Mississippi has been milking folks with their licensing/permit structure for awhile. Looks like the milking will continue. 🤦‍♂️🤬💩

Money money money

As a lifelong Mississippi resident and someone who is extremely familiar with the Wild Turkey Program at Miss. Dept. of Wildlife, I can assure you this is NOT a bad thing. The money is earmarked for wild turkey conservation and the spending of it must be approved by their Wildlife Commission. The money cannot be used for administrative salaries or anything like that. Its only $10 more for residents. $100 for non-residents, but it will take place of the current spring turkey permit ($50) so it'll cost non-residents $50 more to hunt here. In a state where non-resident turkey permit sales nearly DOUBLED in a span of a few years, which led to a public lands draw for non-residents in the month of March, I think its OK if a few non-residents choose not to hunt MS for turkey. But to sum it up, I have faith the Turkey Stamp is a great thing. Habitat projects, research, heck maybe even predator bounties??

But I can't speak for you Alabama residents and your faith in your Wildlife Division. After seeing ya'll implement the baiting permit, well...I'll keep my opinion to myself.

I agree Turkeyhunt1988!

You make a pretty solid point in my opinion. Things are changing with a lot more people traveling to different states to hunt turkeys. I’m not much for upcharging, but the money the hunter chooses to spend should go back into the wildlife they are there to enjoy and kill. Just think about the amount of money people have spent, and lord knows the amount of turkeys and deer people from Alabama have killed in other states. The states/counties should be able to maintain or increase habitat to replace those animals on those lands. If the money is earmarked for habitat, and every cent goes towards the wildlife I am hunting, it would make me feel better about paying (too much money) to go to a different state to kill a turkey or deer or whatever it is.

I would love for Alabama to go to some form of turkey permit. We have no idea how many turkey hunters we have and if the money goes to turkey conservation it's even better.

I just want to know what they are spending it on thats gonna boost the population, we need to buy some of that here too.

Having faith in our wildlife commission here is like putting your faith that Biden will do what’s good for the country…sure it sounds great for y’all and if we had a competent wildlife division here it sounds solid but nah…it will probably go to buy more soa areas etc

Its basic economics. You see demand go up you raise prices.

why should people who hunt private land pay this ,

They can kick rocks. Hunting isn’t a privilege

Agree

At least limited permits/draws for out of state residents.

Have you seen the TN non-resident license/permits starting this year? I think it will cost $545 to hunt deer and turkeys.

The real question is what is meant by "turkey conservation?" Anything to increase poult production is very site specific and requires a lot of work and money, and it's only going to benefit that site. My perception is that the overwhelming majority of turkey conservation work is done by private individuals on private land with private money. The state already has a lot of land that they are supposed to be managing for turkeys. How well are they doing?

Apparently ADCNR has a lot of money to spend and proud to promote all the good it's being used for. However, there is no mention of doing anything for the wild turkey whatsoever in the article below. One would think if that resource was in such decline to the point, a change in the season and bag limit was necessary some of the millions would have been used for the wild turkey that is in a perceived decline across the state! No way in hell would I trust this agency with one more penny of my money and expect it to be used for the wild turkey!!

