Will try n keep this brief.
Past spring the boy turned 10 and got his license and we had a blast in the turkey woods,...but I noticed a lot of competition for time with regards to school, sports, schedule, etc and waking him up at 0430 hrs to hunt before school wasn't working out too often. So D week offered PM outings and it was a nice option.
So,...I proposed to the Council in mid summer to allow youths all day turkey hunting all season, knowing that the bottom line to the future of our beloved passions for the outdoors is in the hands of our next generation of sportsmen and women, and, oh, btw,...besides maybe a trapper, a hard nosed, curly wolf turkey hunter is one of the most elite woodsman, and a good person to trust our passions with! Next, I received an email from a biologist who cited mainly hen/nest disturbance as a negative impact from all day turkey hunting, citing very few studies in other states that allow it, and these studies were probably not focused on youth hunters ( apparently his main concern is hens busted off nests won't return n will abandon nest n try n get bred again).
So,...after mtg w a good friend and a professional in the wildlife field, (who ironically enough, can remember only ever busting a hen off nest 1 time in his 50+ yrs of turkey hunting and that was in WV), we wondered if the council would again entertain the proposal w a clause stating that youths could hunt PM hunt all season if the PM hunts were confined to a blind, thus averting the biologists concerns of hen/nest disturbance by "mobile youth turkey hunters and offering quality time for youths and their mentors in the spring turkey woods.
So,...fire off my amended proposal, and it wasn't met with much opposition except the proposal would have to wait til the next game code change in 3 yrs and "perhaps the state can poll youth turkey hunters to see how many utilize blinds while hunting", (which most successful youths do because it's more effective) because the Council meets in September and does not have any time to address my amended proposal and the only thing they can vote on is being more restrictive w seasons and bag limits.
Well, that doesn't sit well with me, especially when you add in the couple of weeks waiting for replies, and the fact my boy will be 14 by the time the next game code gets approved (council changes code every 2 yrs to adjust seasons n bag limits based on harvest, studies, etc)
So,...who is the guy that always sets up those Polls on here,...wondering how to poll who has youth hunters, who would use more PM youth hunts in blinds, who has busted hens off nests, who believes one of the most important values is to pass on our outdoors passions to our youth, etc etc
Past spring the boy turned 10 and got his license and we had a blast in the turkey woods,...but I noticed a lot of competition for time with regards to school, sports, schedule, etc and waking him up at 0430 hrs to hunt before school wasn't working out too often. So D week offered PM outings and it was a nice option.
So,...I proposed to the Council in mid summer to allow youths all day turkey hunting all season, knowing that the bottom line to the future of our beloved passions for the outdoors is in the hands of our next generation of sportsmen and women, and, oh, btw,...besides maybe a trapper, a hard nosed, curly wolf turkey hunter is one of the most elite woodsman, and a good person to trust our passions with! Next, I received an email from a biologist who cited mainly hen/nest disturbance as a negative impact from all day turkey hunting, citing very few studies in other states that allow it, and these studies were probably not focused on youth hunters ( apparently his main concern is hens busted off nests won't return n will abandon nest n try n get bred again).
So,...after mtg w a good friend and a professional in the wildlife field, (who ironically enough, can remember only ever busting a hen off nest 1 time in his 50+ yrs of turkey hunting and that was in WV), we wondered if the council would again entertain the proposal w a clause stating that youths could hunt PM hunt all season if the PM hunts were confined to a blind, thus averting the biologists concerns of hen/nest disturbance by "mobile youth turkey hunters and offering quality time for youths and their mentors in the spring turkey woods.
So,...fire off my amended proposal, and it wasn't met with much opposition except the proposal would have to wait til the next game code change in 3 yrs and "perhaps the state can poll youth turkey hunters to see how many utilize blinds while hunting", (which most successful youths do because it's more effective) because the Council meets in September and does not have any time to address my amended proposal and the only thing they can vote on is being more restrictive w seasons and bag limits.
Well, that doesn't sit well with me, especially when you add in the couple of weeks waiting for replies, and the fact my boy will be 14 by the time the next game code gets approved (council changes code every 2 yrs to adjust seasons n bag limits based on harvest, studies, etc)
So,...who is the guy that always sets up those Polls on here,...wondering how to poll who has youth hunters, who would use more PM youth hunts in blinds, who has busted hens off nests, who believes one of the most important values is to pass on our outdoors passions to our youth, etc etc
