Wyoming Folk & Arts

Courtesy, Wyoming Game & Fish

Merriam’s turkeys were first transplanted into the Bighorn Basin in 1950 when 11 turkeys were transplanted onto the Two Dot Ranch north of Cody. Most of the transplants between 1952 and 1966 came from birds originally transplanted on the Two Dot.

By 1990 there were only two small populations of Merriam turkeys left in the Bighorn Basin, one at the Yellowtail Wildlife Habitat Management Area near Lovell and one along Shell Creek east of Greybull. There were generally 25-30 permits issued for turkeys prior to the 90’s. As turkey observations became less frequent permit numbers declined.

In 1995, at the urging of the Bighorn Basin Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, areas were identified that provided suitable but unoccupied turkey habitat. These areas were primarily found on private land along the lower Greybull River, Bighorn River, the lower Shoshone River, Shell Creek, the Nowood –Paintrock creek area and the Two Dot ranch.

In February of 1996, the Federation’s Bighorn Basin Chapter assisted the department in obtaining the Rio Grande subspecies of wild turkey from Oklahoma. Fifteen turkeys were released on Yellowtail, 15 on the lower Shoshone River near Byron, and 30 birds at two sites on the Lower Nowood River.
Between 1996 and 2007, 664 turkeys were transplanted to various locations in the Bighorn Basin. The last turkey transplant in the basin occurred in December 2007 when 49 turkeys were caught on the Two Dot and transplanted to the Pitch Fork Ranch on the Greybull River and to Owl Creek in Hot Springs County.
Rio Grande turkeys tend to be a wide-ranging bird and have spread up and down most of the drainages where they were transplanted. Birds from the Two Dot transplant have been documented as far away as Silver Gate, MT near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Turkey licenses have increased from 25 –30 to 190 limited quota licenses during the spring 2009 hunting season.
Currently, there are two distinct turkey hunt areas in the basin, Area 6 and Area 10. Hunter success ranges from 50% to 70%.
The introduction of turkeys in the Bighorn Basin has been a great success story. However, it would not have been possible without the cooperation of a large number of private landowners and the Bighorn Basin Chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation, which funded most of this effort.