How much higher can it go? Will wild turkeys continue to expand their range into areas of the state where we didn’t used to think they could?

“It will level off at some point,” said Nelson, “but we’re not sure yet where that point might be. Will it be 15,000 birds? I don’t know how much more we might expect. That will be quite a harvest.”

Biologists and managers who gathered in Bloomington in January 2003 for the Northern Wild Turkey Workshop presented current research into how far north the birds might be able to survive. The overall impression paints a picture that this is a hardy bird that can deal with unbelievable cold and significant snow, as long as the hike to scratchable food is close to reliable roosting cover.

For turkey fanatics who crisscross our state, like NWTF regional director Tom Glines, many stands of timber adjacent to European agriculture bring on visions of pioneering turkey flocks, even far into the northern reaches. It’s probably not realistic to think turkeys will one day roam the pine-dominated northeast, but most other areas hold unrealized potential according to those who have studied the situation.

Current estimates of the total population put it at about 60,000 birds, and Glines counts himself among those who haven’t placed an upper limit on what might be ahead.

“Turkeys are a bird of the future,” said Glines. “They’re like Canada geese in that respect. On the landscape we have now, there are lots of places where turkeys can make a go of it. We have a huntable population in Manitoba, after all, so why not northwest Minnesota? We (NWTF) believe there is viable wild turkey habitat extending all the way to the Canadian border, and we want that part of the state included in the turkey range for potential future releases.”

Nelson and others in DNR are always quick to laud NWTF for its significant part in trap-and-transplant, habitat acquisition and management, and other efforts that have forged the turkey numbers we have today. In an era of tight budgets in state agencies, the thriving NWTF may play an ever-growing role in future expansion. As evidence, NWTF regional biologist Dave Neu, who had been assigned to work in seven states, is now concentrating on Minnesota and Wisconsin only. During fall 2004, Neu traveled the northwest section of Minnesota to survey habitat and imagine the future for turkeys.

“I went up through Thief River Falls, Crookston, Bagley, Red Lake Falls, Park Rapids and places like that,” said Neu. “A lot of it looks really good when I compare it to some of the areas in Wisconsin where we already have turkeys.”

Neu is quick to point out that he and NWTF will always operate as a cooperating partner with DNR’s turkey committee, headed by Nelson, veteran researcher Dick Kimmel and new Farmland Wildlife Program leader Bill Penning, among others.

“They already have a list of a dozen counties where they want to see turkeys released,” said Neu. “We will work together to see what kind of a logical progression we can make northward.”

Even within the southern sections of our state with established turkey populations, Neu and DNR researchers see the potential for more turkeys in more places, which can mean even more permits for hunters.

“Our population is already healthy,” said Penning, “and the future is very bright. Clearly, turkey hunting is the fastest-growing segment of hunting we have in the state. At some point, we’ll get to the limit where all available habitat has birds, but we’re not there yet. We are still in a growth phase, both in bird numbers and hunter participation.”

Penning articulates the DNR’s long-range goals by saying the hope is to offer 35,000 permits by 2010, “and I think we’ll meet that,” he said. Beyond that, he and the turkey committee plan to study big-picture potential in an effort to map out ultimate plans to manage future growth.