(David Rainer) The Alabama Conservation Advisory Board voted to open the 2022 turkey season on March 25 with a four-bird season bag limit
MONTGOMERY-In a 6-2 vote with two abstentions, the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board (CAB) recommended a starting date of March 25 for the 2022 spring turkey season with a four-bird season bag limit at its recent meeting in Montgomery. They also recommended that hunters be prohibited from using decoys for the first 10 days of the 45-day season for most of the state.
The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division had proposed a starting date of April 1 with a one-bird bag limit the first 10 days of the season, and a five-bird bag limit that included both the fall and spring seasons.
The Board heard Dr. Barry Grand, Supervisor of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cooperative Research Unit at Auburn University, summarize the final report of a five-year wild turkey research project conducted by Auburn University and initiated by WFF.
Grand’s report indicated several actions could positively impact the health of the wild turkey population in Alabama, including a reduced bag limit, opening the season at a later date, shortening the season or a combination of those and other actions.
“We (WFF) compromised and didn’t recommend to shorten the season and didn’t reduce the bag limit in our proposal,” said WFF Director Chuck Sykes. “Those two factors showed the least amount of positive influences on the turkey population.
Chuck Sykes
“What made the most impact for turkey season is opening later, because 26 percent of the gobblers are harvested the first week of the season, and by the end of the second week almost 50 percent of the birds had been harvested.”
“After reviewing the turkey research data and hearing the presentations from Dr. Grand and Director Sykes, as well as considering input from hunters and constituents in their districts, the members of the Conservation Advisory Board modified the proposal from WFF,” said Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship. “The CAB recommendations will be integrated into the season and bag limits beginning in the fall 2021-2022 season. Nothing will change for the turkey season that opens on March 20, 2021.”
Media Release/DAVID RAINER/Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
