Turkey season is right around the corner. Following the success from the last few years, the Southeast Chapter is hosting our Gobblers and Garbage trash cleanup contest again this year. During the past two seasons we have seen over 7000 pounds of trash removed from our public lands by fellow BHA members who took the time to pick a little up here or there while out turkey hunting. This year we have secured some great prizes and a few new sponsors. We're pretty excited to get this event going and see just how much trash we can clean up this spring.  

Beginning March 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021, we’ll hold our competition to raise BHA awareness and stewardship of our public lands. 

The concept is simple; try to kill a turkey while also picking up some trash on public land. We have ALL seen plenty of trash out in the field, and we need to do our part, while we’re doing what we love, to better our Public Lands. Remember, this land is your land and this land is our land. Let’s make it and keep it beautiful.

So, what are the rules?

If you kill a legal bearded turkey on public land, measure the beard to the nearest half inch and provide us with a photo. To earn points, you must also pickup a standard grocery bag of trash and provide us with the photo (ideally both in square crop). You will add the length of the beard to the number of bags of trash you pick up. Note, you MUST pick up trash to earn points for a kill. You can also earn points for ONLY picking up trash. You can enter multiple birds per season. 

Example 1 - Jeff is hunting on TVA land in Northern Alabama. He collects two bags of trash while out. He does not kill a turkey, as Jeff is an unsuccessful hunter. His score is 2 points. Jeff should repeat his trash collecting endeavors throughout the duration of the mission to build points. 

Example 2 - Julia is hunting on a WMA. She collects two bags of trash on this well managed WMA. She also kills a stud Gobbler with a 9.5-inch beard. Her score is 9.5 + 2 = 11.5 points. We would encourage Julia to collect more trash bags on her hunt adventure. 

Note – You MUST fill a standard size grocery bag or a garbage bag (10 to 20 gallon size) with trash while on your hunt. You will not be rewarded for only killing a turkey. It MUST be length of beard + number of bags of trash. You will get 0 points if you kill a turkey but do not pick up a bag of trash. The essential goal is to remove garbage from public lands such that harvesting a gobbler is a bonus.

A grocery bag is worth 1 point, garbage bag is worth 10, and a turkey counts for the beard length to the nearest half inch. Points will be accumulated throughout the season, and tallied up after May 15th. 

Score tracking will be completed by email or posts on social media (posting in the Southeast Chapter Facebook group, tagging @bhasoutheast on Instagram), by using the tag #gobblersandgarbage2021, or by emailing [email protected]

How to Enter -

1. Take photo in the field of your trash haul and any legal turkey harvest. Preferably in square format.
2. Measure the beard of your Tom and get a photo to the closest ½”.
3. Email or post your photos on our social media (Facebook or Instagram) with the tag #gobblersandgarbage2021, and name the public land you were on. Feel free to be general in nature; we don’t want your spot. Be sure to include your final score for that hunt (beard length+garbage collected=final score)
4. We will collect and update the leaderboard via email and socials on a weekly basis.

Prizes - Prizes will be awarded as follows -

1. Grand Champion - earns most total points in the competition.- Homemade BHA logo'd crawfish table made by Louisiana board member Jacob Thompson
2. Largest Bird- Coosa Fly Rod made by Calico Fly Fishing
3. Most trash collected.- Autographed copy of Pheasant Quail Cottontail cookbook by Hank Shaw
4. State winners (highest points holder per state)- Primos Foggy Bottom glass call  and a Primos Power Crow locator call

And, for the fine print:

1. You must be a member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to be eligible. If you're not, we encourage you to become a member here: Join BHA

2. The trash must be picked up on public land. Any turkey entered must have been taken on public land. 

3. You must reside in one of the 3 states represented by the Southeast Chapter (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi)

4. The grand Champion isn't eligible for Largest Bird or Most Trash prizes. Grand Champion, Largest Bird, and Most Trash winners are not eligible for State winner prizes.