Turkey Hunters Research Articles

Sex‐specific resource use by wild turkeys in response to hunting activity

AbstractHunting causes direct mortality and potentially disrupts normal activities of game and non‐game species. As spatial (i.e., selection of hunting areas) and temporal (i.e., only diurnally present) patterns of hunters can become predictable, hunted species may respond accordingly. Risk becomes more dynamic and complex for species that are hunted concurrent with their breeding cycle, and growing literature has noted that wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo spp.) behaviors can be altered by hunting activity. We allocated global positioning system (GPS) units to 1,500 wild turkey hunters and affixed GPS transmitters to 175 wild turkeys during 2014–2018 on the Webb Wildlife Management Area Complex in South Carolina, USA. We evaluated whether wild turkeys shifted resource selection as a function of hunter resource selection during the progression of hunting seasons. Male wild turkeys avoided areas where stationary hunting bouts occurred during the early hunting season (and selected for these areas before hunting began), whereas females were more likely to select those areas avoided by males by the end of the hunting season. For every 15% increase in predicted probability of an area being hunted, male wild turkeys were 4.16 times less likely to select that area, whereas female wild turkeys were 1.08 times more likely to select that area relative to pre‐season periods when hunters were not on the landscape. Hunting activity induced immediate responses by male wild turkeys as they sought refuge away from hunted areas. Coupled with recent research suggesting hunters are more influential than natural predators in reducing the frequency of male vocalizations and eliciting fleeing and avoidance behavior, our results indicate hunting activity could affect distribution and courtship behaviors of male wild turkeys during their breeding season.

Efficacy of autonomous recording units to evaluate wild turkey gobbling chronology in North Carolina, USA

AbstractWild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)gobbling is a key component of hunter satisfaction, also providing insight into the underlying reproductive ecology of wild turkeys that can inform regulatory decisions. However, monitoring gobbling chronology over large geographic areas can be logistically challenging and identifying efficient monitoring schemes can help wildlife agencies better manage the species. We evaluated the efficacy and utility of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to detect wild turkey gobbles and deployed 51 ARUs to monitor gobbling chronology in North Carolina, USA. We conducted controlled field‐tests at 20 locations to compare how detection of gobbles differed by ARU software, manual review of ARUs, and in‐field human observers. Autonomous detections had the lowest probability, with detection probabilities approaching 0 at 300 m from the ARU. Autonomous detections of gobbles were affected by leaf‐on conditions and topographical interference while vegetation type surrounding ARUs had minimal and inconsistent effects on detection. We deployed ARUs on properties with little or no turkey hunting across North Carolina from March–May during 2016 through 2019 to explore annual and regional variation in gobbling chronology. We used ARUs to monitor gobbling chronology and recorded 53,943 hours of audio files from which we confirmed 113,737 gobbles out of a total of 602,053 possible sound events identified. We identified multimodal gobbling chronology across 3 primary physiographic regions in North Carolina. We also found comparable timing of gobbling chronology across the 3 regions, with 57–61% of gobbling occurring during the weeks in which hunting seasons occur. We recommend that researchers validate ARU performance to calibrate monitoring of gobbling chronology. Additionally, our gobbling chronology data suggest that a statewide framework, rather than a regionally split framework, is appropriate for wild turkey hunting in North Carolina.

A comparison of mixed‐mode survey designs for collecting deer and fall turkey harvest data in North Dakota

