A tribute to a longtime friend to wild turkeys and turkey hunters

By  Don Heckman

February 16, 2004

Jerry Wunz – Pennsylvania Game Commission Wild Turkey Biologist during the early days of Pennsylvania’s wild turkey restoration and management programs in the 1970's to 1980's – passed away on Wednesday, February 11, 2004.

Jerry was instrumental in elevating PGC's wild turkey management objectives to new levels.  When the PA Chapter NWTF was formed in 1975, Jerry Wunz was there, he was on our side helping us, talking with us on turkey management issues and listening to us.  Jerry helped formulate our earliest vision and objectives as a wildlife conservation organization - volunteer's working for the resource and "resource first". He helped us through many issues, turkey game farm program release was shutdown in early 1980's thanks to his help.  

Jerry and his Game Protector team started wild turkey trap and transfer across Pennsylvania.  His excellent and detailed articles in Game News about turkey management was the measurement of future wild turkey management decisions and population growth strategies.  Through his turkey management areas [TMA's] the beginning of improved season and bag limit hunting opportunities and management objectives were started.  His research projects in Centre and McKean Counties were instrumental in formulating wild turkey habitat direction.    

At the very first meeting, June 1, 1975, of the Pennsylvania State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation Jerry Wunz presented a slide program on the "Status of the Wild Turkey in Pennsylvania". Jerry reviewed past problems and current programs being conducted by the PGC to help improve habitat and over all welfare of Pennsylvania wild turkey population.  After the meeting and presentation was completed the new Board of the Pennsylvania Chapter NWTF met at the PSU wild turkey research pens. We were off and running, and Jerry Wunz was one of several guiding lights.  

In future Chapter Board meetings Jerry provided information and insight on pen raised turkeys, wild turkey trap and transfer program, closing counties to hunting after receiving relocated wild turkeys, leg banding relocated wild turkeys, wild turkey hunting license, harvest report cards, blackhead disease, average life span of wild turkey's, hunting accidents, start and length of hunting seasons, and seven mountain habitat research project.    

Jerry was my wild turkey management mentor.  I read his April 1978 "The Wild Turkey Our All-American Bird" article from Game News every opportunity I get, not only to understand and listen to his words, but to remember his ideas and thoughts he brought to our State Chapter Board Meetings.  What Jerry and Arnie Hayden, and their team of Game Protectors, were seeing, observing, planting, trapping and transferring, researching, journaling, was all about the Pennsylvania wild turkey resource and wild turkey management.  His article reflects the early days of wild turkey management in Pennsylvania.

If any of you take the time go back and read Jerry and Arnie's articles in Game News, and there were several, especially go back and read Jerry's April 1978 "The Wild Turkey Our All-American Bird" article.  You will come away with valuable insight into what Jerry, and later Arnie, would be bringing to our Board Meetings back in those days for wild turkey management information and their many discussion points.  After those early lengthy Board meeting, Jerry would stick around and we would eat and talk at the table, over dinner, often in front of the camp fireplace.  Many times into the early hours of the next morning, we would sit around and talk about wild turkeys and wild turkey management.  If I might humbly suggest, I honestly think Jerry's ideas on turkey management areas [TMA's] rooted in those evening and late night sessions.  

One time Jerry asked me to do a little undercover work with him and a Game Protector.  Not really knowing what to expect and not asking to many questions [if you can believe that], I said sure I can help.  Jerry asked me to drive the truck and don' say a word when we got to our destination.  I drove the truck to the poultry farm to pick-up the wild turkey's for testing and research PGC was doing at the time through the Summerdale Research Unit here in Harrisburg on the West Shore.  After successfully getting the birds from the farm, crating them up, we delivered them to the research facility for testing.  I was grateful for the opportunity to help Jerry Wunz that evening.

