Family-Outdoors

Spring is just around the corner, and folks are thinking about the coming turkey season, but did you know how far Michigan has really come in the turkey world? For the first time in history, wild turkeys can be found in every county of the Lower Peninsula, plus several areas of the Upper Peninsula. In 1977, only 400 birds were harvested during the season, and today harvest numbers are over 30,000 birds! This success didn’t just happen overnight, but over the last half-century. At one time in Michigan’s history, turkeys were very plentiful, although over time they vanished from every county in Michigan because of unregulated take and loss of habitat. Many efforts to re-establish the population were made from 1919 through late 1983. Michigan biologists took notice of Pennsylvania’s success and received birds from that state in 1954, matching the Pennsylvania habitat with an area of southern Michigan. The area chosen was the Allegan State Game Area. Through the 1980s, wild tu...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IslFyWazDio&feature=share&list=PLPdKLnhMDmy4LufWnWpwzhU7W9CdKIus_  The Black Kettle Wildlife Management Area in Roger Mills Co. is more valuable for turkeys today than it was just a few months ago thanks to a joint project conducted recently by state and federal governments and an important conservation group.      The effort involved using two large machines to "chew up" the overgrown understory of 85-100 acres of cottonwood stands that would otherwise be prime turkey roosting habitat.      "This was a joint effort between the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wild Turkey Federation," said Scott Parry, Wildlife Department biologist stationed over Black Kettle WMA. "The reason we want to do this is that Rio Grande turkeys like to roost in mature trees, primarily cottonwoods.        The cottonwoods in these areas were getting grown up ...

The Porcupine Mountains on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently partnered with the Bays de Noc Gobblers Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Wildlife Unlimited of Delta County and Upper Peninsula Whitetails of Delta County (UPWDC) to plant apple trees near Escanaba for the benefit of various wildlife species. “We have a history of collaborating with local wildlife groups, with partnerships to work on wildlife openings going back at least the last six years,” said Vernon Richardson, wildlife technician for the DNR at the Gladstone Field Office. “These cooperative projects benefit numerous wildlife species, both game and non-game, and help increase productivity of natural habitats as well as build and improve relationships between DNR staff and local organizations.” Six volunteers from the NWTF and Wildlife Unlimited of Delta County worked over thee days to plant 100 trees near Seven Mile Mars...

 (Photo credit: Al_HikesAZ ) The National Wild Turkey Federation has been a strong supporter of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for decades, and the two recently sealed plans to continue their partnership into the future.             At its June meeting, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission entered into a memorandum of agreement with the NWTF to continue partnering in conservation efforts in the state. While longtime agreements that have been in place between the two have focused on restoring and enhancing turkey populations and habitat, the two are looking toward a future of generating interest among Oklahomans in the outdoors and getting people into the woods to enjoy wildlife and engage in conservation.             According to Robert Abernethy, NWTF vice-president of agency programs, the NWTF signed a similar memorandum of a...