Turkey Season- Has your state closed it?
Turkey
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Our turkey season is about three weeks away. Has your state closed the turkey season because of the Coronavirus?
Not MO or KS, at least not as of yet. I purchased both tags on-line today.
Nope alive well here,almost.This bird get killed by corona but a rage did a job on him.
Forgot Florida Osceola Highlands county
Hope not, ours is scheduled to open Saturday!
That’s a great pic Dollar. The colors are amazing. Congrats!
Give me one good reason they would close a season where there is no contact with humanoids?
I am packed and heading for Nebraska in the AM for the Wed. opener. Social distancing for sure but not when it come to that tom turkey at 6 ft.
I am packed and heading for Nebraska in the AM for the Wed. opener. Social distancing for sure but not when it come to that tom turkey at 6 ft.
Can't see any reason to close turkey season. Being out in the woods away from society is a good thing all the time but especially so now.
They close ours, we riot !!! :)
Pritzker shut down Illinois state parks and WMA’s so his state employees can stay home and not work. This was political payback for their votes last election. Illinois taxpayers need safe places to go during this virus shut down, not shut down. All the other Midwest states state parks and WMA’s are left open. Iowa DNR is running radio ads encouraging families to utilize and get in the outdoors! Wisconsin even waived all state park entry fees!
The Illinois governor in essence cancelled their turkey season on public lands by closing all the state parks and WMA's, but then released this notice today. Standing by to see what is decided. I have two IL tags, two WI & one IN. All public.
Clarification to "Stay at home" Executive Order and fake news alert.
We have received a number of questions regarding hunting and fishing during the Governor's mandatory "Stay at home" Executive Order. We have now received clarification from the Governor's Office about this issue. Please see the message below.
---"As long as our sportsmen and women are fishing or hunting at a site which is currently open (State Parks, Fish and Wildlife Areas, Recreational Areas, and Historic Sites are currently closed) and they have the appropriate licenses and permits, they may continue to hunt and fish during the stay at home order."---
Secondly, we have been made aware of a rumor and fake news website stating IDNR is closing the 2020 - 2021 hunting seasons. This is completely FALSE. Please do not spread these lies and create more anxiety for the public and your fellow outdoorsmen and more unnecessary work for our CPOs and IDNR staff.
Finally, we have received questions reference Site Specific Turkey permits. IDNR Permitting Division is looking into all possible solutions to this issue and will provide an update as soon as possible. IDNR is bound by Statute, Administrative Rules, and Executive Orders and are doing all they legally can to come up with solutions.
We understand this is a difficult time for many people, please remember why this is being done and do your part to keep those around you and those in your community safe and healthy. Never before have you been able to help so much by doing so little.
Florida has closed a lot of the beaches,go figure.Never heard of going to the beach and catching a cold.Also closed the parks,boat ramps,camp grounds,shooting ranges,etc..
Mine starts here April 11th so I haven't heard anything about closing it?
Good luck, Robb
They can take my turkey season when they pry it from my cold dead hands. If I can still go to work everyday I can still turkey hunt. :)
I'm with Teeton and Brotsky. If they try to close PA season, good luck finding me out in the turkey woods! ;-)
I always thought you were a Turkey NUT! ;-)
Alabama is open, Tennessee opens April 4. Closing the turkey season down here would be almost as bad as trying to confiscate guns.
The season does not open here until May 4th.
Still on here in the Bay State... We have a Governor issued "Stay home order"... But specifically can go outside to get some air and exercise so long as we sustain physical distancing while doing so. Hard to see turkey hunting as not following those rules...
Nope, it’s open here in Ga. I’ll be working on my social distancing skills here until May 15th, or I limit out, whichever comes first.
FL still open but they closed WMA camping
I don’t think they would close turkey hunting?? Still a few weeks to go here in Colorado but they might never know
Illinois season is on hold until they find a way to tax it more.
Iowa is open for turkey business on 4/13.
