You should be doing this for turkeys | #144
Wild Turkey Science
Charlotte Nowak
5.0 • 584 Ratings
🗓️ 11 August 2025
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, we discuss what you should be thinking about and implementing on your property for turkeys right now.
WATCH this episode here!
Resources:
Guide to Wildlife Food Plots and Early Successional Plants, Dr. Craig Harper
00:00 Introduction and Banter
02:55 Habitat-Centric Discussions
05:55 Fishing Adventures and Insights
08:48 Turkey Management Strategies
11:45 Field Management for Turkeys
14:48 Importance of Early Successional Cover
17:36 Burning and Timber Harvest Planning
28:53 Expanding the Burn Window
30:15 Increasing Sunlight for Turkey Abundance
31:44 Optimizing Poults Habitat
34:01 Managing Old Fields for Turkeys
35:55 Evaluating Agronomic Crops for Wildlife
37:46 The Role of Joint Vetch in Habitat Management
39:59 Balancing Ideal vs. Optimal Management
42:23 Practical Approaches to Habitat Management
43:48 Mast Management and Acorn Production
44:50 Identifying and Managing Problematic Trees
46:45 Combatting Ryegrass in Food Plots
50:15 Evaluating Management Practices
Fundraising Banquet (To enter the online raffles, click on 'Get Tickets' and then scroll down to the 'Add-ons')
We've launched a comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Enroll Now!
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications
Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow
UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube
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This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.
Music by Artlist.io
Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | They need that open ground, that early succession, and they like that, and they are much more |
| 0:07.0 | general about what that needs to look like structurally in terms of the composition and |
| 0:11.9 | actual structure. |
| 0:12.9 | So those pastures for adult turkeys or older age poles is probably, it's not ideal but it's fine you know and it's better than |
| 0:24.3 | having a bunch of cluttered midstory of hardwood forests but don't forget that that same exact |
| 0:33.6 | location would be a death sentence for a seven-day-old poll. |
| 0:37.7 | Right. Welcome to Wild Turkey Science, a podcast made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow. |
| 0:52.4 | I'm Dr. Marcus Lashley, Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the |
| 0:56.3 | University of Florida. And I'm Dr. Will Gulsby, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at |
| 1:02.7 | Auburn University. We're both lifelong hunters and devoted scientists who are passionate |
| 1:07.7 | about hunting, managing, and researching wild turkeys. |
| 1:16.2 | In this podcast, we'll explore turkey research, speak to the experts in the field, |
| 1:20.7 | and address the difficult questions related to wild turkey ecology and management. |
| 1:25.6 | Our goal is to serve as your connection to wild turkey science. |
| 1:37.6 | Do you know what I just realized we have not been recording this whole town? |
| 1:41.1 | You didn't just realize that. |
| 1:45.3 | I mean, we've been talking for an hour and 18 minutes at this point about what we're going to talk about. |
| 1:46.0 | I know. |
| 1:48.6 | And we haven't come up with a defined plan yet. |
| 1:54.8 | I thought I'd force the issue by clicking go. |
| 1:55.3 | Yeah. Let's see where we go. |
| 1:56.8 | Yeah. |
... |
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