AbstractAchieving state wildlife agency biological goals for deer (Odocoileus spp.) and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) rely on high quality data collection via hunter harvest surveys. Concomitantly, better information is needed to optimize harvest survey methods. From 2017 to 2019, we surveyed North Dakota, USA, deer and fall turkey hunters using a self‐administered mail survey as a control and 3 mixed‐mode, internet/mail surveys to evaluate the efficacy of alternative survey designs for estimating harvest of game populations and informing future management. We measured response rates across segments of North Dakota deer and fall turkey hunters, and across mixed‐mode treatments that could easily be implemented with existing wildlife agency resources. We also determined whether early survey respondents were more likely to harvest deer or turkey. Finally, we estimated the effects of demographic factors that may be associated with hunters returning survey treatment modes to further North Dakota Game and Fish Department's ability to tailor surveys to certain hunter groups. We found that internet‐mail and mail‐internet treatments resulted in significantly higher response rates than a traditional mail‐only survey mode. We also found that hunters who successfully harvested an animal were more likely to return questionnaires shortly after the initial wave of surveying. Finally, we found that older, nonresident, and urban hunters were more likely to return questionnaires. Our research demonstrates potential use of tailored mixed‐mode surveys to increase response rates.

Status and distribution of wild turkeys in the United States in 2019

AbstractAfter increases following restoration efforts, the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) population appeared to decline during the early 2000s in many areas of the species' range. The 2014 status assessment indicated that estimated population size, harvest, and hunter numbers had declined since at least 2009. Several studies concurrently detailed regional declines in productivity of wild turkey populations. During 2019, we continued to monitor status of wild turkey populations in the United States by surveying state agency biologists charged with overseeing wild turkey management programs. We asked biologists to provide estimates of population abundance and distribution within their state. We also requested that each biologist provide data on turkey hunter numbers and harvest for both spring and fall hunting seasons, if those data were available. Based on agency biologist responses, wild turkey population size declined by ~3% across states that contributed data to both the 2014 and 2019 status updates. However, during our 2019 survey, abundance data were unavailable for 12 states that reported estimates for the 2014 assessment. We estimated that the number of wild turkey hunters declined by 18% between the 2014 and 2019 assessments, but note the 2019 estimate was confounded by missing data from 8 states that provided data during 2014. Across all reporting states, fall and spring harvests decreased by 31 and 12%, respectively, between the 2014 and 2019 assessments. Despite widespread recognition that standardization of monitoring methods across states would facilitate more consistent inferences about wild turkey abundance, further progress towards regional or national standardization is needed. Furthermore, the approach of converting harvest data to a population estimate by dividing harvest estimates by a constant percentage of estimated take should be revisited to ensure accuracy, especially given known spatial and temporal variation in harvest pressure, hunting activity, and hunter behavior. We encourage continued development of improved techniques to estimate wild turkey abundance and distribution, and recommend that all states and provinces consider standardized methods to accurately monitor and report harvest and hunter effort.

Response rate and content differences between web and mail surveys

AbstractThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Commission) conducts an annual harvest survey of licensed wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunters to determine the proportion of license holders that hunt and the estimated total harvest. The harvest survey is traditionally conducted with a mailed postcard, which is increasingly costly and time‐consuming to administer. The Commission has considered using a less costly and less protracted web‐based survey. From 2012 through 2014, we conducted web and mail surveys of licensed turkey hunters to compare response rates and reported rate of hunting participation. The average response rate differed between mail and web survey respondents (25.5% and 16.5%, respectively). Rates of hunting participation also differed between the survey modes; 40.5% and 61.4%, respectively, of mail and web survey respondents said that they hunted during the previous spring season. When hunting participation rates were extrapolated to the total number of license holders in the state, the projected average number of hunters across the 3 years was 17,356 (52%) greater from the web survey than the mail survey. Demographic weighting (age class, sex, ethnicity, median household income, or urbanicity) failed to account for the difference in reported hunting participation between survey modes. Our results indicated that respondents of the 2 survey modes differed fundamentally in either their hunting behavior or in their propensity to respond to the surveys, both of which have ramifications when management decisions are based on the results of harvest surveys. Although a mixed‐mode survey may be a feasible option to reduce cost and still obtain accurate harvest estimates, we caution against abruptly switching from mail to web surveys given the vastly different outcomes.

Effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on 2020 spring turkey hunting across the United States

Spring wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunting is a foundational activity for many hunters across North America. Managing turkey hunters and turkey hunting is, therefore, a priority for state and provincial fish and wildlife management agencies. Early stages of the current SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19) pandemic in the United States coincided with 2020 spring turkey hunting seasons across the U.S. Potential effects of increases in peoples' time available for hunting on effort and turkey populations could have been substantial. We surveyed the primary wildlife biologist tasked with wild turkey management for each state and provincial jurisdiction with a huntable wild turkey population to determine turkey hunter and hunting dynamics before and during the spring 2020 turkey season. Biologists in 47 states responded to the survey. Results varied among states but hunting license sales, the number of hunters afield, harvest, total hunter‐days afield, and the number of days individual hunters were afield were greater in 2020 than the mean from the previous 3 years (2017–2019) in many states. Although hunting effort and total reported harvest increased in most states in 2020 from the previous 3‐year average, take‐per‐unit‐effort (i.e., harvest per hunter day) decreased in 93% of jurisdictions from which data were available, supporting the finding that increases in turkey harvest in spring 2020 were a result of a COVID‐related increase in participation and effort and not increases in turkey abundance. We recommend using these reference data for turkey population and turkey hunter monitoring pre‐ and post‐pandemic. Monitoring efforts should include wildlife population and habitat evaluations and study of hunter dynamics in a social science framework.

Connecting hunt outcomes to the demographics, behaviors, and experiences of wild turkey hunters in Mississippi

AbstractThe ability to evaluate population trends through time is essential to successful conservation of wildlife. Directly estimating abundance of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is difficult, with few practical options for wide‐scale population monitoring. As a result, managers often rely on abundance indices derived from hunter harvest. Catch‐per‐unit‐effort (CPUE) is a commonly used metric which standardizes harvest totals and has been shown to track turkey abundance, but its use is predicated on an assumption of spatially and temporally consistent hunter efficiency. From 2015–2018, we surveyed avid turkey hunters in Mississippi to evaluate mechanisms driving harvest efficiency. We questioned each hunter about their demographics and behaviors, collected observations from their hunts, and used 2‐stage hurdle models to relate these variables to individual CPUE. Hunter attributes had variable effects on hunt outcomes. Hunter age had a significant positive effect on the probability of harvesting at least one turkey (an approximate 2% gain in success per year of age) yet was only weakly associated with CPUE of successful hunters. When considering only successful hunters, the percentage of hunts in which a turkey was heard, and the standardized index of total turkey observations were related to CPUE. Additionally, we determined the tendency for hunters to miss a turkey during the hunting season decreased with increasing hunter age. Our results indicate individual characteristics subject to temporal change play a role in determining CPUE and thereby have the potential to mask trends in abundance derived from CPUE data. Moreover, evidence suggested relative hunter efficiency was amplified when turkey encounters were fewer. Collectively, our results urge caution in use of CPUE as a surrogate for abundance estimates.

Characteristics, attitudes, and motivations of hunting mentors in Florida

AbstractAcross the United States, conservation leaders have been concerned about declines in hunting participation because hunting license sales and taxes on the sale of equipment used for hunting generate a significant portion of wildlife conservation funding. Natural resource agencies have begun focusing on recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) initiatives to reverse this decline. These initiatives, in part, seek to increase participation in hunting and shooting sports of currently nonhunting audiences. One of the primary techniques used by the R3 initiative is to develop mentoring programs that provide hunting opportunities for participants with an experienced hunter. Because of its unique and flexible tactics (e.g., calling, still hunting vs run and gun hunting), turkey hunting affords a natural opportunity for mentoring to take place. However, to make mentoring programs efficient and effective, R3 practitioners must have an understanding of the demographics of mentors and what challenges or incentives may exist to participating in a mentoring program. Therefore, we surveyed Florida turkey hunters to (1) understand the demographics of turkey hunters who mentor and (2) assess the challenges, benefits, and incentives to mentoring other turkey hunters in Florida. In 2015, we collected a random sample of 2,817 Florida hunters eligible to hunt turkeys from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hunting license registry. A total of 710 respondents actively hunted turkeys in the state of Florida. Experienced turkey hunters who mentor perceived challenges (lack of time, interferes with their own hunting opportunity, unfamiliar with mentoring opportunities) less and viewed incentives less than novice and intermediate experienced mentoring hunters. Among wild turkey hunters in Florida, the propensity to mentor was greater among men and those who hunted private land and increased with level of turkey‐hunting experience. To recruit new mentors, agencies must increase awareness of formal mentor programs that focus a connection to public land access and provide recognition to the individuals attending.

The influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on spring turkey hunting

AbstractThe rapid rise of COVID‐19 and the governmental response to slow the spread of the pandemic occurred prior to, or during, the opening of the spring wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunting seasons (Mar to May 2020) in the United States. The response of fish and wildlife agencies to the pandemic varied throughout the United States during the spring turkey season. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) suspended the sale of non‐resident, spring turkey hunting permits on 30 March 2020 in a proactive effort to minimize the spread of COVID‐19. In this study, we evaluated the extent that the COVID‐19 pandemic affected the spring turkey permit sales and harvest in Nebraska, USA. We combined information from NGPC's electronic licensing system, responses from 2017–2019 spring turkey hunter surveys (pre‐pandemic), and responses from the 2020 (during the pandemic) spring turkey hunter survey, which included additional questions about the influence of COVID‐19 on respondents' hunting experiences. There was an increase in the number of resident hunters (23%) and resident permits sold (26%) and a decrease in the number of non‐resident hunters (−88%) and non‐resident permits sold (−89%) in 2020 as compared to the 3 years prior. Further, non‐residents, more so than Nebraska residents, claimed that the COVID‐19 pandemic affected their spring turkey hunting in their precautions taken, overall satisfaction, pre‐season planning for the spring turkey season, and plans made prior to the outbreak. Wildlife agencies should prepare for the potential effects that significant disruptions (like that observed with the COVID‐19 pandemic) might have on hunting participation, especially if a significant portion of revenue is derived from non‐resident permit sales, and develop plans and policies so that they can react appropriately.

First Record of the Blue Crawfish, Cambarus monongalensis Ortmann, 1905 (Decapoda: Cambaridae), from Ohio, USA

This paper documents the first record of the blue crawfish, Cambarus monongalensis Ortmann, 1905, in the state of Ohio, United States. The blue crawfish is a small- to medium-sized primary burrowing crayfish common in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Because of the prevalence of this species on the east side of the Ohio River, numerous researchers have sought the blue crawfish in Ohio—to no avail. On 16 May 2020, turkey hunters in Monroe County, Ohio, located a blue-colored crayfish and sent photos to one of the authors of this study. On 19 May 2020, the authors sampled in the vicinity of where the photo was taken and located 4 sites that yielded a total of 5 blue crawfish specimens, confirming the existence of this species in Ohio. Further research is needed on the blue crawfish to determine its range and abundance in Ohio, and to explore factors relating to its biogeography.

Movement Ecology of Spring Wild Turkey Hunters on Public Lands in South Carolina, USA

ABSTRACTWild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo spp., hereafter turkey) are the second most pursued big game species in the United States. Turkey hunting occurs primarily during spring, and on publicly owned lands managers often monitor hunter numbers and harvest as components of managing hunter opportunity and satisfaction. Contemporary research has shown that hunting activity on public lands can influence male turkey behavior; hence, research detailing hunter behaviors is needed to better support informed management. We allocated 1,500 Global Positioning System units to hunters pursuing male turkeys during the spring hunting seasons of 2014–2018 on the Webb Wildlife Management Area Complex in South Carolina, USA. Mean number of unique hunting bouts per hunter per day was 2 (SE = 0.03, range = 1–8), whereas average time spent hunting was 230.1 minutes (SE = 4.6, range = 11.3–872.6)/hunter/day. Hunting effort was focused during the first half of hunting season, with 70.2% of the total time spent hunting occurring during the first 2 weeks of the season (~1–15 Apr). Mean distance a hunter traveled was 2,171 m (SE = 38.1, range = 10–20,685)/hunting bout. Almost 90% of hunting activity occurred between 0500 and 1200, 76% occurred before 1000. Access to roads appeared to be the primary driver of hunter movements, with 40.1% of all hunter locations <25 m from the nearest main or secondary road. On average, hunters were 480 m (SE = 0.5, range = 0–2,132) from main roads that allowed vehicle traffic, but only 123 m (SE = 0.3, range = 0–1,990) from secondary roads allowing only foot traffic. Hunters spent 54.3% of hunting bouts actively hunting and 45.7% stationary. The amount of time spent active decreased as the hunting season progressed. Hunter effort decreased significantly as the hunting season progressed, indicated by a decline in numbers of hunters and total time spent hunting. Understanding how and when turkey hunters move about the landscape is important for effectively managing hunting access and opportunity on public hunting lands. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Seasonal and Regional Differences in Economic Benefits of Turkey Hunting

ABSTRACTWild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris; hereafter, turkey) hunting is a popular outdoor recreation activity in many states, including Tennessee, USA. Despite its cultural and social significance, economic benefits associated with turkey hunting are largely unknown. Past economic studies either focused on other big game species or provided generic value for big game, and do not offer benefit estimates specific to turkey. We estimated a demand model for turkey hunting trips in Tennessee and quantified per‐trip and statewide aggregate value of turkey hunting. We compared the net economic value of turkey hunting trips between hunting seasons (autumn and spring) and wildlife management regions that differ in many aspects including turkey population, hunting regulations, etc. Per person per trip value of turkey hunting ranged between US$34 and US$90 depending on the modeling assumption regarding hunters’ opportunity cost of time. Moreover, estimated value differed among regions and between hunting seasons, with the value of a turkey‐hunting trip in the spring season being twice that of the autumn season. Many states in southern United States, including Tennessee, have recently experienced declines in turkey populations and are in need of economic justifications for investment in research and management. Our results are useful to wildlife agencies in characterizing economic benefits of turkey hunting and evaluating the welfare implications of regulations (e.g., closure, reduction in season length) restricting or expanding hunting opportunities. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Spatial-temporal dynamics of hunter effort for wild turkeys in Michigan.

Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo; hereafter turkeys) are an important game animal whose popularity among hunters has increased in recent decades. Yet, the number of hunters pursuing turkeys appears to be in flux, patterns of hunter abundance have primarily been described at broad spatial scales, and the ability of management to impact hunter numbers in the post-restoration era of management through opportunity for quality hunting is unclear. We used county-scale estimates of turkey hunter numbers collected over a 14-year period (2001–2014) and time-series analyses to evaluate the spatial scales at which spring and fall turkey hunter populations fluctuate, and also used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate whether attributes related to quality turkey hunting explain recent patterns in hunter abundance. We found heterogeneity in turkey hunter population growth at finer spatial scales than has been previously described (i.e., counties and management units), and provide evidence for spatial structuring of hunter population dynamics among counties that did not always correspond with existing management units. Specifically, the directionality of hunter population change displays spatial structure along an east-west gradient in southern Michigan. We also found little evidence that factors providing opportunity for quality turkey hunting had meaningful impacts on recent spatial-temporal patterns of hunter numbers. Our results imply that providing quality turkey hunting opportunities alone may be insufficient for sustaining populations of turkey hunters in the future, and that modern determinants of hunter participation extend beyond the availability of abundant turkey populations. Moreover, our results demonstrate that interpretation of harvest data as indices of abundance for turkey populations is difficult in the absence of hunter effort data, as changes to turkey harvest are a function of potentially fine-scaled changes in populations of hunters, not simply changes to turkey populations.

Comparison of Merriam's Turkey Harvest Strategies and Survival in Northern Arizona

ABSTRACTWe compared annual survival and hunting‐related mortality of female Merriam's turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) between a period of relatively liberal hunting regulation (before 1990) and after implementation of a more conservative hunting regulation (after 1991) in Arizona, USA, to determine how those regulation changes affected hunting opportunity. Between January 2013 and October 2016, we used radiotelemetry to estimate survival and mortality rates of 185 female wild turkeys (60 juvenile, 125 adult) on 3 study areas in northern Arizona, which we compared with survival and mortality rates documented during an earlier study (1987–1990; Wakeling 1991). We used the nest survival approach in Program MARK to estimate survival and mortality rates for turkeys. Annual survival rate for radiomarked hens was 0.649 (95% CI = 0.597–0.702). Annual survival differed among Game Management Units, but not by season, year, age, or age × season interaction. Harvest rates were 0.024 (95% CI = 0.011–0.51) and 0.039 (95% CI = 0.022–0.071) for females during spring (Mar–May) and fall (Aug–Oct), respectively. The overall human‐caused mortality rate (i.e., fall harvest, spring harvest, unlawful take, wounding loss) was 0.073 (95% CI = 0.046–0.115). The decision to restrict fall turkey hunting opportunities using a regulated permit system had little effect on female turkey survival and hunting‐related mortality, but reduced the number of turkey hunters that could participate by 43%. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Identifying factors influencing hunter satisfaction across hunting activities in Nebraska

ABSTRACTUsing an online survey completed by individuals who hunted deer, waterfowl, upland game, or spring turkey in Nebraska during the 2017–2018 hunting seasons, we applied importance-grid analysis (IGA) and penalty-reward-contrast analysis (PRCA) to examine how activity-related attributes are related to satisfaction for each type of hunting activity. Effective response rates for the deer, waterfowl, small and upland-game, and spring turkey hunting surveys were 23%, 16%, 19%, and 27%, respectively. Results suggested that among hunting activities, different attributes were related to their sense of satisfaction. PRCA identified “seeing game animals” as a minimum requirement for participation in all activities except waterfowl hunting. “Seeing game birds” and “harvesting the daily bag limit” were identified as attributes that related to satisfaction and dissatisfaction among waterfowl hunters. Our study provides insights into factors that are important to satisfaction for each hunting activity.

The influence of motivation versus experience on recreation satisfaction: How appreciative- versus achievement-oriented recreation experience preferences relate to hunter satisfaction

We present methods derived from customer satisfaction research that clarify factors influential to the satisfaction of recreation participants. We conducted mail surveys of Minnesota wild turkey hunters to explore differences between the explicit (i.e., stated) and implicit (i.e., derived from the relationship to satisfaction) importance of recreation experience preferences. Revised importance performance analysis, importance grid analysis, and penalty reward contrast analysis revealed differences between the explicit and implicit importance of recreation experiences and clarified how activity success may influence the relationship between experiences and satisfaction. We found some support for our hypothesis that experiences related to achievement (of goals for an activity) may more strongly relate to satisfaction than experiences related to appreciation (of nature) or affiliation (with family and friends). Our results emphasized the importance of activity-specific experiences over activity-general experiences for both successful and unsuccessful hunters and exposed a “motivation matching” process related to harvest success.

Gobbling chronology of eastern wild turkeys in South Carolina

ABSTRACTEastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) use a polygynous‐promiscuous mating system, wherein males compete for mating opportunities and communicate with females via courtship behaviors. One courtship behavior is vocalization (gobbling), which attracts females and signals dominance to other males. However, temporal variation in gobbling activity may be influenced by external stimuli, environmental variation, and hunter activity. Gobbling activity is a key determinant of hunter satisfaction, and gobbling chronology is often used by state agencies to inform regulatory processes. To identify factors influencing gobbling activity, we evaluated daily gobbling chronology on 3 sites in South Carolina, USA (Webb Wildlife Management Area [WMA] Complex, Savannah River Site, Crackerneck WMA) with different levels of hunter activity. We used autonomous recording units (ARUs; n = 45) across 8,280 days to collect 53,937 hours of ambient sound recordings and identified 68,426 gobbles. Gobbling activity varied daily and site interacting with minutes since sunrise best predicted daily gobbling activity. We noted distinct differences in predicted numbers of gobbles between hunted sites and an unhunted site, suggesting that hunting may be an important determinant of gobbling activity. Across our study sites, we observed that ≥72% of gobbling activity occurred between 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after sunrise. We found no clear evidence of well‐defined unimodal or bimodal peaks in daily or weekly gobbling activity. Across sites, <44% of gobbling activity occurred during legal hunting seasons in South Carolina, with between 30% and 48% of gobbling activity occurring after legal hunting seasons. Because hunter satisfaction is primarily influenced by gobbling activity, wildlife managers in South Carolina may consider adjusting dates of turkey hunting seasons to correspond hunting with periods when most gobbling occurs. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

Motivations and support for regulations: a typology of eastern wild turkey hunters

ABSTRACTTo determine the diverse motivations of eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunters, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and mailed to a sample of 5,000 licensed turkey hunters in Tennessee (response rate = 36%). A cluster analysis yielded three types of respondents in terms of their hunting motivations: social harvesters (44%), experiential harvesters (22%), and social outdoor enthusiasts (34%). Hunters in these segments were then analyzed to compare their support for various hunting regulations. While 61% of Tennessee eastern wild turkey hunters reported to be satisfied with current regulations, harvest-motivated hunters were less receptive to regulations that would limit season lengths or bag limits while socially motivated hunters were more accepting. The hunter groups did not differ in their preference for decentralizing regulations by management zones. Findings from this article may guide wildlife managers in designing socially acceptable regulations.

Explicit versus implicit motivations: Clarifying how experiences affect turkey hunter satisfaction using revised importance-performance, importance grid, and penalty-reward-contrast analyses

ABSTRACTAlthough research has advanced methods for clarifying factors that relate to customer satisfaction, they have not been embraced by leisure researchers. Using results from a survey of wild turkey hunters, we applied traditional and revised importance-performance (IPA/RIPA), importance-grid analysis (IGA), and penalty-reward-contrast analysis (PRCA) to examine how activity-specific factors influenced satisfaction. Results suggested differences between the explicit and implicit importance of factors related to turkey hunting. Opportunities to kill turkeys were explicitly rated as less important than seeing, hearing, or calling in turkeys, but opportunities for harvest had relatively higher levels of implicit importance. PRCA identified “calling turkeys in” and “hearing gobbling” as minimum requirements that cause dissatisfaction if not fulfilled, but do not provide satisfaction, whereas “seeing turkeys” and an “opportunity to kill a turkey” related to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. RIPA, IGA, and PRCA could provide valuable insights about factors that may improve satisfaction for leisure participants.

Discrete choice modeling of season choice for Minnesota turkey hunters

ABSTRACTRecreational turkey hunting exemplifies the interdisciplinary nature of modern wildlife management. Turkey populations in Minnesota have reached social or biological carrying capacities in many areas, and changes to turkey hunting regulations have been proposed by stakeholders and wildlife managers. This study employed discrete stated choice modeling to enhance understanding of turkey hunter preferences about regulatory alternatives. We distributed mail surveys to 2,500 resident turkey hunters. Results suggest that, compared to season structure and lotteries, additional permits and level of potential interference from other hunters most influenced hunter preferences for regulatory alternatives. Low hunter interference was preferred to moderate or high interference. A second permit issued only to unsuccessful hunters was preferred to no second permit or permits for all hunters. Results suggest that utility is not strictly defined by harvest or an individual's material gain but can involve preference for other outcomes that on the surface do not materially benefit an individual. Discrete stated choice modeling offers wildlife managers an effective way to assess constituent preferences related to new regulations before implementing them. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.