January Monthly Meeting

“Wild Turkeys in the Twin Cities”

presented by Karl Tinsley, University of Minnesota, Conservation Biology Program PhD candidate

The historic distribution of wild turkeys is believed to have included the southernmost sections of Minnesota. By the 1880s wild turkeys were extirpated from Minnesota, largely due to unregulated hunting practices and habitat degradation. In the late 1960s, live-trapped wild turkeys were released in the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area. This was the beginning of reintroduction efforts that would introduce birds well north of their ancestral Minnesotan range.

As we have observed over the last decade or so, the number of wild turkeys in the Twin Cities has substantially increased. What was once a rare site has increasingly become commonplace. Wild turkeys may not be so very cute and cuddly, but they are definitely interesting and fun to watch. Unfortunately, within the confines of city limits, their numbers and size have created some negative impacts to the urban landscape which Karl will detail for us.

Please join us for our first meeting of the New Year to hear Karl Tinsley give us the low down on wild turkeys in Minnesota—their past, present and future.

Everyone is invited to this free Saint Paul Audubon program on Thursday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairview Community Center, 1910 West County Road B in Roseville, just west of Fairview Avenue. The event is open to the public with free parking. A social time with refreshments begins at 6:45. For more information, call Linda Goodspeed at 651-647-1452.