Idaho turkeys find a new home in Utah

MANILA, Daggett County — Sheep Creek Canyon near Flaming Gorge Reservoir has 20 new residents: Merriam's wild turkeys released Dec. 22 by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The turkeys are from wild flocks trapped in the Bonners Ferry area of northern Idaho near the Canadian border. Members of the National Wild Turkey Federation assisted DWR biologists in making the drive to northeastern Utah.

Biologists hope to establish a population of Merriam's turkeys along the bench above Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the eastern Uinta Mountains. The Merriam's subspecies was chosen because it prefers mountain habitats that include forests of Ponderosa pine interspersed with aspen, pinyon-juniper, Gambels oak and other mountain shrubs, grasses and wet meadows. Grasshoppers and other insects, nuts, seeds and green vegetation are important food items for Merriam's turkeys.

The Rio Grande subspecies, which is also found in Utah, is more of a riparian species that prefers the cottonwoods, willows and other vegetation found along larger rivers.

The wild turkey is the largest upland species in Utah. Males can weigh 18 pounds and stand 48 inches tall. Females are smaller, weighing about 10.5 pounds and standing about 36 inches tall.