ADCNR Strives to Continue Trend in 2025 After Great Success in 2024

By DAVID RAINER

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
To say 2024 was an outstanding year for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) would border on understatement, and plans for 2025 will continue that trend, according to ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship.
Through a variety of funding sources, ADCNR has utilized more than $218 million for Alabama State Parks improvements, has facilitated the investment of more than $385 million in Coastal Alabama, and has ensured more than $37 million has gone to boating and fishing access improvements. In additional good news, 660,397 hunters and anglers supported conservation and Alabama's outdoors recreation industry through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses.
ADCNR is much larger and more complex than most people realize. It is made up of four Divisions – Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Resources, State Parks and State Lands – and the size of its budget has moved it into the Tier 1 agency category in Alabama state government along with the Department of Corrections, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Human Resources, Medicaid and the Department of Mental Health.
Commissioner Blankenship said most Alabamians have no idea of the variety and scope of work that ADCNR is responsible for in the state.
“Most people who interact with the Department usually interact through an activity they do,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “In other words, if you’re a hunter and use a wildlife management area (WMA), you might think hunting is all we’re responsible for. Or if you go to State Parks, you might think parks is all we do. It’s the same with boating access and fishing. Actually, ADCNR is really a broad Department.
“We do a lot of different things, particularly on the coast with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill restoration work and with GOMESA (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act) funds. We manage all of our state’s natural resources, State Parks, the Forever Wild program, and offshore oil and gas exploration and management,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We’re also managing a little more than $1 billion in Deepwater Horizon restoration projects.”
Commissioner Blankenship hopes to enlighten the public on ADCNR’s vast and varied responsibilities.
“I think we have managed our resources well in the state, both game and fish, freshwater and saltwater,” he said. “We have great fisheries from one end of the state to the other. Our deer season is longer than anywhere else in the country. I think the primary responsibilities of the Department are well executed, something we can be really proud of. One thing we’ve been very successful at the last few years is obtaining and managing funding to do a lot of infrastructure improvements for public access around the state.
“What I’m most proud of is the amount of property we’ve acquired through the Department for public access. We’ve added more than 86,000 acres since I’ve been Commissioner and Governor Ivey has been in office. For a state the size of Alabama, that’s a pretty good bit of land. That has added to a lot of our WMAs and State Parks and has created new WMAs. On the coast, it’s protected some critical habitat that will allow the public to have access in some of the fast-growing areas in Baldwin and Mobile counties.”
Another facet of ADCNR’s work that makes Commissioner Blankenship proud is the improvement in State Parks throughout the state.
“One thing I’d like to point out is how much investment we’re making in State Parks in 2024 and into 2025,” he said. “That $218 million was used on projects that were either completed in 2024 or that we have bid, with construction taking place in 2025. That is an amazing number. We have renovations going on in all of our parks, from one end of the state to the other.”
The largest State Parks projects include a new hotel at Cheaha State Park and an executive campground at Gulf State Park as well as rebuilding the cabins on Lake Shelby at Gulf State Park and the $14 million rebuilding of Gulf State Park Pier.
“We’re also totally renovating Lake Lurleen State Park near Tuscaloosa,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We spent $13 million totally renovating the Oak Mountain State Park Campground. We’ve made a lot of other improvements at other parks that will make a huge difference, not only for the enjoyment of the public but it will also produce revenue for State Parks that will keep us self-sufficient moving forward.”
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster affected all of the Gulf Coast states, and the restoration projects associated with the settlement continued in 2024 and into 2025. Commissioner Blankenship said about $385 million was invested in Coastal Alabama in 2024, including numerous Deepwater Horizon projects that have finished design and permitting and have begun construction.
“That includes the $13.5 million Gulf Shores Ecotourism Project and the Fairhope Working Waterfront at the Fairhope Pier that will be about $10 million,” he said. “We also have some very large projects funded by NFWF (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation), like the Dauphin Island Causeway that was about $28 million. The East End Beach renourishment on Dauphin Island was about $26 million. We have two projects that are being implemented by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, a $19 million restoration project in Theodore Industrial Canal and a $20 million project on Fowl River. We’ve also had investments from GOMESA in Mobile and Baldwin counties in 2023 and 2024 of about $98 million. We anticipate another $30 million in GOMESA funds for projects in 2025.”
One of ADCNR’s missions in the past several years has been to upgrade and increase the public’s access to the bountiful waters of the state.
“We’ve had a very strong initiative in cooperation with Innovate Alabama for boating access around the state,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We have more than $30 million in boating access projects that are underway or will be later in 2025.”
A ribbon cutting is scheduled in February for the renovation of the Brown’s Creek Public Ramp on Lake Guntersville. A ribbon cutting was held this week for the expanded facilities and upgraded ramp at Mount Vernon.
“The new ramp and facilities at Mount Vernon was a $2 million project that will make it first-class,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We’re partnering with Florence on McFarland Park Boat Ramp on the Tennessee River. That park is really nice. We will cut ribbons for new ramps in Monroe, Tuscaloosa, and Choctaw counties very soon.
“In Baldwin County, we also funded the County Road 6 Boat Ramp and the renovations of the Chocolatta Boat Ramp on the Causeway. In Mobile County, the Billy Goat Hole Boat Ramp on Dauphin Island is being totally renovated, and we’re building a new ramp at Cedar Point. The Billy Goat Hole Ramp is probably our most used ramp, especially during red snapper season.
“I am so thankful for the opportunities we have to do good work for outdoor recreation in Alabama. These investments will pay dividends for many decades.”

________________________________________

I stopped sending money to NWTF because of their financial statements and where their funds were going (or not going). If you think our state agencies will be good stewards of more revenue, you haven’t been paying attention.

The state / DCNR will gladly take your money, then slap on more regulations, because that’s the only “conservation” they are good at controlling. They will be incompetent in any other method.

PCP is correct. It’s about private land owners. Alabama is a private land dominated state.

You guys that want something like this - really don’t understand that. You will give up more money - to eventually have more regulation handed back to you in return. No thank you.

I agree about the NWTF funds going to top Executives but I know the guys that are running the Ms turkey program are all in it for the birds, deerhunt1988 is one of our state biologist for the wild turkey and I know a few of the other guys in the program and will be glad to send them $10 more to help out our birds! They work for all the birds here in Ms. public and private!

The real play is shutting down the Forever Wild Program.