Less than a month after Mississippi's wild turkey season ended last spring, I got an e-mail from one of my turkey hunting buddies who signed off with: "Only 297 days until turkey season opens -- can't wait!" That attitude is pretty typical of most Magnolia State turkey hunters that I know. It's certainly true for me -- and thank goodness that the long wait is almost over!

Mississippi turkey hunters can expect to find numbers of gobblers similar to those encountered last season. Photo by Steve Gulledge.

Mississippi's spring gobbler season opens March 14. If you haven't already done so, it's time to make plans for getting your bronze baron.

Our state boasts some of the best turkey hunting in the nation. The responsibility for managing the wild turkey flock falls on the shoulders of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks through its wild turkey program, recognized as one of the best programs in the nation. And MDWFP biologist Dave Godwin, small game and wild turkey coordinator, is a great source of information about wild turkeys in your neck of the woods.

WHAT'S NEW WITH TURKEYS?
According to Godwin, several things are worth mentioning. Perhaps the most noteworthy is the addition of two new wildlife biologists to the turkey program: Adam Butler, who joined the MDWFP as program leader, and Joe Koloski, who came aboard through a co-op program and whose position with the agency is funded in part by the Mississippi Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Godwin is excited about the new Private Lands Habitat Program that employs three additional biologists solely for working with private landowners in the state. The goal of that program is to get landowners actively involved in habitat management on their properties. The biologists, available free of charge for on-site visits, make habitat management recommendations to landowners that can lead to improved habitat and better hunting.

WILD TURKEY FORECAST
Wild turkey populations' fluctuation over time will be affected by many factors. The all-important hatch influences turkey numbers yearly. A wet spring is usually understood by turkey hunters as bad news for the hatch. Predation on turkey nests too will have an effect on the number of poults surviving to adulthood.

Carryover of turkeys from season to season is another determinant of annual population size; disease can contribute significantly to variability here. Often we see turkeys doing well in some areas and not so hot in others.

By some accounts, Mississippi's wild turkey population hit its peak in 1987. I remember hunting back then and finding plenty of gobbling toms, but not in the immediate area where I lived and preferred to hunt. Based on my own observations, turkey numbers in my area were much higher in 2003 and 2004 than 20 years earlier.

Not to be forgotten is the role of habitat. When turkey numbers are high, you can find turkeys even in habitat considered marginal; when low, you can count on more birds being present in the best habitat. Turkey hunters having a lean year should keep this in mind. A one-county move can mean the difference between locating gobblers or being met with silence on those beautiful spring mornings.

Lack of a place to hunt is no excuse in Mississippi, as we're blessed with plenty of public hunting opportunities. Covering approximately 676,000 acres in total, the 49 wildlife management areas operated by the MDWFP are strewn through every section of the state.