WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — Hunters are gobbling up their gear as they head into the woods for the start of the spring turkey season Wednesday.
The DNR said they have high hopes for the season as even more people are signing up to hunt them. In fact, there have been 16,000 more applicants than normal this season, meaning 150,000 people are heading into the woods over the next few weeks.
"We have high hopes for this season," said Aliaina Geritz, the assistant Upland Wildlife Ecologist for the DNR. "We've seen an increase in harvest last spring and fall. Those are indications we have a healthy and robust flock, that's how we track our population. We also had really great overwinter weather."
The season includes six, seven-day periods that run Wednesday through the following Tuesday and will end June 1. For hunters heading to the woods, the DNR reminds you to be mindful of your clothing and don't wear red, white, or blue. Other hunters in the woods could mistake you for one of our feathered friends. The DNR adds to remember the four rules of firearm safety or TAB-K (read the rules on their Facebook post below).
Turkeys can be hunted in every county in Wisconsin, just don't forget to register your harvest, as Geritz reminds us that's how they track population.
For those that remember, turkeys weren't always around in Wisconsin. That's why they're one of our state's greatest conservation stories. In the 60's and 70's, Wisconsin had almost no turkeys here. That's when the DNR traded some rough grouse with Missouri in exchange for some wild turkeys. And boy, did that take off because now they're in every county.
"We reintroduced them into the southwestern part of the state in private lands, that was started in the 70's," Geritz said. "When we started that program we thought we'd probably only have turkeys in the southern half of our state." She adds, "Historically before European settlement, we never had turkeys in the northern part of the state. Now they reach up to Bayfield and Ashland counties. So they've been just a huge success."
For all turkey hunters the DNR said they have to purchase a turkey stamp for $5.25. That money then goes toward species specific management like restoration and education efforts.
