66 Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis 
fertility. This resolves itself into a question of nutritional defi- 
ciencies among the wild birds and mammals. Although the phys- 
iological aspects of the problem are far from explained, the 
immediate uses of this information are obvious. In planning the 
future program of turkey management in the state, for example, 
we shall certainly evaluate all potential range in terms of basic 
soil fertility, and thereby save useless efforts and expenditures 
on lands fundamentally unsuited for turkey production. Deer, 
on the other hand, appear to have a somewhat lower threshold 
of tolerance in their nutritional requirements, for they do fairly 
well on the inferior granite soils. The possibility of deer man- 
agement in the granite country is thus held open. 
Detailed studies of local turkey populations have yielded 
additional information. We find that despite a greatly improved 
system of game protection and law enforcement, poaching is still 
an important factor limiting turkey increases in the Ozarks. Re- 
lief from poaching, through intensive local patrol, has produced 
prompt gains in turkey numbers. Protection, which was the 
earliest recognized factor in wildlife restoration, has not dimin- 
ished in importance today, and remains a critical factor in the 
management of many game species. 
In comparing the productivity of our several state game 
refuges, we note that turkeys have done best on refuges suffer- 
ing the least internal disturbance. Development of too many 
roads and picnic grounds, excessive work in the timber by CCC 
crews, and other forms of human disturbance will drive turkeys 
from an area, thereby defeating in part the objectives of a ref- 
uge. The wild turkey has a relatively low tolerance of distur- 
bance, and this must be taken into account in local management 
plans. 
Furthermore, best results in nearly all our turkey manage- 
ment projects have been obtained with truly wild, native stock. 
Admixtures of domestic and wild stocks have not proven very 
satisfactory subjects for management in the wild, a factor which 
must receive consideration in restocking projects. Within the 
main occupied turkey range it seems best at this time to concen- 
trate on protection and management of the remaining wild stock, 
reserving further experiments in restocking for Ozark border 
areas from which the native turkeys are gone. 
1 he importance of fire control and the development of water 
resources, both of which affect turkeys, have been mentioned. 
All these bits of information, as well as the findings of the turkey 
survey, will contribute to the state-wide plan of management for 
the species. It is our belief that only by constructive, long-range 
