RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Change
 

Over where I've been deer hunting in northern Stevens county the turkey and deer feeding greenies (along with thier NO hunting signs) are a pain in the ........! There is one field just over the Barstow bridge from highway 395 where there has been upwards (4x8 plywood no hunting sign in field) of 20 deer and at least a hundred turkeys every time over there. Now I don't know that they're being fed, but they sure have a fine sanctuary there. I DO know that we have paid to move many of those birds.

RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Change
 

As far as trapping birds on the east side, I don't think you can trap too heavy and screw up an area. If it's a good spot, the next year or two it will be loaded with birds again. They come there for a reason. It may take several years, but they will return. Unfortunately, it is usually because the landowner is feeding them. I am all for bird populations expanding, but I think it should occur naturally. Take away the food supplementation and the bird numbers will go down or at least stabilize. Instead you get people feeding chopped corn and alfalfa to the birds to get them through winter. Then they gripe and complain that they make a mess and become a nuisance. No $#!+. If they get too bad, they want the WDFW to remove them. What should be done is the landowner should HAVE to allow hunters on their place to control the birds before the state foots the bill for a transplant.

I'm not sure this state can ever hold a stable number of Easterns on the west side. Between fungus, predators, and poaching, the birds just aren't doing as well as they'd hoped. And it is almost impossible to know accurate numbers due to the vegetation and terrain. Last I heard, they(WDFW) weren't interested in transplanting any more birds right now on the west side. Has anyone heard different?

RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Change
 

Last I heard is they won't even consider releasing more easterns on the west side until they have some idea of how they are actually doing. They haven't a clue as to the number of birds, where they are, or anything like that. I remember Dan saying those on the westside should take notes on birds they see through out the year, # of hens, # of toms, when and where just to get a rough idea as to what we actually have.

If you think about it, the birds on the east side had 30 years w/out hunting pressure to take hold. We transplanted 300 easterns in 96ish up and down the I-5 corridor (which we just paid off not too recently) and that has been it. Considering there was no ban of any sort for hunting them, I don't think they are doing too bad.

If you want more easterns, start relaying your information and try to get some sort of handle on how well they are doing. I don't know why WDFW has a gripe about releasing more, NWTF paid for those birds and they held our hands as we released them.

FYI I think it cost about 300 a bird to trap them in the midwest, transport, and release - that's a big bill to have - thanks all you NWTF members for your work, time and donations.

RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Changes
 

I know a few yrs ago they brought in some birds to my area from Stevens county but from what I was told lately they will not be bringing in any more. They had planned to bring in a set number but were shut down by Olympia. The birds we did get are it, they have no plans to move anymore in and it seems that when a land owner complains they take them out and move them to another county. I agree if a land owner is having problems then they should let a few hunters in to re-educate the birds about hanging around peoples places. But thats only if the land owner knocks off the feeding.
Also I was told that the Forest Service will not allow any birds to be released on their lands. That might be part of the problem on the westside of the state. Like anything the state wants our money but they wont put much effort into any that has to do with hunting or building more hunting opportunities for us.

RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Change
 

$90,000?!?! Dang, NWTF did spend a lot.. Then season was opened right after releasing them so most could be killed and now there is barely any left. Not smart... Isn't at least some of the money we use to pay for tags supposed to go to Wash. Wildlife Management? Where does that money go anyways? Don't Biologists get paid to do something like maybe, oh I dunno, check on turkey populations? I'm pretty sure someone under someone job title is has them checking wildlife populations. Me, personally, am just a citizen. It's not my job. If I'm paid to report turkey populations on the west side, I gladly will but until then I'll just have to keep killing them on the other side of the state. You would think they'd get a pretty good idea of how they're doing when in 2004, 80 birds were killed on the westside compared to 5716 killed on the eastside. We started doing hunter reports these past few season for a reason, right? It's just common sense to me. The WDFW should step things up a knotch. I have seriously thought long a hard whether to major in Computer Science or Wild Management/Biology. If I ever decide to take the latter of the two, I won't be getting a job in this state. It's way to crooked for my blood.

PacNW: I agree. That states wants our money badly. All they have to do is ask landowners to allow them to plant turkeys on their land. I'm sure some around where I live will let them. Take my family for example. We own 1200 acres that I'm sure we will let the WDFW plant turkeys.

RE: Wa. House considering Game Law Change
 

As for the plan they're trying to implement, the WDFW states they will no longer trap or transfer birds, they will not open any new areas for birds, they seem to want to go on this" IF they live , they live" action of no interference[:@] We held a meeting the other night with the State NWTF president and He is going to give them some ideas we had about all of this.

1) On people who feed them then claim damage on them, they will not get any funding for said damage. IF we hit these folks in their wallet maybe they'll quit feeding them then coimplaining about them.

2) Let trap and transfer continue for problem birds, and the NWTF will at least help fund the moves if not totally.

3) Make sure an use the NWTF as a greater tool in helping bare the burden of money and man power in dealing with the turkeys.

We have a lot of volunteers, like myself who got into the NWTF to help expand these birds.

Also by what I've read of the plan, remember we're fairly new to turkeys out here and so is the WDFW, they're learning about them biologically the smae way many of us learned to hunt them...by reading East coast Philosophy.....but I think they need to watch these birds and to see how they'll adapt to WA. They tell me that they will not do anything to help the Central WA flocks anymore, they don't think they'll make it.....well the last three years I've hunted up there I run into more and more every year and in different areas than previously seen. PLus witht the reports for Western WA, someday Merriam's will be in WEstern WA, one a guy up in Squiem, has planted a couple hundred up there and two, the Central and North Central flocks have crested the Cascades and are moving West. I personally think the turkeys in general are doing good and with new flocks growing and adpating I think they'll be alright. But Let the state know how you feel, right now they're taking public input to draft this plan, let's not let them screw this up the way they did every other game animal in this state.