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    Originally posted by JDVerfurth View Post
    Hum... not sure where that’s at for camping but I would definitely get to the back of 3 where it meets 4 at the back of Spring Creek... always loads of birds up there... or make your way to the southern tip of area 1 lots of birds on “the island”.... I think if you talk to the area 9 guys they can give you a good heading for area 9.... I would say the south western edge of the area would be easiest to hunt them right off that open field. Umm.... I’m sure area 8 has some birds... try the calling at dawn trick to get an ear on them....


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    Hey JD I've hunted that area back in the corner of 3/4 for deer and always went in on quad off of 67 and 2166 I think. This time for turkey I don't have access to a quad, is there an easier way to get a full size truck back there close so it doesn't get beat up?


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      So far no luck. Not even a gobble. I did see a Tom briefly on the road back to Spring creek but no shot. I have been all over 3 and 4. I'm sure there are birds there but they are not responding to calls. I met a guy who has killed one up near 6 best I could tell by his description of the place. He said the ones he has seen have been henned up with 40 to 50 hens. He also said they are not being very vocal. I haven't seen a single hen. I'm still trying my luck but I have to leave Thursday so time is getting short.
      Last edited by Carolina guy; 04-03-2018, 03:49 PM.

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        Originally posted by Dukota01 View Post
        Hey JD I've hunted that area back in the corner of 3/4 for deer and always went in on quad off of 67 and 2166 I think. This time for turkey I don't have access to a quad, is there an easier way to get a full size truck back there close so it doesn't get beat up?


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        Heck yeah man the long way is about 30 minutes of driving; bust out your phone and follow the trails on Satellite view. That’s the only way I take....


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          Originally posted by JDVerfurth View Post
          Heck yeah man the long way is about 30 minutes of driving; bust out your phone and follow the trails on Satellite view. That’s the only way I take....


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          Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. I may be coming out this weekend to try my luck with the turkeys.


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            Anyone hunting or seeing turkeys?

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              Hunted hard today in unit 5 until about 9:30 then 4 and 3 the rest of the day very low turkey population it seems in those areas the weather was not ideal for hearing them but I put lots of miles in while doing some blind set up very little turkey sign and no gobbling.

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                Originally posted by bghunter777 View Post
                Hunted hard today in unit 5 until about 9:30 then 4 and 3 the rest of the day very low turkey population it seems in those areas the weather was not ideal for hearing them but I put lots of miles in while doing some blind set up very little turkey sign and no gobbling.


                4/3 is where I saw LOTS of turkey during deer season in Nov and Dec...they would come right into our blind in groups of 30-40. I hope you see some back there.


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                  There summer and winter ranges must be different talked to several hunters and same story most have been there several days and not many turkey to speak of.

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                    We struck out. Not a single gobble, track or anything all week. Saw a Tom running up the side of the hard road going into 4 but zilch on the property. Good luck guys.

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                      Originally posted by Carolina guy View Post
                      We struck out. Not a single gobble, track or anything all week. Saw a Tom running up the side of the hard road going into 4 but zilch on the property. Good luck guys.
                      I spend a considerable amount of my time in the spring hunting turkeys and like to think I understand the animal well. My very short time spent in the area over the weekend leads me to hypothesize the number of off road trails and access to these does not lend itself to turkeys feeling comfortable in the area. If I could offer any piece of advice to the local land managers it would be to look into at is their a way we can limit areas for off rode traffic when you have areas with ideal roosting habitat and off road vehicle roads heavily used through the entire area turkeys simply wont put up with it.

                      I'm all for multiple use of public lands but potentially look at habit and keep the areas with better wildlife habitat for wildlife. We as public land turkey hunters in Texas are very VERY limited with options as it is.

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                        Habitat

                        Originally posted by bghunter777 View Post
                        I spend a considerable amount of my time in the spring hunting turkeys and like to think I understand the animal well. My very short time spent in the area over the weekend leads me to hypothesize the number of off road trails and access to these does not lend itself to turkeys feeling comfortable in the area. If I could offer any piece of advice to the local land managers it would be to look into at is their a way we can limit areas for off rode traffic when you have areas with ideal roosting habitat and off road vehicle roads heavily used through the entire area turkeys simply wont put up with it.

                        I'm all for multiple use of public lands but potentially look at habit and keep the areas with better wildlife habitat for wildlife. We as public land turkey hunters in Texas are very VERY limited with options as it is.
                        bghunter777 and all,

                        Timely post as yesterday I met with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) about our travel management plan.

                        The U.S. Forest Service has been hired by the BOR to clear archaeological/cultural sites and okay and/or nix roads in certain areas. We are close to wrapping this part of the plan up but must still receive concurrence with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)....it's quite the process.

                        That said, we've identified nearly 200 miles of roads within in Twin Buttes, which is too many for an area of its size. Many of the roads lead to the same destination, so they are in essence redundant. Many are there due to fluctuating water levels. Ideally we'd like to reduce these roads to about half of what they are now so habitat will recover, while also preserving areas where our Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) crowds can still enjoy their activities.

                        There will likely be a public hearing on the travel management plan in mid to late summer, but we are still a ways off from reaching an end goal. Once roads/trails are approved through this process, we have to get road/trail signs in place, disseminate the information to the public via maps, and hopefully GPS trail data that can be downloaded to smart phones. This will be followed by a short education period and then our law enforcement can begin to enforce rules that apply to the travel management plan. As you can see, this does not happen overnight.

                        On another note, we just awarded a bid to plant sunflower fields in two areas for dove hunting and bids for some brush sculpting to improve habitat in areas 5 and 8 went out yesterday. You will likely see some piles of brush for a while, but eventually these will be burned once we have clearance for some controlled burns where we'll get the biggest return on habitat improvement.

