Washington Stuffed With Wild Gobblers

State wildlife managers aren’t resting on the laurels of a successful trap and transplant program even though wild turkey are almost as common as deer in some parts of Washington.

“We’re constantly doing what we can to move birds around to get the right subspecies in the right habitats,” said Dan Blatt, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department wild turkey program manager. “I think most turkey hunters would agree our efforts are paying off handsomely. This state is loaded with turkeys, and it’s getting better every year.”

The state is also on the verge of being loaded with turkey hunters. A new licensing system enacted last year offers a free turkey tag to any bird hunter who buys the state’s small-game hunting license package.

Many turkey hunters are grumbling about the change. Not only did department officials decide to give away the state’s only $18 hunting tag for which sales were increasing, but they also apparently tainted the pool of turkey hunters.

“The feedback is that this is a great bargain, but a lot of less-than-serious hunters were out looking for a tom last season,” Blatt said. “Veteran turkey hunters said they saw more people who didn’t know anything about the sport or the safety rules, such as not stalking a gobble that could turn out to be another hunter.

“I’m particularly concerned about reports that a few landowners who were OK with the dedicated turkey hunters are having second thoughts about the casual hunters who show up on a whim just because they got a free tag in their package.”

Casual turkey hunters are less likely to scout and get permission to hunt on private land, and they aren’t as well versed on techniques, he said.

“We heard more incidents of hunters illegally shooting out of their vehicles,” Blatt said. “Landowners sour on that kind of behavior real fast.”

Harvest card returns indicate the number of turkeys killed in Washington increased from about 850 in 1998 to 1,600 last year, while the number of hunters increased from 6,000 to roughly 8,000.

Hunters heading out for Washington’s Saturday through May 15 season will find the biggest gains from turkey relocations in the Yakima Region, where Merriam’s turkeys are expanding better than the original plants of Rio Grande subspecies.

Merriam’s turkeys also are being introduced to Chelan County to extend the species range from eastern Skamania county to Chelan.

Merriam’s turkeys are multiplying in Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties, while Rio Grandes are the dominant birds in Lincoln and Okanogan Counties and the foothills of the Blue Mountains in southeastern Washington.

Smart hunters start long before the season securing permission to hunt on private land. But don’t concentrate so much on areas along roads where turkeys were visible all winter. By the time turkey season opens, many of the birds will be spreading into summer ranges.

Generally, it’s better to think in terms of where you saw the birds last summer rather than where you saw them last month.

More and more hunters are stepping up to the challenge of taking a Washington Slam-a Rio Grande, Merriam’s, and Eastern-strain turkey during a single season. Records show that 931 hunters bought second turkey tags last year and 228, including two youths, bought third tags.

The Eastern birds are the most difficult to bag because of their dense forested haunts in Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Thurston, and Wahkiakum Counties. “Most hunters go where there are lots of birds they can see,” Blatt said. “Only about 30-some turkeys were killed in Western Washington last year. Most of the hunters going for these Eastern-strain birds are trying to get their slam.”