Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation plans to create more turkey-hunting opportunities in the province

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation is undertaking a plan to create turkey-hunting opportunities in the province. During this fall and next spring, the federation has a permit to trap Merriam’s turkeys in the southwest of the province, then release them in different locations elsewhere suitable for hunting.

While Saskatchewan doesn’t have an official turkey season, the SWF’s executive director, Darrell Crabbe, is confident that will soon change. “We’re currently not far from a hunt,” he says. “Our goal is that within a year or two, we’ll have suitable numbers to put a limited draw system in place.”

According to Crabbe, the timeline between transplanting turkeys to allowing limited shooting opportunities is surprisingly short. With their large clutches, turkeys are quite prolific, he says, so with a favourable winter they should reproduce very quickly.

The existing turkey population in the southwest of the province has been identified as a problem flock due to its size, Crabbe says, but the birds should be ideal for transplanting. “We’ve been advised by folks from Manitoba who do a lot of this, that later in October, as well as in March, are good times of the year to relocate,” he says, noting the turkeys can learn where food sources are as long as there’s less than 50 per cent snow cover.

In addition, the birds will be released near cattle herds, which naturally disturb insects and vegetation, making food more accessible and visible to ground-feeding birds such as turkeys, experts say. Then, later in spring, the birds will hopefully move into forests and treed areas to start nesting.

For conservation reasons, Crabbe is not revealing the exact locations where the turkeys will be released, but says the SWF is looking closely at some of the province’s large valley systems, including the Qu’Appelle and the Pipestone.

Learn more about the SWF at www.swf.sk.ca.