Michigan DNR stated that we should enjoy the great outdoors while social distancing. This was announced a day before we where put on lock down by the governor. Our turkey season doesn't open for a few more weeks, I've been tasked with taking a newbie out this season, my step-dad, so I'm hoping we're in the clear by then.
They opened up fishing season a month early up here to get people outdoors. Turkey season is on.
San Carlos Indian Rez.closed turkey season a couple days ago in Arizona.
All this BS is why I hunt private land. Mine and other farmers, close turkey season....yeah...I don't think so..come find me.
Looks like we're good to go in Indiana. The IDNR sent out the following email update this morning:
"Practice social distancing while enjoying fresh air and bagging a bird. Spring turkey season runs from April 22 – May 10.Youth wild turkey season is April 18-19. The season bag limit is one bearded or male turkey per hunter in the youth/spring season. Purchase your spring turkey license online."
Just now got tags for my wife and myself for Iowa. They’ll have to post an armed guard outside our back door to keep us from going, if they shut the season down. Had birds gobbling just up the hill from the house this morning.
Same thing for these goodies.
In Florida the WMAs are still open. If there are check stations, they have closed them. That means that there is no check in/out. However, virtually all available camping is closed. Hotels and restaurants are iffy. My camping was cancelled. So, I'll be driving back and forth daily. Just a little less sleep. No worries. I will, however, miss my time off the grid.
Well, they closed the whole state of Washington to all fishing and clam digging. So nothing surprises me anymore.
Yep. They closed our tennis courts. Been playing tennis with my daughter 2-3 x/wk since she can't swim(all pools are closed and no practice). Tennis- where you are outside and never closer than 30 ft apart and only 2 people on a court. How much safer can you get?! ;-)
Are people actually following those rules?
Nope
Nope
Youth season today and officially next Saturday twra is actually encouraging hunters to get out and go good luck all Lewis
Fort Campbell closed the turkey season on Friday hopefully KY will open as usual in a few weeks.
Pa. has made it pretty cleary that our public land will stay open. State parks are only closed as to gathering points like cabins or other reserved areas where folks can congregate. Wild areas are there to use and in Pa., counting state forests, sgl, and state parks, we have about 4 million acres to play in. Pretty easy to practice "stay the heck away from me" in huge areas. ;)
Some reservations have cancelled their seasons because they don't want hunters coming into their communities, from other areas, and bringing the virus with them.
Nebraska just closed sales of Non Resident turkey licenses.
Good thing I bought licenses for Nebraska last week! We’re camping and hunting a large private property. Only stop is once for gas in 5 days. We already told the farmer we wont be seeing him
So no notice or explanation at all from NE game and fish saying they are no longer selling NR permits. Nothing on their COVID-19 page. Just no permits available. Weird.
There will be an official announcement from Nebraska G&P today is what I’ve heard.
Not in MN as its excluded. However some communities have made mention of "enforcing the no-travel rule." Really?? If I practice safe distancing, don't stop anywhere except the hunting area, my job class excludes me per the governor's order , hunting, fishing is excluded by the state what the hell business is it of yours?? This is America, time to start acting like it before rights start being stripped away as an excuse..
Washington state closed youth turkey and 6 bear units that open April 1. Sad times we are seeing right now!!
ILLINOIS (WAND) - Illinois officials are canceling hunting and fishing on state-managed or state-owned sites while they're closed during the pandemic.
The decision to close parks was "extremely difficult", the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said in a press release, but "was the right one" as officials saw large crowds showing up at state-owned parks across the U.S. All state parks, fish and wildlife areas, recreational areas and historic sites owned by Illinois were closed March 15.
As a result, all upcoming scheduling events, including but not limited to hunting and fishing on state-owned or state-managed sites, have been canceled. In a Tuesday announcement, the DNR said this change will be in effect while the state sites are closed.
DNR officials noted they can't give out refunds or transfer permits under current administrative rules. They said "all possible solutions" to the problems this situation creates for sportsmen and women are under review.
