wild turkeys released in blaine county MT

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   NWTF And MTFWP Release Wild Turkeys In Blaine County

By Ronald Fischer

bcj_fischer@yahoo.com

On Wednesday, January 25th, 48 wild turkeys were re-leased along Lodge 

Creek north of Chinook. The release was a joint effort between the 

National Wild Turkey Federa-tion, the Montana Department of Fish, 

Wildlife and Parks and landowner Bob Munson. 

Chinook 5th grader Billy Fischer attended the release and wrote a detailed 

account, which appears on this page. In addition, he received much 

information from Chris For-tune, Regional Director of the National Wild 

Turkey Federa-tion, in order to provide many facts about wild turkeys for 

BCJ readers.

The turkeys were trapped earlier that week near Wibaux, then transported 

to north cen-tral Montana by trailer. Each turkey was individually “boxed” 

to keep it warm and also to protect it from itself and from other turkeys 

in the excitement of the transport.

NWTF member Terry Turner stated that due to the right combination of 

habitat, terrain and food, the trans-planted turkeys should do very well, 

and the population should grow strong in the near future. “In about five 

years,” he said, “the FWP should be able to issue hunting licenses to area 

sportsmen.”

FWP spokesman Andrew McKean of the Region 6 office in Glasgow 

underscored this good news. “These birds will become huntable in time, 

once populations grows to a sustain-able level.” McKean went on to 

declare his gratitude to the landowners on behalf of the FWP and the 

sportsmen of the area. “It's really remarkable that this number (more than 

20) of landowners would allow hunting once these birds get established.” 

According to Adrian Doucette of the NWTF in Havre, the future looks 

bright for similar projects. The FWP has made agreements with several 

landowners from Havre to Zurich where additional releases can be made 

in the coming years. 

Doucette went on to ex-press appreciation for the ef-forts of local 

landowners, sportsmen and others who have been involved.  “The Havre 

and Chinook communities have been very supportive at the annual 

banquets the NWTF has in Havre to raise funds for these type of projects.”

For more information about the NWTF and its conservation efforts, call 

Adrian Doucette at 265.1580 or visit the NWTF website at www.nwtf.org. 

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TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Administrator aka The Gipper Joined: 10 June 2003 Location: Chinook Montana Status: Offline Points: 14753	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: wild turkeys released in blaine county MT Posted: 30 January 2006 at 12:03
	NWTF And MTFWP Release Wild Turkeys In Blaine County By Ronald Fischer bcj_fischer@yahoo.com On Wednesday, January 25th, 48 wild turkeys were re-leased along Lodge Creek north of Chinook. The release was a joint effort between the National Wild Turkey Federa-tion, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and landowner Bob Munson. Chinook 5th grader Billy Fischer attended the release and wrote a detailed account, which appears on this page. In addition, he received much information from Chris For-tune, Regional Director of the National Wild Turkey Federa-tion, in order to provide many facts about wild turkeys for BCJ readers. The turkeys were trapped earlier that week near Wibaux, then transported to north cen-tral Montana by trailer. Each turkey was individually “boxed” to keep it warm and also to protect it from itself and from other turkeys in the excitement of the transport. NWTF member Terry Turner stated that due to the right combination of habitat, terrain and food, the trans-planted turkeys should do very well, and the population should grow strong in the near future. “In about five years,” he said, “the FWP should be able to issue hunting licenses to area sportsmen.” FWP spokesman Andrew McKean of the Region 6 office in Glasgow underscored this good news. “These birds will become huntable in time, once populations grows to a sustain-able level.” McKean went on to declare his gratitude to the landowners on behalf of the FWP and the sportsmen of the area. “It's really remarkable that this number (more than 20) of landowners would allow hunting once these birds get established.” According to Adrian Doucette of the NWTF in Havre, the future looks bright for similar projects. The FWP has made agreements with several landowners from Havre to Zurich where additional releases can be made in the coming years. Doucette went on to ex-press appreciation for the ef-forts of local landowners, sportsmen and others who have been involved. “The Havre and Chinook communities have been very supportive at the annual banquets the NWTF has in Havre to raise funds for these type of projects.” For more information about the NWTF and its conservation efforts, call Adrian Doucette at 265.1580 or visit the NWTF website at www.nwtf.org.
	TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Administrator aka The Gipper Joined: 10 June 2003 Location: Chinook Montana Status: Offline Points: 14753	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 January 2006 at 12:04
	Eyewitness Account Of Blaine County Turkey Release By Billy Fischer Special Correspondent Much of the information provided comes from Chris Fortune, Regional Director of the NWTF. For more information, visit NWTF’s website and www.nwtf.org. Turkeys are large birds that live mostly on the ground, but they roost in trees. On Wednesday, January 25, 2006 some wild turkeys were released a few miles north of Chinook. There were 39 females and 9 males, 48 in all. When they got out of the box, some went into a creekbed, others went into the tree branches, while still some went into a nearby field. The first few were a little stiff from the cold. Turkeys eat mostly any thing but prefer grains, corn, oats, and alfalfa. In a pinch, they will even eat sagebrush seeds. They apparently drink water. If they can't get water they fly somewhere else. When it's cold out, turkeys are not bothered. On the other hand, when it snows over 36 inches, they are in danger. So if you own a turkey farm, you might need a house for them. A young male is called a jake. An older male (2 years) is called a tom. They call females hens. There’s a lot about turkeys!
	TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Administrator aka The Gipper Joined: 10 June 2003 Location: Chinook Montana Status: Offline Points: 14753	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 January 2006 at 12:05
	Edited by TasunkaWitko
	TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

samchap Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List .416 Rigby Honor, Integrity Joined: 12 August 2003 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1781	Post Options Post Reply Quote samchap Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 January 2006 at 16:06
	Tas, Turkeys are now the #1 visible game animal in Maine. We have done away with a lottery for turkey permits. Now all we need to do is purchase a $20 turkey tag. Relocatin program is running into opposition from farmers in the north who say that turkeys are a nuisance. When winter feed gets scarce they get into dairy barns and steal the cattle feed. It is very common to see large patches in the woods rotorary-tilled from turkeys scratching. Deer hunters feel they are competing with whitetail deer for quality fall rorage such as the nuts and dried berries. Turkeys eat ~3 # feed a day. 50,000 turkeys can eat 150,000 pounds of feed a day.Times 365, that = 54,750,000 pounds. thats 27,285 tonnes! 1000 turkeys eat 1,095,000 pounds a year ao 547.5 tonnes a year. Why do't you check this out for yourself. It might make for an interesting article. The story about the turkeys and the farmers was in the Maine, Bangor Daily News a couple or three weeks ago.
	samchap - Waldoboro, ME Be careful what you decide to not like. Your wife may wear one. Your son may ride one. Your daughter may bring one home. You may have to have one someday.