Turkey shoot
February 28th, 2006 by Administrator
Turkey shoot - Jim Maturen’s shoebox is bursting at its seams. Every year for the last 38 years, Maturen has hunted turkeys. Every year for the past 38 years, he has added a small trophy consisting of a leg, beard and his license, all tied together.
“I’ve got that box so full, I have a rubber band around it just to hold it together,” Maturen said. “I’m out there every day from April to June - it’s been years and years and years since I haven’t taken my gobbler.”
Maturen’s odyssey with turkey hunting began shortly after the state re-introduced the bird in 1954. Turkeys were wiped out by hunters in the late 1800s.
The numbers have grown over the years and now stand around 18,583 in the 13-county Area K. It is less than the 23,000 birds in the area five years ago, Maturen said.
Maturen, a Reed City resident and Director of Membership for the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association, said turkey hunters want to reverse the population drop that has occurred in the last few years. One method has been a moratorium on the fall hunt.
Traditionally, there are turkey hunts in the fall and spring. The fall hunt is used for population controls in areas with large populations.
“We recommended to the DNR to not have the fall hunt,” Maturen said. “The whole north country is experiencing a drop.”
A population of 18,583 birds means about three turkeys per square mile. A number “experts don’t even consider stable,” Maturen said. Local county estimates break down as follows: Lake, 1,050; Missaukee, 1,604; Osceola, 1,629; Wexford, 1,872. The estimates are based on a 5 percent increase from 2005 thanks to a good nesting spring, said DNR Wildlife Technician Ruthann French.
The first two spring hunts - from April 17 to 23 and April 24 to 30 in Area K - have only 8,500 permits issued total. The third hunt, which is open May 1 to 31, is open to hunters who were unsuccessful in drawing a permit for the first two hunts.
“The first two hunts try to hold numbers down and make quota hunts but keep it a quality hunt,” said Bob Garner, a Natural Resources Commissioner and Cadillac resident. “We’re trying to not have turkey hunters shoulder to shoulder.”
The DNR has issued the same number of early season permits for the last few years and have seen similar harvests, French said.
“For an avid turkey hunter, they really prefer the first two weeks because the birds are still engaged in spring mating behavior and the hens haven’t gone to the nest yet,” French said. “But a lot of guys prefer the later hunt because they have more time.”
Maturen said the mix of hardwood forests and agricultural lands makes northern Michigan ideal for turkeys. The problems are winter mortality and less than adequate public land.
“In a bad winter, you don’t find any turkeys in the state or federal forests,” Maturen said. “They all go to the private farm land where there’s food.”
Southern Michigan is a prime example where an increase is private ownership is costing valuable hunting land and forcing many hunters to travel north. Hence, the MWTHA has been involved in providing input to forest management agencies. As more and more hunters come to northern Michigan to hunt, Maturen said if the turkey or deer numbers aren’t available, then the hunter numbers will decline.
For now though, that decline in the south of the state may benefit northern Michigan. With 1 million acres to hunt, visitors can roam to their heart’s desire in a quality hunting area, he said. In total, there are 110,000 turkey hunters each year.
“We want to build those numbers much higher yet,” Maturen said about turkey numbers. “Our recommendation is going to be continuing the moratorium until we can build the numbers back up at least to where they were five years ago. They’re not anywhere near where we want them to be.”
Still, if the past is any indication, turkeys want to succeed in northern Michigan.
“Turkeys were extirpated in the state of Michigan, they were gone,” Garner said. “This is a great success story. It gives a whole ‘nother season and a whole ‘nother reason to care about what’s going on in the woods.”
Turkeys have also brought about such groups as the MWTHA, which has been dedicated to sustaining and growing the population and providing food and habitat for birds. This year, the MWTHA is feeding 55 flocks consisting of 3,703 birds.
Turkeys have also re-adapted to Michigan by becoming much more difficult prey.
“Birds used to be just plain stupid,” Garner said. “If you had the guts to go out and buy a box call and went out and squawked away on the thing, you could kill a turkey. Now, birds know when they hear too many calls, it’s a sham.”
By Matt Whetstone, Cadillac News