Wisconsin DNR taking final comments on turkey plan

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin wildlife officials have scheduled the last two public hearings on their 2015-2025 turkey management draft plan.

The meetings are set for Feb. 10 at the state Department of Natural Resources' Madison headquarters and for Feb. 12 at a Stevens Point hotel.

Key parts of the draft plan include using spring and fall hunting permit and harvest data to help gauge the size of the turkey population; monitoring hunter attitudes with a goal of maintaining at least a 70 percent approval rate; managing hunter numbers to keep interference rates below 30 percent; improve hunter access to private land; improving habitat; supporting oak regeneration, in turn providing more acorns for turkeys during the fall and winter; and studying hunting's impact on turkey population growth.