Under current law, to hunt wild turkey, a person must be issued a wild turkey
hunting license with an accompanying hunting stamp and tag. In issuing the
licenses, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) must use a preference system
which gives preferences to residents over nonresidents if the number of license
applicants exceeds the number of wild turkey tags that are available for a particular
season. Under the system, qualified resident landowners receive first preference.

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To qualify for the landowner preference, a landowner must own at least 50 acres of
land in a single parcel in an established wild turkey hunting zone.

Second preference is for residents who in a previous season applied for but were
not issued licenses, and all other residents receive third preference. Qualified
nonresident landowners receive fourth preference, and all other nonresidents
receive fifth preference. To implement this system, DNR allocates a given number
of tags.

This bill eliminates the preference system. Instead, the bill requires that DNR
issue a wild turkey hunting license and accompanying stamp and tag to each
resident or nonresident who applies for the license. The tag issued with the license
is valid for the entire state. Under current law, the tag issued with a license under
the preference system is limited to a specific wild turkey hunting zone.

Under current law, if the number of tags exceeds the number of licenses applied
for, DNR may issue license holders additional tags. Under the bill, DNR may issue
additional tags if it determines that is necessary to manage the wild turkey
population. Under current law and under the bill, a fee is charged for the additional
tags, with nonresidents paying a higher fee. The bill does not change the amount of
the fee.

Under current rules promulgated by DNR, there is a fall turkey hunting season
and a spring hunting season. Also, under these rules, the state is divided into seven
wild turkey hunting zones. This bill codifies these provisions in the statutes.
Additionally, the bill codifies the starting and ending dates and hunting hours for the
spring season that are currently in the rules.

Under current law, a student who is not a permanent resident of this state but
who is a full-time student at a college or university in this state that offers an
associate or bachelor's degree (eligible student) may be issued a resident fishing,
small game hunting, or deer hunting license instead of a corresponding nonresident
fishing or hunting license. The fees for these types of resident licenses are lower than
those for the nonresident licenses. This bill allows eligible students to qualify as
state residents for purposes of issuing wild turkey hunting licenses, stamps, and
tags, resulting in their paying the lower fees for the licenses and tags.

The bill also requires DNR to promulgate a rule that allows for the registration
of wild turkey carcasses over the telephone or by using the Internet. Under current
law, a hunter must bring the carcass to one of the registration stations operated by
DNR.