managers across the Southeast for years, and turkeys have not been doing so well for the last decade in South Carolina, Ruth said. "We really don't understand what is going on with this ... decline."

Coyotes have recently proven to be a major factor in declining deer populations in the Southeast, and some managers believe coyotes are a major predator on turkeys as well. Perhaps these studies will also look at how much of a toll these invasive predators are having on our turkey populations.

In a recent telephone conversation with a DNR biologist, I was told that the agency would likely recommend going to a statewide opening day of April 1 at the end of the three years. I was shocked and disappointed, as it seems DNR has already made up its collective mind for convenience sake, without any supporting data.

Personally, I did not support this law as it was first proposed. The archery option was a bad idea, as many birds would have been lost to crippling by new and inexperienced bow hunters. The extra days in May are of little consequence since most hunters have given up by the end of the season, and don't want to hunt in hot weather.

The good things are an expanded youth season and the studies to look at the causes of a decline. The three-year provision will give managers more options for the future.

Perhaps DNR and the Legislature will see fit to hear from the folks most impacted by the new law and make some type of public forum or stakeholders' meeting a part of the process.

The Lowcountry has been the biggest loser in this change. It will lose some of its appeal as a state and national turkey-hunting destination. The economic damage has already been done.

We've lost that special consideration, that uniqueness, and it will probably never return.

Source: New turkey-hunting law: the good and the bad