156,200 permits issued for spring turkey hunt
56,275 remaining permits will go on sale March 28
MADISON -- More than 156,200 permits are being issued be for the spring 2008 Wisconsin wild turkey season through the spring turkey preference drawing. Successful applicants will notified by postcards that are going out in the mail the last week of January. Hunters who do not receive a postcard by mid-February can call a DNR Service Center to find out the status of their permit application.
An estimated 56,275 remaining spring turkey permits will be sold over-the-counter beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 28. The spring season, which runs from April 16-May 25, is divided into six 5-day (Wednesday through Sunday) time periods. A total of 46 zones, 15 state parks and Fort McCoy will be open for hunting.
Wisconsin’s turkey population continues to expand its size and range, according to Department of Natural Resources wildlife officials, and as it increases, hunters can expect the number of permits available also to increase. The 212,475 permits available for 2008 spring season compares to 206,925 permits issued for the 2007 spring season. Hunters harvested a state record 52,428 turkeys with a success rate of 25.5 percent.
“Winter survival should be good this year,” says Scott Hull, DNR upland wildlife ecologist. “Wild turkeys in Wisconsin have proven themselves to be tough birds. As long as there is access to ample food and snow depth does not hinder their ability to navigate their surroundings for an extended period of time, wild turkeys can handle nearly any Wisconsin winter.”
In fact, Hull says, wild turkeys can remain in roosting areas for up to two weeks during especially severe weather and can lose up to 40 percent of their body weight before dying of starvation.
“While many people believe putting out feed for wild turkeys will ultimately help the population, biologically, artificial feeding is not the best approach to helping wild turkeys,” he says. “For starters, it would take a tremendous amount of feed to affect the survival of a significant portion of the turkey population. Also, feeding turkeys can actually be more of a risk to the birds because it can cause habituation, increase the risk of disease transmission, and make them more vulnerable to predators which are attracted to feeding areas. Ultimately, long-term habitat management aimed at increasing the suitability to turkeys year-round as well as during extremes of winter is the best investment.’
Remaining spring turkey permits are sold on a first come, first served basis and are available over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center; at DNR service centers during their regular business hours (check service center link for hours of operation, which vary by service center; service centers are closed Saturdays); at all license sales locations; or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236).. The fee for these permits will be $10 for residents, and $15 for nonresidents.
All hunters will also be required to pay the spring turkey license and stamp fee, unless they have previously purchased the license and stamp, or are a 2008 Conservation Patron License holder. Residents and nonresidents will have equal opportunity to purchase over-the-counter permits.
Purchasing these permits will not affect preference status for future spring or fall turkey permit drawings. Permit purchases are limited to one permit per hunter per day until each zone and time period is sold out. A select number of disabled turkey permits for several state parks are also available for over-the-counter sales. Disabled hunters should note that these permits will only be available through DNR Service Centers.
Updated information on leftover spring permit availability and other information regarding the 2008 spring turkey hunting season is available on the turkey hunting page of the DNR Web site.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hull (608) 267-7861 or Sharon Fandel (608) 261-8458
