Final Report for W-183-R-7: Wild Turkey Responses to Forest Management

To better understand the response of wild turkeys to forest management activities and black flies, the objectives of Segment 7 of the Wild Turkey Responses to Forest Management research project were to: 1) Continue radio-tracking Wild Turkey hens captured during the previous segment and capture and affix radios to an additional 40 hens to enhance sample sizes across study sites; 2) Use micro-GPS telemetry to examine the effects of forest management, habitat and landscape features on Wild Turkey habitat use, survival and reproductive success, emphasizing Illinois forests with active or recent forest management (prescribed fire and thinning); 3) Use insect traps to document black fly emergence throughout the late spring and summer, and camera traps to document activity of potential turkey predators, at sites with radio-tagged hens; 4) Provide one popular article about this project to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources by the grant end date. This article will be approximately 500 words in length with at least 2 pictures provided.