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Spring Javelina Permits Down, Turkey Permits Are Increasing

            The recommended 2002 spring javelina hunt-permit level is down slightly from last year, primarily due to low reproduction-recruitment rates, but the hunt-permit level for spring turkey will likely increase.

            The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is meeting Aug. 10-11 in Flagstaff at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel on 1175 W. Route 66. The commission will consider the department’s recommendations for spring javelina, turkey, bear and buffalo during its Saturday, Aug. 11 portion of the meeting.

            Big Game Supervisor Brian Wakeling said surveys in January this year showed javelina reproduction and survival rates (called recruitment) were down due to prolonged drought. “Based on the habitat response to good winter and spring precipitation, we suspect that javelina reproduction this spring could have been on the upswing, but it is not something we have scientifically documented at this point.”

            The Game and Fish Department is recommending that the commission reduce the general firearms javelina permits by 380 to 11,705, allow archery permits to remain unchanged at 9,665, and decrease the Handgun, Archery and Muzzleloader permits by 175 to 6,600. The Juniors-Only Javelina Season is recommended for a 90-permit decrease to 440 permits. Twenty-one Juniors-Only Permits were not issued last year because the hunt in Unit 24B was under subscribed.

            Spring turkey is a different story. A series of mild winters in the high country has resulted in good turkey survival rates, and the use of “turkey management scorecards” has resulted in an increased harvest the past four consecutive years. The scorecards help wildlife managers determine permit levels, and whether a unit should have a stratified hunt or not. Stratified hunts can actually help put more hunters afield while keeping hunter densities down, thus retaining a high hunt quality.

            Since the scorecard-system has been in place, the spring turkey harvest has increased steadily each year from 631, to 660, to 671, to 760, to 950, and now to 1,036. “The 2001 harvest represents a new record, exceeding the old record by more than 9 percent,” Wakeling said.

                Another bright spot on the turkey scene is the Juniors-Only Turkey Season. Last year was the third consecutive season for a Juniors-Only Turkey hunt. There were 180 permits offered in six hunt areas. The young hunters harvested 31 birds, which equates to a 20 percent hunter success.