Idaho Turkey Flock Approaches 30,000

Wild turkey numbers in Idaho have gone from a few hundred in the early 1980s to about 30,000. Turkey program manager Jeff Gould reported to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission at its January meeting in Boise that efforts to establish flocks statewide have been so successful that landowner complaints have become a factor. Gould noted that fall hunting seasons are being liberalized in line with growing wild turkey numbers. Also, depredation hunts might be considered in local areas where turkeys are causing trouble. Gould said turkey depredation usually comes in winter when the birds can interfere with livestock feeding operations or when the birds damage stored hay that contains oats or peas. Damage to roosting trees or standing crops has been reported but is more difficult to prove. Landowners may resort to lethal methods but, in the last 10 years, only a few kill permits and one depredation hunt have been approved. More common solutions to depredation include trapping and removal, netting to exclude birds, and scare tactics. Turkeys are not native to Idaho. Plantings in the 1960s were limited and produced only a few small flocks. The department, with the help of the National Wild Turkey Federation and local conservationists, began transplants in earnest in the early 1980s. Idaho now has populations of MerriamsÑthe most common turkey in the WestÑas well as the Rio Grande strain in a few places in southern Idaho, and the eastern turkeyÑlargest and reputedly most difficult to hunt of all wild turkeysÑaround Dworshak Reservoir in the Clearwater Region.