A new hunting opportunity will be available to the public on Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) beginning April 17. As part of the recent hunt plan revision for the Refuge, more than 16,950 acres will be open to spring turkey hunting during the statewide season. Glacial Ridge NWR lies within turkey hunting permit area 509. Hunters must possess a Minnesota turkey hunting permit before hunting on the Refuge and all regular state turkey season regulations apply. Additionally, anyone hunting turkeys on the Refuge must only use non-toxic shot. The 2019 spring turkey season runs from April 17 – May 31.
Minnesota turkeys have an interesting history. Most accounts indicate that the pre-Columbian range of the wild turkey included only extreme southeastern Minnesota. Shortly after Eurosettlement in Minnesota in the 1880s, turkeys were extirpated from the state due to unregulated hunting and logging. Minnesota’s initial turkey reintroduction efforts failed in the 1920s, 1950s, and 1960s. In 1971, 13 wild turkeys from Missouri were released, which was the start of Minnesota’s successful reintroduction and population success story. Trap and transplant operations continued throughout the state until 2009. Turkey releases in close proximity to Glacial Ridge NWR occurred in the mid-2000s. Currently, a small number of turkeys can be found in scattered locations throughout primarily the southern and eastern portions of Glacial Ridge NWR. Refuge staff does expect the number of turkeys that occupy the Refuge to increase somewhat in the future; however, the increase will be limited by available woodland habitat. A turkey’s critical requirement of large trees as a component of their habitat relates to roosting sites. This habitat component is limited on the large prairie Glacial Ridge NWR.
Minnesota’s first modern-day turkey season occurred in 1978 and 400 hunters killed 94 gobblers. Presently, spring turkey hunters in Minnesota kill over 11,000 gobblers annually, and the statewide population is estimated at more than 70,000.
Anyone with questions about this new hunting opportunity should contact Gregg Knutsen, Refuge Manager, at 218-687-2229 x16 / gregg_knutsen@fws.gov. Refuge-specific regulations and a Refuge hunt map can be found on Glacial Ridge NWR’s website at www.fws.gov/refuge/glacial_ridge/
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