——————————————————————
Why am I not surprised by the Thief Pritzker and the state of Illinois solving their problem by sending the bill to honest sportsmen. We all get to throw our turkey tags in the garbage while the state keeps all the thousands of dollars in fees they charged us for them. No refunds. Not even a “We’re sorry”. The DNR just says “It’s not our fault. We are mandated by legislation to shaft you”. Only in Illinois!
Zim If the loosing $15 or $30 dollars (depending on how many permits you had) makes or breaks you or just causes you to throw a little fit You have a lot bigger problems to worry about in your life. Just think how big a fit you would be throwing if you were wanting to go to Nebraska.
Not watching the news, so if they do/did I haven’t heard! :-) No ours is in full swing, besides, what better way to social distance yourself!
MI starts 4/18. Scouting has already started.
Dpat I understand $30 is insignificant to your million dollar state employee pension. But you just don't get it. Every other state bordering Illinois (MO, IA, WI, IN, KY) has rightfully been promoting their public lands as one of the few safe places families can escape to during this virus. Land that they paid for with their outrageous taxes. Iowa is running radio ads. Wisconsin has waived all entry fees! Only expert scientist Pritzker has a different spin on things. Figures out a way to rip off people. Regardless if it's $1 or $1,000, please Dpat tell us why he should keep these funds for providing absolutely nothing. Or at minimum allow exchanging the tags for county tags??? It's not even the dollar amount...........It's the principal! Same as Blagojavich raiding $15 million in sportsmen's funds back in his illustrious Democratic career.
Zim, I've never worked a day for any level of government. I own a small business that is being affected by everything going on now. I don't have any expectations of anyone bailing me out I plan and budget, it will make things tight for a while. What is going on now is something everyone is learning to deal with and at times make some sacrifices (some big some small) in the big picture you not getting to hunt on state land is nothing to what others are going thru with this virus. It's not all about you. I'm just not a fan of people who think they are entitled to something no matter what or how it affects the BIG picture. I will be turkey hunting on private land or at least hope to be anyway.
Just bought my Iowa turkey tags online. The DNR sent me a reminder to get them early and preferably online since there may be issues buying them from the usual local sources.
The People's Republic of Illinois.....make no mistake, they love this control.
Will be out in the fresh snow saturday AM. Without putting anyone except Mr Tom at risk.
Dpat, Ya nobody in Illinois admits to being a state employee despite supporting Pritzker. Please can your mindless deflection of the facts to try and make this about me! As I’ve said I would be passing on my hunt anyway due to my company’s travel ban. But there are thousands of other unhappy honest sportsmen ripped off by this clown’s Lone Ranger policy. Can’t hide behind the virus when all the surrounding states have totally opposite policies. Pritzker’s closure actually puts the citizens in MORE danger because he took away one of the extremely few safe activities. So these taxpayers will spend more time hiking around Walmart in a hell of a lot closer proximity to others than one per 602 acres! Nobody can justify this level of stupidity, ignorance & greed.
Hey, I'll admit to being an IL state employee - a status I'm certainly not ashamed of. Zim, if this makes me the enemy, I'll just have to try to find a way to live with it. I began my IL state career working in Corrections - literally 'a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.'. Also, a job I wish everyone could experience, if only for a little while. It would open a lot of eyes.
My support for Pritzger is pretty much limited to praying for him everyday. Didn't vote for him & don't plan to next time. You might be surprised to find that many IL state employees feel that way. But then the last Governor election was a little confusing as to which choice was worse - to some degree, I can understand those who voted for the 'devil' they didn't know, as opposed to the 'devil' they did know.
And while I don't really support closing the state parks, as least the state is saying get out & fish & hunt all you want on private land - and in general, be outdoors away from other people.
I hope there is a class action lawsuit on the site specific turkey tags and lack of refunds. The least they could do is say the 2020 tags for these sites will be good for 2021. Or even just say, those tags are now valid for anywhere in IL. Not a lot of imagination was used here. But yes, many IL policies do seem to just have a goal of taking in a much $$$ as possible with whatever output they decide on.
The only somewhat logical thing I can think of for closing parks is for him to keep as many of his employees home as possible. He has issued the stay at home order & is manning the state parks a necessity? Especially with the thought of - what if someone (employee or citizen) goes there & gets the virus?
