Conservation Guardians of Northwest Illinois

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Also See: Riches to Rags to Riches, Part 1

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Riches to Rags to Riches: More on Turkeys

As always, I read The Guardian Messenger with admiration and enthusiasm. I suspect all of us Jo Daviess County residents thrill to the sight of a flock of wild turkeys feeding on a grassy hillside and listen each spring for the plaintive call of the adult males begging for companionship. Thus it was a pleasure to read your cover story: "Riches to Rags to Riches: The Story of the Wild Turkey," Fall, 2008.

I want to add that there is human drama in the return of the turkeys to Jo Daviess County. Ed Freeman, the Illinois Conservation Officer from 1951 to 1983 had a dream that before he retired — that he would facilitate the return of this native bird to our woods and valleys. Sometime in the 1970s, Ed released one hundred or more pen-raised birds, but they had no survival rate, most heading for barn yards. These pen-raised birds simply did not know how to forage or find shelter out in the wild on their own.

At that time, bird and animal repatriation was still experimental, though Iowa had carried out a successful wild bird release program. As I remember the story, bureaucratic barriers were placed in Ed's way, though Terry Moyer, the Areas Game Biologist worked with Ed and completely supported the effort. Ed went door to door in Rice and Hanover Townships to assure local interest. Then, he persisted in writing his superiors, negotiating with other conservation districts and searching for support for his wild turkey project.

As Doug Dufford points out, Ed's and Terry's efforts were rewarded in the winter of 1980 with the delivery and release of eight hens and five gobblers. One was nabbed practically on arrival by a hungry dog, raising the alarm that all might soon vanish into mouths of other predators. Ed's faith and our bountiful turkey habitat won out.

My point is that wild turkeys didn't just appear. As with most things, leadership and passion are required to make things happen. When wild turkeys make their head-bopping strut into view, I send Ed another vote of thanks.

—Nancy Stevenson