Fowl play

ESCANABA - With Thanksgiving, turkey is on a lot of peoples' minds. Some may be surprised to learn wild turkeys are not native to the U.P. Turkeys that have been brought to the U.P. have thrived - with a little help.

Turkeys are indigenous to southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin and other points farther south, according to Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Craig Albright. He said the limiting factor for wild turkeys up here is the amount of snow we get.

"They were not native to the Upper Peninsula historically," said Albright. "The reason is that we get too much snow for them to do very well up here because they forage on the ground for food. Once we get over six inches of snow that becomes difficult."

Turkeys were introduced in the U.P. in Menominee County in 1965.

"When citizens expressed interest in having turkeys, we were reluctant but we decided to give it a go," said Albright. "They did well, especially if they could get attached to a farm where they could eat waste grains and other things."

The DNR also discovered local residents took the birds under their wing by providing winter food. In fact, since turkeys have lived in Delta County, several wildlife groups have offered feeding programs for the turkeys.

"We made releases on the Stonington and Garden peninsulas in 1986 and that was the beginning of our modern-day flock here," said Albright.

"So many people would enjoy seeing them and would put corn out there, and there's two groups that really kept those programs going: Wildlife Unlimited of Delta County and the National Wild Turkey Federation (Bays de Noc Gobblers)."

Ken Buchholtz of the Bays de Noc Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation said his group works with WUDC and the DNR.

He said feeding programs usually start around the first of the year.

"We usually start the programs when there's about a foot of snow on the ground," said Buchholtz. "The feeding program goes through March."

Buchholtz said the feeding program helps local people with some of the cost for corn.

"What we're doing is a cost share where we will pay 25 percent of the cost or up to $4 per hundred pounds," said Buchholtz. "We have a tight budget right now, but actually the price of corn has gone down a little bit." He said it now costs $11.95 per hundred pounds).

Anyone interested in a feeding program may contact Buchholtz at (906) 553-2268, or sign up at Ray's Feed Mill in Bark River or Mel's Lawn & Garden in Escanaba. All feeding sites are inspected and approved.

A new project local wildlife groups are undertaking is a wildlife habitat improvement for 2009, where they will look at and encourage planting fruit-bearing trees and other foliage turkeys could eat during winter, all in an effort to create a more turkey-friendly environment.

"We're trying to get these animals back to nature," said Buchholtz.

An estimated 14,000 turkeys live in the U.P., with 5,000 in Delta County. The DNR has liberal hunting rules and sponsor two hunts per year, one in fall and one in spring.

Albright said the chances of receiving a license are almost 100 percent.

""Practically anyone who wants to hunt turkeys can go," he said.