Libby City Council still talking turkey
One of the many signs of spring is the courtship of wild turkey hens by their male counterpart, the gobbler. Recently, a group of gobblers were getting pushy with each other as they tried to impress several females. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
While one of the founding fathers of our country, Benjamin Franklin, debated the merits of the wild turkey and bald eagle as a symbol of the United States, there are some in Libby who would prefer the turkey be eradicated.
The topic was debated once again during the city’s Wildlife Management Committee meeting on April 6.
Councilor Gary Beach asked Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel who attended the meeting if the state had any programs or grants for removal. He also wondered, “Is complete removal possible?”
Council discussed what to do with wild turkeys who frequent some parts of the city in 2019 and also last year.
But more than three years later, it has yet to develop a management plan which is necessary before any decisions can be made.
Beach acknowledged that the idea of a widespread slaughter of turkeys in town would be an issue because, “Some people just like ‘em.”
Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist Tonya Chilton-Radandt said if the city develops a management plan for the birds, it may be possible to do something.
Hunting the birds is a no-go in the city because it is not permitted due to safety concerns over firing weapons. Trapping, which has occurred before, is not as simple as some believe it is. Wildlife officials say the birds quickly become wary of trapping efforts.
Feeding the birds, whether intentional or not, remains one of the biggest problems. The city does have an ordinance that prohibits the intentional feeding of turkeys. Fines begin at $300 and can be as much as $500. But a city police force that currently has just one officer, city officials realize enforcement would be problematic.
Some residents who attended the meeting suggested mailing postcards to city residents reminding them of the ordinance.
Turkeys have quickly learned to target residences with bird feeders or fruit-producing trees and shrubs, too. Feeders placed outside for small songbirds are not illegal.
Other communities in Montana have dealt with wild turkey issues.
According to a 2014 article in “Distinctly Montana,” Red Lodge residents were subject to a maximum $300 fine for feeding the birds.
In northwest Montana, wildlife officials in Eureka and Whitefish are dealing with turkey problems, too, according to wildlife managers.
Avian flu, which wildlife officials determined was the cause of death in three wild turkeys in Billings about a year ago, has complicated the matter, too. While trapping the birds could be an option, moving them elsewhere is out of the question.
Chilton-Radandt said she has tested three dead turkeys in Libby to see if they had avian flu, but none did. If a wild turkey in Libby turned up dead with avian flu as the cause that would change the approach of wildlife officials, much as it did when deer starting turning up with chronic wasting disease.
If turkeys are trapped, as they have been in the past, they would be tested for diseases and if found to be clean, donated to area food pantries.
Some in attendance proposed just netting turkeys and “Deal with it on your own.”
But state Game Warden Jon Obst said because wild turkeys are a game species they can’t just be netted and killed without a license and during an established hunting season.
Others questioned where the birds came from in the first place.
Chilton-Radandt said a former biologist who worked in the Libby area said turkeys began showing up after Idaho Fish and Game officials brought the birds into the Bonners Ferry area.
Media accounts place the introductions to the state in the early 1960s. Sometime longtime locals recall turkeys showing up in the area in the 1990s.
Montana Fish and Game first introduced wild turkeys, the Merriam’s subspecies, in 1954. Thirteen birds came from Colorado into the Judith Mountains of central Montana. A second release was made in 1955 when 18 turkeys from Wyoming were released into the Long Pines area of southeastern Montana. Wyoming stock was also used in the Ashland area of southeastern Montana in 1956 and 1957 when 26 birds were released. This marked the last time stock from outside Montana was transplanted.