The 25 Anniversary of Ontario's Wild Turkeys
North America's Largest Upland Game Bird is a Conservation Success
Apr 9, 2009
The Eastern wild turkey was once found in prodigious numbers all over America east of the Mississippi and in southern Ontario and Quebec. But by the late 19th century, forests had been unscrupulously cleared for farming, destroying habitat. Market gunners and poachers had decimated the bird’s populations.
In Ontario, the last native turkey was killed on the shores of Lake Erie in 1907.
U.S Wild Turkey Conservation
By the 1920s, sportsmen and conservationists in the U.S were working hard to save the continent’s largest upland game bird from total extinction. At this time, there were no more than 30,000 turkeys left in the country, compared to millions when the first settlers arrived.
Through habitat rehabilitation and restocking programs, their numbers recovered in leaps and bounds. By 1973, the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service estimated the American population at 1.3 million. Limited hunting seasons were reopened in many states.
The National Wild Turkey Federation, which was formed in 1973, calls the wild turkey “one of the greatest success stories in conservation.”
Ontario, Canada Turkey Reintroductions
It wasn’t long before the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the most prominent outdoors group in the province, began seriously considering the possibility of reintroducing the turkey to its Canadian range. Earlier attempts at restocking had been unsuccessful as they had used captive-reared birds that lacked the skills to survive in the wild. If a reintroduction was to succeed, it would have to be done with wild birds.
Wildlife Exchange, Trading Moose, Partridge and Otters for Turkeys
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the OFAH partnered to come up with a solution. In the early 1980s, they met with representatives from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service with a unique proposal; Ontario would “swap” several species of wildlife that were either rare or extirpated from the U.S for a sizeable number of turkeys.
Hilarious as it sounded, the USFWS agreed. In 1984, Ontario sent 50 moose to Michigan, 120 Hungarian partridge to New York State and 18 river otters divided between Missouri and Nebraska in exchange for 274 wild turkeys.
Success for Turkeys and Hunters
The turkeys quickly adapted to the areas they were released in, namely the Lake Erie and Niagara regions. In April of 1987, the first legal wild turkey season in over 80 years commenced. The earliest hunts were in only a few selected areas. The season was two weeks long and hunters had to stop by noon. As numbers multiplied, seasons grew longer and opportunities increased. By 2005, all-day hunting was permitted in and hunters could take two birds. A fall season was introduced in 2008. A survey count in 2007 revealed between 80,000 and 100,000 turkeys in Ontario.
As Ontario’s 79,000 turkey hunters are sighting their shotguns, honing their calling skills and scouting new hunting grounds before opening day this year, they can be thankful for the foresight of their predecessors that preserved the wild turkey for them and their children.
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