LITTLE CHANGE TO 2003 SPRING TURKEY REGS

By Linda Gallagher

Michigan’s spring turkey hunters will see very few changes from 2002 in spring turkey hunting regulations and dates.

According to Al Stewart, the DNR’s Upland Gamebird Specialist, Michigan’s wild turkey population, particularly in southern Michigan, continues to grow and expand. "As a result of that growth, 111,420 licenses will be available through a lottery during the hunter-limited hunt periods," said Stewart, who added that approximately 40,000 additional hunters are expected to participate in Hunt 234, a guaranteed hunt which will be open to all areas of Michigan except public land in southern Michigan for most of the month of May.

"One change that hunters will see this season," continued Stewart, "is an increased quota of licenses for Unit ZZ in southern Michigan, which allows all private land hunters in southern Michigan more flexibility in their choice of hunting areas during the first two weeks of the spring hunting season. There’s a lot of interest in that Unit ZZ hunt, as was shown by the fact that fully 1/3 of all of Michigan’s spring turkey hunters participated in that hunt last year."

In 2002, Unit ZZ offered 45,000 tags for hunting during the first two weeks of the season on any private land in southern Michigan, 41,000 of which were subscribed. This year, 65,000 licenses will be available for Unit ZZ, an apparent reflection of the growth of the wild turkey numbers in southern Michigan and the continued increasing interest in turkey hunting in southern Michigan, said the biologist.

Another change is in Hunt 234, which begins May 5 and runs until May 31 on both private and public lands in Michigan except on public lands in southern Michigan. This year, hunters opting for Hunt 234 as their first choice may simply purchase a license between January 1 and February 1 without participating in the lottery. Anyone who selects this option will not be required to pay the $4.00 application fee.

Noted Stewart, "Prospective hunters may still pay the $4.00 fee and participate in the lottery for one of the limited hunts, then purchase a license for Unit 234 if they are not successful in the lottery draw, but any hunters hoping to pursue wild turkeys this spring must either participate in the lottery or purchase a license for Hunt 234 during the month of January. Unsuccessful lottery participants may purchase a license for Hunt 234 after the lottery is conducted in February, but no licenses will be available at all over the counter to anyone who is not in the lottery system."

Stewart said that the change in the application process for Unit 234 was done in response to criticism from hunters who questioned why they should pay an application fee or enter a lottery for a hunt that is guaranteed.

As in past years, turkey hunters are eligible for one spring turkey hunting license.

One of the top ten states in the country for spring turkey hunting, approximately 141,000 people applied for spring wild turkey hunting licenses in Michigan last year, according to the DNR. "Of those, 88,000 hunters actually harvested a wild turkey, which is a hunter success rate of 35%, one of the highest rates of success in the country," said Stewart. "78% of the state was open to wild turkey hunting, which is also exceptional."

44,403 square miles of Michigan will be open to spring turkey hunting in 2003.

"We had very few problems at all last year, which we were pleased to see-very few incidences of hunter interference or trespassing complaints. It‘s been proven that most of our turkey hunters hunt on private land. In 2002, 87% of our spring wild turkey harvest was on private land," said Stewart, who added that hunters appear to be very pleased with the Unit ZZ hunt in southern Michigan.

Despite the high success rate and minimal problems, poor spring hunting weather made it tough for many hunters last spring, said Stewart. "The weather also appears to have had an effect on our spring nesting success. We’ve had a lot of reports of very late hatches, and in some areas, not much hatch at all, so we’re taking a more conservative approach this year, given the weather we’ve experienced, for next spring’s hunt. We’d also like to evaluate this new system for another year," he said.

Once again, the DNR will conduct the spring turkey hunting lottery earlier than they have in the past. "This is being done to accomodate hunters who need to plan ahead," said the biologist. "We hope to have the drawing for the licenses on February 14th, 2003. All applcants except those who applied on-line will recieve notification of whether they were successful or not by February 21, 2003."

Michigan’s spring wild turkey season begins on April 21 and will end on May 31, 2003.