Jerry worked with Joe Krug, past PA Chapter Board Member and Habitat Chairman back in the 1980's, and helped to create the very first habitat brochure for the PA Chapter NWTF.  Jerry and Joe were a habitat team and the work they did together, and most often reported at PA Chapter Board meetings, but now mostly forgotten, set the foundation and the cornerstone for PA Chapter's habitat work.  Mid 1970's - "Trees - Shrubs For Wildlife -- Make Habitat A Habit" with Bud Erich's standing wild turkey as the centerpiece artwork, was the brochure and habitat message from the Pennsylvania State Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation. Thousands were printed and distributed, countless wild turkeys today can thank those hunters and landowners that took the information in that brochure and put it to work.  I know many of those early local chapter volunteers did just that.

One of Jerry's proudest moments and a couple of us were there to witness his smile, his pride and accomplishment was being awarded the Henry Mosby Award by NWTF.  Jerry made us proud and Jerry told all that was in earshot of his accomplishment that night. You gotta love Jerry Wunz for his candor, outgoing friendlyness, and his being a friend or foe on any issue, was heartfelt. Being elected to the State Chapter's  Pennsylvania Turkey Hunter's Hall of Fame was another source of pride for Jerry.  

Jerry Wunz, Arnie Hayden, Bill Drake, they represented the best of the best in wild turkey management in Pennsylvania in the early days - the rest from around the country were absolutely the greatest in their own states.  Jerry, Arnie, Bill are from Pennsylvania and as Pennsylvania's wild turkey biologist they set the stage, they were the foundation for future turkey management possibilities in Pennsylvania.  Through their knowledge, experience, and hard work Pennsylvania's wild turkey management program has been a key success story for Twentieth century wildlife management.

Many times they organized and paid some of their own way from their own pockets in the early trap and transfer days, research projects, and the time and effort it took to write all those research papers, all those Game News articles, and especially the time they spent with us at each Chapter Board Meeting.  They gave our PA Chapter Board of Director's their insight from their knowledge and experience in wild turkey management, directing us and our vision towards improving wild turkey management in Pennsylvania.

While not always appreciated or welcomed in Jerry's candid comment methods and style, as only he could and would come across sometimes, he was and will always be Mr. PGC Wild Turkey Biologist, number one, front and center, the General in my book.  And best of all for me I got to listen to Jerry talk and learn from Jerry about wild turkey management.  I got to read many of his research papers when I was the middle man between Jerry and helping pay a young man to compile Jerry's notes, funded by the PA Chapter at that time.  Those were invaluable learning days for me and the old guard on the PA Chapter Board of Directors.  

Habitat, Jerry Wunz was the "Habitat Man".  Through his work in Centre County and McKean County with Arnie, they outlined and developed wild turkey habitat the wild turkey way.  What was best for the wild turkey resource was done first.  That is probably the most important lesson I ever learned from Jerry - resource first - in the ground/on the ground, research data, find out, research, outline, document, and inform and educate others so they have a glimpse into what they saw and learned, Their eyes and ears were the Chapter's insight into our early wild turkey management woods.  Jerry helped organize the first of many shrub planting projects for the State Chapter.  That project was on the Blue Eye State Game Lands near Warren, PA for a spring seep and planting project in 1978.  Winter feeding was a hot topic the Chapter Board addressed.  Jerry helped write PGC guidelines for winter feeding and presented those guideline to the Chapter Board of Director's.          

My buddy and I formed the very first habitat tree nursery in the state for the NWTF Michaux Yellow Breeches Chapter in 1982.  We got permission from PGC Executive Director Glenn Bowers to put the tree nursery on Game Lands 230, Carlisle Springs area, about 100' by 200' in size. We ordered our seedlings through Jerry and our local Game Protectors. We planted seedlings and 3-4 years later transplanted them on 3 different Game Lands.  Every Wednesday night was habitat work party at the nursery, several local chapter members would gather to plant, spread sawdust up and down all those rows, weed, and weed some more, through all the those spring and summer months, well into the fall.  We did this for 7-8 years till most of the volunteers got tired and Rich Weaver, Spencer Miller, Bob Ferree, Culver Dunkleberger and I were the only ones showing up regularly.  Shortly thereafter Spencer Miller, Bob Ferree, Alan Emlet worked at moving the tree nursery to Michaux State Forest - Michaux Road, after permission was given to move the tree nursery.  Spencer Miller and his band of volunteers are truly the rest of that story.

