I have a lease with habitat like you describe, non traditional for sure. It has incredible population actually, but right before season a 300ac chunk of private, that our lease borders, burned their whole place. Any guesses where the 8 birds I heard opening morning went? It’s not a mystery or an unsolvable puzzle. My dad bought 60ac that have never had a turkey in the 30yrs he’s lived next to it. Enrolled it into Florida landowner assistance program that cost shares to manage property for wildlife. Clear cut 40 and thinned 20, burned, put in 2 plots of clover and alfalfa. This was second year since, and he’s got a huntable population using his place. 3 gobblers, 6 jakes, 11 hens to be exact. The bare minimum of opening up the understory would be easily achievable, and effective, much more so than any regulation. Especially when regulation only works if you can enforce it, less than 1 possum cop per county aren’t going to change anything. Good habitat negates a lot of predation as well. Coyotes and bobcats are much less efficient in open areas, that leaves opossum and coons which are easy to curb, and avian predators require some imagination. The knee jerk reaction/regulation isn’t going to get us anything except less time to hunt.
