Fish and Game’s wild turkey repopulation success brings issues for farmers, opportunity for hunters

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Department of Fish and Game’s multiyear effort to help grow the wild turkey population in Southern Idaho has been a huge success, but unfortunately, that success is actually causing some issues now.

“Catastrophic wildfire has resulted in a significant reduction in available turkey habitat,” said John Guthrie, a Regional Habitat Manager at Idaho Fish and Game. “Additionally, there’s not much turkey habitat in the South Hills, so it was already constrained and became constrained even more.”

Guthrie said that two years ago, they teamed up with the National Wild Turkey Federation to restore the population in South Central Idaho.

But it is a venture that’s been almost too successful.

“The flock did a lot better than we anticipated,” said Joe Foster, President of the Idaho Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. “They expanded beyond the wildlife management area, got into some private agricultural ground and Fish and Game asked for us to assist them with trapping and translocating some turkeys that were getting into trouble on some haystacks.”

Turkeys getting into that winter feed is the main issue today, according to Foster.

The number of birds has soared, with 37 trapped and relocated thus far. This move benefits farmers and hunters as well.

“It’s for hunting opportunities,” Foster said. “Instead of just depredating them or killing them off, it’s a lot better idea if we could just move them and use them in some better habitat and expand the hunting opportunities for South-Central Idaho.”

Regarding where the turkeys will make their new homes, Guthrie said it will not be very far.

“They’re staying within the region,” Guthrie said. “Actually, we moved them less than 15 miles from where we trapped them.”

Wild turkey hunting season in Idaho runs from April 15 to May 26, while youth season begins one week earlier, on April 8.

Copyright 2025 KMVT. All rights reserved.