Jerry would come over to our Game Lands tree nursery when he was down this way and help out.  We would weed and we'd talk about turkey management, what was happening then, in the past, and what was future possibilities for turkey management.  We'd be there till after dark talking about habitat and turkey management.  Jerry would bring a backhoe and trailer in at transplant time and we would dig them out, pack them on his trailer, tie them down. I helped transplant trees on Game Lands 88 in Perry County. Jerry moved trees to his Centre County habitat plots and McKean County habitat project.  Who knows where some of those trees ended up on some mountaintop or hillside, awaiting for that magical hillside take-off.  Jerry was always there to ask questions, called him many a time in the evening, always welcomed at their home, and he was always candid and very detailed in his answers.  To this day I have always respected and thanked Jerry for taking this young kid aside many times and lighting that passion deep inside for wild turkey management and our wild turkey resources, habitat and game lands.  That was Jerry Wunz.      

Jerry retired before the final rounds of putting together the PGC Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania.  Bill Drake labored over those drafts, presented updates to the PA Chapter Board, worked through his PGC Staff requirements, and completed the Plan for signature in April 1999.  Again I was fortunate to help Bill when I was asked and when it was appropriate for me to bring the PA Chapter Board my thoughts and ideas about wild turkey management in Pennsylvania, past, present, and future.  And as you all know only to well, I continue to do so today.  I'm positive Jerry in his retirement had input into that management plan and was proud to see the plan completed, goals, objectives, and strategies put into actions.  He would smile whenever I got to visit with him and we talked about the wild turkey management plan.   

I had to leave work early the day I found out about Jerry Wunz leaving our earthly work, just couldn't make it.  On the way out the door I stopped off on our parking garage deck overlooking the famous Conodoquinet Creek to pray and remember.  Over head was two red tail hawks soared high and low over the trees and into the creek bottom.  I thought to myself, the guys are all there doing their work today just as if they were still on this earth doing what they always did best for the wild turkey resource and for the PA Chapter NWTF.  Your passion, your inspiration, and your hope are three great feelings to always keep with you and especially to share with others whenever you can.  Jerry Wunz did that with me.    

Jerry was no hero, not like John Wayne's characters or The Lone Ranger or Superman. Jerry was real, inside and out, you could listen to Jerry and come away with more knowledge than you could ever return.  Jerry talked to you and always was there for you, Jerry was my friend.  Like all the old guard on the PA Chapter Board of Director's that came to know and understand Jerry Wunz, Jerry was our friend, fellow turkey hunter, and he was not one to be shy of telling us when we were wrong and what we needed to do to correct our short sidedness, and he would take the time to compliment us when we were right.  That was Jerry Wunz.

Some of you have stories and experiences about and with Jerry Wunz, remember your stories, and most of all never let those stories fade into the sunset. You, they, are all to valuable to be lost with time.
  
Within the NWTF family, beside the Turkey Talk article a couple years ago on our decision to not support spring turkey hunting license at this time, Dan Sullivan and Jim Roessner passing away, and Dave Wanless, Irv Buttrey, Wilson Moore, John Bolan, these are some of the hardest words I have every had to work through.  I appreciate your thoughts for Jerry and his family and wish all of you that same  "Light of God - that passion and hope deep inside"  that Jerry, Arnie, Jim, Dan, Dave, Jim, Wilson, Irv, and many many other of our friends have given back to the wild turkey resource, PA Chapter NWTF, and their friends.