Auburn University Wild Turkey Research Project
Tax deductible
Turkeys for Tomorrow (TFT) a nonprofit organization chartered only nine months ago, is off and running. Wildlife researchers at Auburn University, under the supervision of Will Gulsby, PhD, will begin working on research funded cooperatively by TFT and the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF).
The goal is to examine how landscape composition, property management and hunting pressure affect gobbler abundance across Alabama. In cooperation with private landowners and the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, data will be collected on public and private lands that will also determine how hunting pressure affects gobbling activity. Gulsby's team will have around 90 recording devices scattered across the state to record turkey gobbles in the area, which will give them a rough idea of where turkeys are more abundant.
Altogether, the study could provide a number of valuable insights into the problems facing wild turkeys in the southeastern United States. The data will provide useful information to state wildlife agencies, public land managers, and private land managers across a wide portion of the wild turkey’s range. Gulsby says that he hopes to start publishing results from the study within the next three or four years. And for turkey hunters in Alabama and neighboring Georgia, this information can’t come soon enough, as wildlife agencies in these states have already restructured their hunting regulations for 2022 in response to declining bird populations.
"TFT was founded to help find ways to stop the slide of turkey populations across most of the Southeast and other states," said Jim Ronquest, co-chairman of TFT's board of directors. "We wouldn’t be able to launch these projects this fast without the partnership of many turkey hunters and the financial support from AWF. We need to jump on this problem fast. Hunters brought these grand birds back from the brink before, surely we can prevent them from going there again. Help us help wild turkeys."
About Turkeys For Tomorrow: TFT was chartered as a nonprofit organization in February 2021, by a small group of veteran turkey hunters who shared the common belief that turkey populations needed help. To learn more about TFT, visit their website at https://turkeysfortomorrow.org or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram@turkeysfortomorrow, or Twitter @forturkeys.
The goal is to examine how landscape composition, property management and hunting pressure affect gobbler abundance across Alabama. In cooperation with private landowners and the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, data will be collected on public and private lands that will also determine how hunting pressure affects gobbling activity. Gulsby's team will have around 90 recording devices scattered across the state to record turkey gobbles in the area, which will give them a rough idea of where turkeys are more abundant.
Altogether, the study could provide a number of valuable insights into the problems facing wild turkeys in the southeastern United States. The data will provide useful information to state wildlife agencies, public land managers, and private land managers across a wide portion of the wild turkey’s range. Gulsby says that he hopes to start publishing results from the study within the next three or four years. And for turkey hunters in Alabama and neighboring Georgia, this information can’t come soon enough, as wildlife agencies in these states have already restructured their hunting regulations for 2022 in response to declining bird populations.
"TFT was founded to help find ways to stop the slide of turkey populations across most of the Southeast and other states," said Jim Ronquest, co-chairman of TFT's board of directors. "We wouldn’t be able to launch these projects this fast without the partnership of many turkey hunters and the financial support from AWF. We need to jump on this problem fast. Hunters brought these grand birds back from the brink before, surely we can prevent them from going there again. Help us help wild turkeys."
About Turkeys For Tomorrow: TFT was chartered as a nonprofit organization in February 2021, by a small group of veteran turkey hunters who shared the common belief that turkey populations needed help. To learn more about TFT, visit their website at https://turkeysfortomorrow.org or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram@turkeysfortomorrow, or Twitter @forturkeys.
Organizer
Turkeys For Tomorrow 501(c)3
Organizer
Pope, MS
Turkeys for Tomorrow
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
