Turkey hunters in central Alabama are being invited to take part in a unique photo competition. Alabama Black Belt Adventures are holding what’s called the Turkey Shoot photo contest. Participants who bag a turkey in one of the twenty three counties that make up Alabama’s black belt can submit picture for judging. Pam Swanner is the group’s executive director. She says one favorite photo is of three generations..
“The grandfather, father, son, I guess, in that order, who went on a turkey hunt and operate together, and they, each three, harvested a turkey that morning,” she said.
The website Outdoor Alabama explains how the turkey population in the state was estimated to be as low as 10,000 in the early 1900s. That prompted a conservation movement to restore, protect, manage and research efforts that ultimately helped revive wild turkey numbers. The website sayd Alabama has a fall season in a few counties, but the spring season is when most of the turkeys are harvested in the state. Pam Swanner of Alabama Black Belt Adventures. She says turkey season is second only to white tailed deer in popularity.
“The photo contest is designed to draw people to the black belt region for their hunting activity. And so the photo that is entered in a contest. Has to have been a turkey that was harvested in one of our 23 counties,” she said.
The counties in Alabama’s Black belt include Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Russell, Sumter, and Wilcox. Online judging for the photo contest goes on until next Thursday.
