DOW ENCOURAGES HUNTERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SPRING TURKEY SEASON
April marks an important time for many hunters in Colorado. After a long winter and a slowly approaching spring, its time to apply for big game licenses and make plans for autumn hunting seasons. But April also brings another hunting opportunity, one that occurs much sooner than the distant big game seasons, and one that an increasing number of Coloradoans are pursuing, the spring turkey season.
With spring turkey seasons set to begin on April 14th and a plethora of good opportunities available, hunters are making plans now. Across much of the state, turkey populations are doing very well where good habitat exists to support the birds. Colorado is home to two types of wild turkeys; the native Merriam’s and the introduced Rio Grande turkey. In Colorado, Merriam’s wild turkeys are widely distributed, with core populations located on the southeast pinyon-juniper canyons, the southern Front Range, and western Colorado. Smaller populations are found along the northern Front Range. Rio Grande wild turkeys were introduced to Colorado from neighboring states to the east, and occur primarily within the cottonwood-riparian drainages on the Eastern Plains. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has been transplanting turkeys to suitable habitat for many years and because of this, turkeys may be more numerous now than at any point in history.
According to DOW harvest surveys, approximately 11,000 people hunt turkeys during Colorado’s spring season. Collectively, turkey hunters spend nearly 46,000 days in the field during the spring season. Over much of the state, spring turkey licenses are not limited, and are available for purchase at any license agent, while in specific game management units, licenses are limited in number and were available in a limited drawing that concluded in February. The 2006 spring turkey harvest survey indicates approximately 3,200 turkeys were harvested during the spring seasons in Colorado last year, including 2,800 from areas in which licenses were not limited. Southeast Colorado, including the counties of Las Animas, Pueblo, Fremont and Huerfano, and western Colorado including the counties of La Plata, Archuleta, Delta and Mesa frequently provide excellent spring turkey hunting opportunity and harvest.
Considering the popularity and growth of spring turkey hunting, the DOW explored expanding the popular Walk-In Access Program to spring turkey hunting on the West Slope. Because only one landowner expressed interest, access to this property will be limited to maintain a safe and quality hunting experience. If interested, see the DOW’s Web site (www.wildlife.state.co.us). Fortunately for hunters, opportunities to hunt turkeys in Colorado are abundant on state, federal and private land.
The DOW wants turkey hunters to be safe in the field this spring. While all hunters have to practice safe hunting techniques in the field, turkey hunting requires some additional precautions to guarantee a safe and rewarding hunting experience.
- Always be absolutely sure of your target. Once you pull the trigger you cannot call the shot back.
- Do not stalk turkey sounds; let the turkeys come to you. Always assume any calls are being made by another hunter.
- Do not wear turkey colors. Red, white and blue are colors found on a turkey’s head.
- Carry your decoys in a blaze orange bag whenever walking in or out of the field.
- Place a blaze orange band around a nearby tree to let other hunters know there is another hunter set up in the area.
- Wear or display blaze orange on your person whenever moving or changing stands.
- With the new full-strut tom turkey decoys on the market, others may mistake a decoy for a legal tom turkey. Be sure to place your decoys in a way that you are not in the line of fire should another hunter shoot at the decoy.
- If you see another hunter, do not wave at them or move suddenly. Speak to them in a loud, clear voice and let them know you are there.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.