                        That's all for now.

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                          Originally posted by TGW View Post
                          bghunter777 and all,

                          Timely post as yesterday I met with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) about our travel management plan.

                          The U.S. Forest Service has been hired by the BOR to clear archaeological/cultural sites and okay and/or nix roads in certain areas. We are close to wrapping this part of the plan up but must still receive concurrence with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)....it's quite the process.

                          That said, we've identified nearly 200 miles of roads within in Twin Buttes, which is too many for an area of its size. Many of the roads lead to the same destination, so they are in essence redundant. Many are there due to fluctuating water levels. Ideally we'd like to reduce these roads to about half of what they are now so habitat will recover, while also preserving areas where our Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) crowds can still enjoy their activities.

                          There will likely be a public hearing on the travel management plan in mid to late summer, but we are still a ways off from reaching an end goal. Once roads/trails are approved through this process, we have to get road/trail signs in place, disseminate the information to the public via maps, and hopefully GPS trail data that can be downloaded to smart phones. This will be followed by a short education period and then our law enforcement can begin to enforce rules that apply to the travel management plan. As you can see, this does not happen overnight.

                          On another note, we just awarded a bid to plant sunflower fields in two areas for dove hunting and bids for some brush sculpting to improve habitat in areas 5 and 8 went out yesterday. You will likely see some piles of brush for a while, but eventually these will be burned once we have clearance for some controlled burns where we'll get the biggest return on habitat improvement.

                          That's all for now.
                          Thank you for this information I appreciate the insight and response. I enjoyed my time out there this weekend and believe this land has great potential plenty of diverse habitat. The future of hunting depends on public land and quality access and opportunity for the majority Texas unfortunately or fortunately has a lot of opportunity to improve and expand these accesses.

                          I hope to be part of the future of quality public land experiences for hunters in Texas and around the US.

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                            That will be great. In the past at other public lands I've had trouble with the OHV crowd during hunting season. At Fort Hood there was a lot of issues with the wanta-be moto cross people.

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                              Originally posted by TGW View Post
                              bghunter777 and all,



                              Timely post as yesterday I met with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) about our travel management plan.



                              The U.S. Forest Service has been hired by the BOR to clear archaeological/cultural sites and okay and/or nix roads in certain areas. We are close to wrapping this part of the plan up but must still receive concurrence with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)....it's quite the process.



                              That said, we've identified nearly 200 miles of roads within in Twin Buttes, which is too many for an area of its size. Many of the roads lead to the same destination, so they are in essence redundant. Many are there due to fluctuating water levels. Ideally we'd like to reduce these roads to about half of what they are now so habitat will recover, while also preserving areas where our Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) crowds can still enjoy their activities.



                              There will likely be a public hearing on the travel management plan in mid to late summer, but we are still a ways off from reaching an end goal. Once roads/trails are approved through this process, we have to get road/trail signs in place, disseminate the information to the public via maps, and hopefully GPS trail data that can be downloaded to smart phones. This will be followed by a short education period and then our law enforcement can begin to enforce rules that apply to the travel management plan. As you can see, this does not happen overnight.



                              On another note, we just awarded a bid to plant sunflower fields in two areas for dove hunting and bids for some brush sculpting to improve habitat in areas 5 and 8 went out yesterday. You will likely see some piles of brush for a while, but eventually these will be burned once we have clearance for some controlled burns where we'll get the biggest return on habitat improvement.



                              That's all for now.


                              Good news to hear, thanks for posting!


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                                Updates

                                All,

                                A few quick updates on TBR.

                                First, we are still moving forward on the travel management plan with intentions of having a public hearing sometime in late summer or early fall to discuss proposals.

                                Secondly, sunflower fields have been planted for dove hunting but they are in desperate need of a drink. The triple digit days earlier in June really scorched the leaves so pray that we get the much needed rain.

                                Third, our habitat project (experimental) is underway in Area 8 (see pictures below). According to our biologist, the selective brush clearing along with significant soil disturbance should produce a host of desirable food sources, especially if we receive some moisture. In three years, we expect there to be a measurable difference out there.

                                Obviously from the pictures you'll see that the place looks rough...it is, and if you harvest a deer from the area you'll earn it in the process of getting it out of there, but it makes it that much sweeter at the dinner table.

                                That said, the project is improving habitat for a variety of species (deer, turkey, etc.) which include one of our species of greatest concern...the mighty Texas Horned Lizard. I know we don't hunt the littler buggers but they are fun to watch and even photograph if given the opportunity and surprisingly this project improves their habitat as well.

                                I need to give a sincere thanks to our biologist, John McEachern who has developed the plan and closely monitored its progress. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention our partnership with Gene Miller of the National Wild Turkey Federation who has worked side by side with us on the dove fields and these habitat projects. He and John have been an absolute pleasure to work with. If you ever have the opportunity to support the NWTF please do; they do so much to benefit all wildlife.

                                Originally we had planned to kick off some of the same type brush clearing in area 5, but it's taken longer than planned in area 8 which has caused us to run out of funds for this year. Our hope is to secure more in the future to continue the progress. The money you contribute to the APH program is being used at the local level and I hope all of you see the future benefits.

                                Lastly, due to the demands of TBR we've secured a third Game Warden position for Tom Green County. Hallie Rodriquez will be joining Cynde Aguilar and David Hopkins in late July and we hope the increased LE presence will aide the project goals.

                                I'll try to shoot all of you another update just prior to the dove opener.









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