Wild turkeys could be the greatest conservation story ever. On the brink of extinction at the turn of the century across much of their range, turkey populations have now rebounded to the point where there are more turkeys than ever in many states, including Michigan.

Biologists now estimate that there are in excess of 175,000 turkeys in Michigan. Many of those birds are north of the Bay City to Muskegon line and in the Upper Peninsula, places where there were traditionally no turkeys at all. Thanks to transplanting efforts, winter feeding programs and habitat management, there are more opportunities to hunt turkeys in the state of Michigan than ever before, and success rates are some of the highest in the country.

“Turkey hunters in Michigan enjoyed a very good season in 2004,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources upland game bird specialist Al Stewart. “Hunters harvested 37,500 birds during the 2004 season, which is the largest harvest in Michigan history. The harvest was about 12 percent above 2003.”

That’s a long way from the 50 turkeys that 1,000 hunters killed during the first Michigan turkey hunt back in 1969.

“There weren’t any real hotspots,” offered Stewart. “Turkey numbers have expanded so much in recent years that hunting was generally good across the board. South of the Bay City to Muskegon line, turkeys continue to expand their range. Winter feeding bans have affected turkey numbers in the northeast part of the state, so there are fewer birds there now, but turkeys in the U.P. continue to do very well, and there were some leftover permits there. May can be a particularly good time to hunt in the U.P.”

The areas open to turkey hunting have expanded from a mere 4,049 square miles in 1969 to more than 44,450 square miles in 2004. Stewart said that several areas — like L, P and X — would be combined this coming season, so hunters should check the turkey hunting regulations guide for boundaries and zones.

“Success rates of turkey hunters are usually fairly constant,” claimed Stewart. “We usually average right around 30 percent, when in reality a success rate of around 20 percent would be acceptable. That’s why the 41 percent success rate that hunters enjoyed last season is so remarkable.”

Increased hunting opportunities in southern Michigan, longer seasons, less hunting pressure in traditional turkey hunting areas and plenty of birds are just a few of the reasons for the high hunter success rates.

What can hunters expect in the spring of 2005?

“I think we’ll see a similar number of birds this spring if we have an average nesting season,” suggested Stewart. “Reproduction appeared to be good this spring. We enjoyed our third-driest April on record, but the wettest May. The flood plains were dry when most nesting occurred, but then flooded out and I’m sure many of the first nesting attempts were lost. I think there was a lot of re-nesting and the birds moved to the uplands where nesting success was higher.”

Hunters and others reported seeing a lot of turkey poults last summer and fall in a variety of sizes, which indicates that there was a lot of late nesting and re-nesting.

For more information on applying for turkey hunting licenses, application deadlines, zones, season dates, hunting hours and more, visit the DNR’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr or contact the DNR Wildlife Division at (517) 373-1263.

FROM THE THUMB

Linda Gallagher is known as the “turkey lady” by many who know her across the state of Michigan. Besides writing for a number of publications, Gallagher’s real passion is turkey hunting, and she takes every opportunity to get out in the woods and fields to take friends or introduce kids to the sport of turkey hunting.

Gallagher doesn’t guide. She said that would be a conflict of interest with the winter feeding programs she heads up, which is critical to sustaining huntable number of turkeys across northern Michigan. But she admits that doesn’t mean she won’t accept donations to the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association from successful hunters that she coaches.

“Last year was the worst turkey season I’ve ever seen,” lamented Gallagher. Why? “The weather,” she stated. “There were lots of birds, but the weather was absolutely terrible. We had temperatures as cold as 19 degrees during the April hunt. We had wind and rain and cold and it made for a miserable hunt. Then it gradually got worse until the very last few days of the season.”