Yes, the virus is much bigger than turkey season.
And if you are the Governor of a state the has Chicago in it, you've got to be thinking that whatever is happening in NYC and LA, is going to happen there.
I think that qualifies as - bigger fish to fry.
IL youth season has started and is has not been cancelled. Haven't heard about the other seasons yet.
This headline sums up why public parks and lands will continue to get shut down.
Well before Indiana's dumbass wasn't gonna have his employer paying his way to Illinois so he could Turkey hunt . He said by his own admission he had plans to sneak onto state property rules be damned.
If your froIowa fishing and hunting regulations not affected by COVID-19
Iowa's hunting and fishing regulations are not affected by the current COVID-19 health emergency in Iowa. Despite rumors on social media channels, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has no plans to eliminate seasons, relax regulations or change license prices.
"Fishing and hunting regulations exist to protect human safety as well as wildlife populations over the long-term," said Dr. Dale Garner, Conservation and Recreation division administrator at the Iowa DNR. "We balance the long-term sustainability of Iowa's natural resources with the well-being of Iowans, and will continue to take a thoughtful, science-based approach to Iowa's hunting and fishing laws."
For more information about Iowa's hunting and fishing regulations, visit the Iowa DNR website: www.iowadnr.gov
If you are out of state or out of my town, please stay away from me & my family. Enjoy your hunt.
If going to KS out of state you are required to 14 day quarantine b/4 hunting. Neb. no NR tags now either. Ia. still a go. 2020 is being put on hold. Be safe & use common sense & follow the guide lines put forth. It's not getting infected so much but if you are how many will you expose.. It's a new ball game this year..
Had a friend go to Byron Walker to hunt Turkeys. He was notified by a local county mounty he was in violation of the Kansas stay at home order as he was from a different county.
A- Kansas requires that if from a few select states.
First I've heard of that, Matte. Lots of people fishing Clinton and Perry from all over.
Why don't all you guys who think everything should go on a normal come to NY and visit me. I am 85 miles from the epicenter but we have 8 new cases and 4 deaths over night at my work place. If you can drive from your home and not stop anywhere get out and hunt by all means do it. If you can't stay home. Trust me I am living the night mare right now. 10 more days and maybe the deaths slow a bit they are saying. Use your head to stop the spread!! Shawn
Him and the kid were pretty bummed.
Nah, our current governor actually has some common sense, unlike most of his predecessors.
Not Missouri. Our state wide stay home order went into effect on Monday, and it specifically says that individuals may engage in outdoor activities.
Furthermore, the Missouri Conservation website specifically states that all state lands are open.
And the cherry on top, is the Missouri Conservation department is waiving the fishing license requirement. So you can go fishing whether you can buy a license or not. In an effort to get people outside, I reckon.
Bake
The WI. DNR announced this morning (4/7) that the turkey season, beginning on April 15 will proceed without any changes. It is a six week season. Gov. Evers (D) stated that the "stay at home" order still encourages outdoor activity. Turkey hunting is considered an outdoor activity.
Postponed start date for Yuma County Colorado, postponed until May 2nd. Only county in CO at the moment, hopefully it stays that way.
Seems that most states are using common sense when it comes to turkey hunting.
Common sense really? I can go to Nebraska, Kansas and Eastern Colorado to camp, fish, hike, boat, mushroom hunt, etc but i can’t carry my bow and shoot a turkey? What’s the difference?
There’s no common sense being displayed here.
Quinn, did you and your daughter get sent home from Kansas?
New Jersey Cancelling the first 2 weeks and offering refunds for the tags, not decided yet on the rest of the season !
In certain Zones with National Forest and State Park land
Has anybody figured out how the "14 day quarantine" works? Do you check in with the health department in the county you're hunting?
So, if I’m required to quarantine 14 days prior to hunting and I’m camped out on the edge of a cornfield: Am I legal to look at turkeys in the field? If I’m attacked by a turkey can I defend myself? This whole thing is really confusing!!!