Permits for spring turkey hunt
December 5th, 2005 by Administrator
More permits to be available for spring turkey hunt - MADISON — A record 200,673 permits will be available for Wisconsin’s 2006 spring turkey hunting season, an increase of almost 7,000 from the 193,826 permits issued in 2005, the state Department of Natural Resources reports.
The deadline for submitting a spring permit application is Saturday.
Spring turkey hunting in 2006 consists of six five-day (Wednesday through Sunday) hunting periods, beginning April 12 and running through May 21. Hunters apply for a permit to hunt during one of the six periods.
“We’re expecting hunting prospects in 2006 to be a little bit better than last spring,” said Andrea Mezera, DNR acting upland wildlife ecologist. “There was a decrease in the spring turkey kill in 2005, caused by poor weather during the brood rearing period in 2004. This year (spring of 2005) we had really good production.”
Hunter success rates during the years have averaged about 25 percent statewide, with the highest success coming during the earliest hunting periods.
In 2004, Wisconsin hunters registered 47,477 spring turkeys, compared to 46,159 in 2005.
As a direct result of the poor hatch in 2004 and a better hatch in 2005, hunters can expect to see a greater number of yearling (or jake) turkeys on the landscape in 2006, Mezera said.
The spring harvest is limited to gobblers or bearded turkeys. Typically, 2-year-old toms make up the bulk of the kill. It is anticipated the percentage of 2-year-old toms in the 2006 harvest will decline slightly, while the percentage of jakes will increase.
Mezera said the state’s wild turkey population continues to expand. With the addition of three new hunting zones in 2006 (Zones 44, 45 and 46 in the north), the entire state is open for turkey hunting.
Wisconsin’s status as one of the nation’s leading states for wild turkey began with the introduction of 29 turkeys from Missouri in 1976. From that meager beginning, the turkey population has blossomed to more than 400,000, according to Mezera.
For the first time, hunters will be able to purchase second permits on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning March 10, 2006.
“A hunter will be able to buy one permit per day,” Mezera said, “but there is no limit to the number you can purchase.”
Each turkey hunting zone is allotted a number of permits for each hunting period based on the estimated turkey population in that zone and hunting quality considerations. If the number of permits set aside for a hunting period exceeds the number of permit applicants, the excess permits are available as second permits.
Resident hunters will pay $10 for a second permit, nonresidents $15, according to Mezera. That’s in addition to the requirement to possess a turkey hunting stamp ($13 for residents, $60 for nonresidents) and a turkey stamp ($5.25 for both resident and nonresident).
Second permits will be available March 10 at any license outlet, online from the DNR or by phone at (877) 945-4236.
“A hunter with two tags for the same zone and hunting period can fill both tags in the same day,” Mezera said. “As long as you have the permit for it, it’s perfectly legal. You can take multiple turkeys in the same day.”
First permits will be issued in early February. A listing of hunting zones and excess permits should be available by late February, Mezera said.
A change in turkey hunting hours might take effect in 2007 if hunters approve a proposal at the 2006 spring fish and game hearings, she said.
The DNR is asking if turkey hunting should continue until 20 minutes after sunset. Current law requires turkey hunting to end at 5 p.m.
By Jim Lee
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers