Springfield #1 in wild turkey kills

Wild turkeys were wiped out in post-Colonial times by over-hunting and a loss of suitable habitat. They were reintroduced back into Vermont in 1969 and 1970, in Pawlet and in Hubbardton.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150315/FEATURES02/703159963

A successful turkey hunter carries a mature gobbler out of the woods in Hubbardton in May 2014. The rates of hunter success for a number of counties in southern Vermont have dropped dramatically, while turkey hunters in northern Vermont are seeing record kills. Photo: Photo by Dennis JensenPublished March 15, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Turkey kill numbers are vexing, to say the least The invitation came in the middle of May and we didn’t get up to Danville until later in the month. If you know anything about spring turkey hunting, then you are probably aware that setting out in new terrain, in country that has not been scouted, in the latter part of the season, is like going to the senior prom, halfway through the evening, looking for a date. All of this came back to me the other day while I was looking over some old clips about spring turkey hunting more than a decade ago. I came upon a column out of Danville about a turkey hunt in 2005. I was joined by longtime hunting pal Paul Davoren. Our host was Alan Parker. The woods were awfully quiet, in terms of hearing any gobbling. As it turned out, Paul shot a jake bird — that’s a 1-year-old tom turkey — on the first day out. All of this was turning around in my head after I took a long look at the 2014 Vermont Wild Turkey Harvest Report, released recently by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. And here’s the part that really caught my attention: While several southern Vermont counties, counties that led the turkey kill, year after year, have witnessed a disturbing decline in numbers, the rate of hunter success in two Northeast Kingdom counties has increased in dramatic fashion. And those places, towns such as Pawlet, Benson and Poultney, which once dominated in terms of the turkey kill, have dropped like the temperatures of February. In 2003, for example, the Rutland County town of Benson led all municipalities in the state with 71 birds taken. In 2014, that number dropped way down to 35 birds, nowhere near the top of the chart. Pawlet was third in 2003, with 66 birds. That number dropped significantly in 2014, to just 38 birds. And how is this for a troubling trend? Rutland County led the state in 2003 with 658 bearded birds. In 2014, Rutland County tumbled to fourth place with 460 birds. But it gets even worse. Addison County finished in second place in 2003 with 532 birds. Last year? Addison County finished ninth out of 14 counties with 349 birds. Meanwhile, turkey hunters in northern Vermont are putting southern Vermont hunters to shame, at least when it comes to the total kill. Orange County had the second-highest kill with 540 birds, up from fourth place in 2003. But the really interesting part of the report — and it’s a phenomenon that has taken off during the past several years — is the rate of hunter success in Caledonia County and Orleans County, way up in the Northeast Kingdom. Caledonia County finished in third place — ahead of Rutland County — with 485 birds. And Orleans County, which was listed in tenth place back in 2003, took fifth place with 443 birds. To even further cloud the data, Windsor County, in southern Vermont, led all counties in the state with 645 birds reported. And the Windsor County town of Springfield led all towns with 81 birds reported. What the heck is going on here? Scott Darling, a biologist and former turkey project leader with Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, said in an interview that wildlife biologists in a number of other states are seeing drastic changes in turkey populations. And they are all scratching their heads. “We met this past week and focused a bit on the turkey project,” Darling said. “There is a concern across many states that are seeing declines in turkey populations, in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and parts of New York, and they’re trying to figure out why.” Wild turkeys were wiped out in post-Colonial times by over-hunting and a loss of suitable habitat. Vermont reintroduced wild turkeys back into Vermont in 1969 and 1970, in Pawlet and in Hubbardton. The birds quickly adapted and their populations took off. Every year, the numbers of birds increased. Today, the department estimates the population of wild turkeys to be anywhere from 45,000 to 60,000 birds. Why would some populations decline, especially in southern Vermont, with lots of oak trees dropping acorns, a favored food of wild turkeys, and with plenty of farmland? “There is a history that, when you re-introduce a species, they explode and take advantage of the habitat. The reproductive rate increases dramatically. But as they encroach on new habitat, their numbers can skyrocket past the carrying capacity of the habitat and then the population may recalibrate,” Darling said. There could be other factors as well, such as less hunting pressure down in southern Vermont and more pressure, by hunters up north. Darling said the Vermont turkey team is taking a wait-and-see attitude, awaiting the results of studies, outside of Vermont “This is just a phenomenon that is being observed in other places, in other states,” he said. “There is a lot of money being spent in other states to evaluate all of this, and we’ll be paying close attention to whatever their findings are.” Mark Scott, the director of wildlife for Fish & Wildlife and a hell of a turkey hunter, said he has personally observed the trend in how turkey hunting opportunities have expanded in northern Vermont. Scott, a Rutland native who now resides in Barre, said back in the early days of turkey hunting, he would take the first week of the turkey season off, travel to Rutland County “and go down there and hunt. It wasn’t until the 1990s when I found that I have no problems finding birds up here. I was finding more birds than I was in Rutland County.” Meanwhile, we will not be taking a wait-and-see attitude. I think I’m going to pack up all my gear on April 30, pick up Dan, my spring turkey hunting partner, and point the old pickup truck to points north, where the wild turkeys seem to have found a new home. Mark Scott, the director of wildlife for Fish & Wildlife and a hell of a turkey hunter, said he has personally observed the trend in how turkey hunting opportunities have expanded in northern Vermont. Scott, a Rutland native who now resides in Barre, said back in the early days of turkey hunting, he would take the first week of the turkey season off, travel to Rutland County “and go down there and hunt. It wasn’t until the 1990s when I found that I have no problems finding birds up here. I was finding more birds than I was in Rutland County.” Meanwhile, we will not be taking a wait-and-see attitude. I think I’m going to pack up all my gear on April 30, pick up Dan, my spring turkey hunting partner, and point the old pickup truck to points north, where the wild turkeys seem to have found a new home.