Historic 1^st Gould’s Turkey Tag Proposed For Spring 2002 Hunt

       A historic first ever Gould’s turkey hunt-permit tag in North America is being proposed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department in the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona for the spring 2002 season.

            The Gould’s hunt proposal, along with the other spring hunt proposals, are coming before the Arizona Game and Fish Commission at it’s meeting Aug. 10-11 in Flagstaff at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel on 1175 W. Route 66. The commission will consider the department’s recommendations for spring javelina, turkey, bear and buffalo during its Saturday, Aug. 11 portion of the meeting.

Gould’s turkeys, one of Arizona’s two native turkey species and the largest of the five subspecies of wild turkey found in North America, were extirpated from Arizona for approximately 60 years during the last century. The Arizona Game and Fish Department, working closely with the National Wild Turkey Federation, has a continuing effort to re-establish this species in some of its former range in southeastern Arizona.

However, through genetic testing and field studies, biologists have shown that a significant population – up to 100 birds – exist in the Huachuca Mountains. Those birds are the result of Gould’s transplant efforts from Mexico in 1983 and 1987.

“We are really excited that Arizona is proposing to offer the first Gould’s hunting opportunity in North America in modern times. That really gives the department and us the ability to showcase the Gould’s re-establishment efforts for hopefully generating even more public support for the program,” said James Kennamer, National Wild Turkey Federation.

For turkey hunters, Kennamer said, having a Gould’s tag available means the opportunity to obtain two-fifths of the “Grand Slam” for turkeys in North America – or possibly, just in Arizona.

Big Game Supervisor Brian Wakeling explained that one key to keeping high productivity in a turkey population is having a good female-to-male ratio. “The Toms can actually out compete the females. In the Huachuca’s, the male-female ratio is about even. Widening that ratio should help the population dynamics, making a limited harvest of males not only viable, but beneficial,” he explained.

            Part of the spring hunt package coming before the Game and Fish Commission is a single hunt-permit tag, via the drawing, for a Gould’s. Another tag is recommended for allocation via the special tag process at the commission’s October meeting in Phoenix.

The “special tags” available for each big game species, by statute, are used as fund-raising mechanisms for the species in question. Various conservation groups vie for the privilege of obtaining those tags to either auction or raffle. All the proceeds from the tags go to Game and Fish management efforts for the species in question.

            Small Game Supervisor Ron Engel-Wilson, who has been extensively involved with Gould’s reintroduction efforts, pointed out that the Gould’s turkey (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana) was probably indigenous to southeastern Arizona pine mountain ranges below the Mogollon Rim but was extirpated by the 1920s due to unregulated subsistence hunting, removal of oaks for mine timber and firewood, and a combination of grazing and drought conditions in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

            Gould’s somewhat resemble the Merriam’s turkey that are common in Arizona pine forests. Gould’s differ by having a distinctive white tip on the tail feathers and tail coverts, whereas Merriam’s are tipped with light buff to cream. The tail feather tips, and the tips of the tail coverts, usually separate to show an “eye-lash” appearance. The back and rump are more greenish in color than the Merriam’s. Gould’s generally have longer legs, larger feet and larger center tail feathers than any other subspecies in North America.

                Arizona has a small Gould’s population, and there is another small population in southwestern New Mexico. The largest population of Gould’s is found in Mexico but the extent of that population is unknown. Recent studies show that Gould’s are common in several Mexican states. Some hunting of Gould’s is allowed in Mexico