Gobblin’ Game With The Expansion Of Wild Turkey Populations In Washington And Idaho, The Variety Of Hunts Offered This Spring Season Is Sure To Keep Permit Holders Satisfied

If your investment portfolio could show a growth curve equal to the expansion of wild turkeys in Washington and Idaho, you’d be well on your way to Easy Street.

“This is still the glory days of turkey hunting in Washington,” said Dan Blatt, Fish and Wildlife Department turkey program manager. “The turkeys are still expanding and not everybody in the world is out there hunting them, yet.”

Idaho has gone to regulatory lengths to assure the growth in tag sales doesn’t interfere with the hunt.

“We use various seasons trying to provide more opportunity, but also to spread people out,” said Tom Hemker, Idaho Fish and Game Department upland bird manager.

“Getting away from crowds is very important to the quality of a turkey hunter’s experience.”

Washington offers a unique opportunity called the “Washington Slam.” Because of aggressive efforts to introduce birds to different habitats, hunters have the unique opportunity to bag one of each of the state’s three turkey subspecies in a single season.

Hunters should carefully study regulations and tag requirements for this privilege.

Eastern-strain turkeys are concentrated in southwestern Washington’s Thurston, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Cowlitz and portions of Clark, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.

Merriam’s turkeys generally are found in northeastern Washington where the largest concentrations are in Stevens County. But the traditional hotbed for the Merriam’s strain has been in southcentral Washington’s Klickitat and Skamania counties.

As in most Western states, the Rio Grande turkeys are the most widespread in Washington. They are particularly abundant in the southwest corner of the state in virtually all foothills around the Blue Mountains.

Hunters should find healthy flocks in the Tucannon and Touchet river areas, where last year’s devastating floods wiped out roads and cut hunter access to a trickle.

Washington’s first fall turkey season was in 1965. The first spring season wasn’t authorized until 1970. The state licensed 4,200 hunters who killed 600 turkeys last year.

Idaho has both general and controlled-access hunts for spring turkeys. But the general hunts have been expanded this spring, particularly in the Panhandle.

Hunters must check regulations carefully. Some units are open to general hunting, others are open only to hunters who draw special permits. Some units are closed to turkey hunting.

Idaho has at least three spring seasons, depending on the region, with different dates for general hunting and permit hunting. The general season in an expanded area of the Panhandle Units 1 through 6, will be April 28-May 11.

Controlled hunts open as early as April 12.

In a decade, the number of wild turkeys taken by Idaho hunters has increased from less than 100 to nearly 2,000 last spring.

New in Idaho this year, hunters are limited to shooting only turkeys with beards.

Identifying male turkeys by spurs or feather coloration is unreliable and has caused some hens to be shot and discarded in the past, Hemker said.

Essentially all male turkeys have a visible beard. Only about 5 percent of the hen turkeys in Idaho have beards, he said.

Now that the birds are distributed more widely, general hunts can be expanded in the Panhandle, Hemker said. But the best bets for spring turkey hunting continue to be the controlled hunts.

Hunters who planned ahead and applied for drawings had a good chance of getting a permit for the first crack at the birds in the Panhandle.

“The first controlled hunt is the shortest, but only 125 hunters will be allowed in the entire region,” Hemker said. “That’s your reward, and the odds of getting a tag are only about 2-to-1.

“If you applied for the second controlled hunt in the Panhandle, you had almost a sure chance of getting one of the 325 tags. This hunt follows the first controlled hunt, but it is longer, including two weekends.”

But if you didn’t plan ahead, you can still buy a tag for the general season, which follows the two controlled hunts. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TURKEY SEASONS Washington April 15-May 15. Limit: One bird a season, with options to take up to three. Idaho Two general seasons plus several controlled hunts with dates ranging April 12-May 18. Limit: One turkey a season.