Benjamin Franklin proclaimed the wild turkey "as a bird of courage" in a letter he wrote. The Founding Father would have preferred that species be selected over the bald eagle as the country's national symbol.
Some 225 years later Cottonwood Heights residents Don and Sharyn Swaby would have to agree.
The Swabys had just finished their morning ritual of reading The Salt Lake Tribune last Friday when Don Swaby noticed some movement on the back deck of their home, which sits high on the mountain between Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
Peering out, the Swabys spotted a single wild turkey strutting its stuff on the deck. It was soon joined by two others.
"They were pretty brave to show themselves that close to Thanksgiving. I sent an e-mail with the picture to some friends and told them, jokingly of course, that I told my wife to get the camera while I got the gun," Swaby said. "We still got our turkey at the grocery store."
The Swabys heard turkeys in their Salt Lake County neighborhood in the spring, but this was the first time they were able to catch a glimpse. More and more Utah residents are spotting wild turkeys as Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) officials have been busy transplanting the big birds across the state.
Dave Olsen, upland game coordinator with the DWR, said estimates place the current population of wild turkeys in Utah between 20,000 and 22,000. The number really took off in the 1980s when transplant efforts to introduce non-native Rio Grande turkeys were heightened. Populations of the other subspecies of wild turkey in Utah, the Merriams, are much lower and limited to southern Utah. There is some debate about whether or not the Merriams are native to the state.
Interest in hunting wild turkeys has grown rapidly since those Rio Grande transplants back in the 1980s.
Hunting turkey is limited to the spring in Utah and has been controlled by a lottery system for several decades.
With the turkey population doing so well, wildlife officials are allowing over-the-counter purchases of hunting permits starting in the spring of 2010.
"Even though more hunters will be in the field, we don't think that will have a negative effect on Utah's turkey populations," Olsen said. "Each hunter in Utah is restricted to taking only one male turkey. And female turkeys are very successful at reproducing."
The Utah Wildlife Board approved in August a three-season turkey hunt for 2010. The first hunt runs April 10 to 29 and remains a limited-entry, lottery hunt. The application period for the limited entry permits is Dec. 10 to 28 and may be done on the Web at www.wildlife.utah.gov.
The second hunt will run from April 30-May 2 and is reserved for youth hunters 15 and younger. Those permits can be purchased over the counter with a valid Hunter's Safety Certificate.
The final hunt is open across the state and will run from May 3 to 31. Permits are unlimited and can be purchased at any licensed wildlife license outlet.
For more information about the 2010 turkey hunting season, visit www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks.
