The Turkey Hunter Podcast with Andy Gagliano & Cameron Weddington | Turkey Hunting Tips, Strategies, and Stories · Andy Gagliano

490 - The Final Results from the 2024 Raffle Hunt with Mark Hatfield

·1 hr 16 min·5 clips

Mark Hatfield unveils a study investigating if insecticides are secretly harming turkey breeding success.

Andy Gagliano and Cameron Weddington host this episode with Mark Hatfield, the National Director of Science and Planning for the National Wild Turkey Federation. The episode details the final results and allocation of funds from the podcast's 2024 charity turkey hunt raffle. Mark Hatfield explains the NWTF's research funding process and the specific projects supported by the raffle's proceeds. The hosts raised $4,000 from the raffle, splitting the donation evenly between the NWTF and Turkeys for Tomorrow. The NWTF directed its $2,000 share into its 2024 wild turkey research grant program. Mark explains the NWTF has invested over $10 million in research since its founding, with 2024 setting a new record for funds distributed. This year, the organization solicited nine research proposals requesting a total of $850,000. The NWTF, alongside partners like Bass Pro Cabela's Outdoor Fund and Mossy Oak, ultimately allocated over $655,000 to fund these nine selected projects. The funded studies span multiple states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Texas. One project in Arizona focuses on Gould's wild turkeys, studying their nest selection, initiation dates, and dispersal to inform future hunting opportunities. A southeastern project will investigate how habitat quality and supplemental feeding practices impact turkey reproduction and recruitment. Another study in Florida aims to develop better methods for estimating wild turkey population abundance. Research in Georgia and South Carolina will monitor individual male turkeys to analyze peaks and valleys in gobbling activity and its relationship to nesting chronology. Mark notes that understanding gobbling chronology is crucial for aligning hunting seasons with periods of high gobbling activity and nest initiation. He emphasizes that modern turkey management operates in a "post-restoration era," requiring new science to address contemporary population challenges. A surprising insight is that the $2,000 raffle donation, while a specific amount, was leveraged to help fully or partially fund larger, multi-state research initiatives. Mark reveals he personally helped trap Gould's turkeys in Mexico, the last such effort to bring them into the U.S., giving him a personal connection to the Arizona study. The discussion challenges common hunter assertions, like the need to "shoot more hens" to improve hunting, by highlighting the lack of scientific evidence for that as a management tool in most current scenarios. The tone is conversational and educational, blending casual hunter banter with detailed explanations of conservation science. The hosts and guest maintain a friendly, collaborative atmosphere while diving into complex wildlife management topics. This episode is ideal for turkey hunters interested in conservation, those who contributed to the raffle, and anyone wanting to understand how their donations support wild turkey research. Listeners seeking purely tactical hunting tips or narrative hunt stories might find less immediate relevance in this funding-focused discussion.

As heard by us

A donation decision becomes a clear case for research dollars with regional reach.

This episode follows how donated raffle money was split among nine research projects in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas.

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See how a raffle donation turns into nine turkey research projects across several states.

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