Over to LaGrande, Jim Cadwell, assistant district biologist for Union County, points to the Sled Springs Unit on Gallatin Timber property, as a place hunters will want to turn.

“:This used to be Boise Cascade Timber land,”: said Cadwell, “:and the ODFW has continued our agreement with Gallatin Timber to maintain public lands in northeast Oregon.”:

Each year, the ODFW pays the Gallatin Timber Company to keep these lands open to the public. The funds come directly from the $2 fee hunters pay through Oregon’s Access Habitat Program, said Caldwell.

This is a prime example where thousands of acres that would otherwise be closed are open to the public. The area Cadwell refers to lies north of Lostine and is best accessed through the Promise Road.

“:Lots of it is walk-in-only access, which is great for hunting undisturbed birds,”: said Cadwell.

On the east side of the Wallowa River, birds are widely distributed throughout both Union and Wallowa counties. On the West side, where the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers join, there is additional land that affords public access around the Palmer Junction area, he said.

This area is just north of Elgin, is a mix of Gallatin and Forest Service land and offers more access for motorized vehicles.

Continuing to the west, you get into the Mount Emily Unit. Turkeys are starting to expand in areas. Birds are more scattered here, but hunter density is lower, so there’s a trade-off.

To the south, in the Starkey Unit, most of the birds are located in the southeastern portion of the unit, though according to the biologist there’s a good pocket of birds to the north, in the Spring Creek area.

Other places in eastern Oregon that hunters would want to check out include the agricultural lands and rolling hills near the towns of Imnaha, Wallowa, Elgin and Joseph. At lower elevations, private-land access is the norm with most public hunting to be had on the edges of both the Wallowa and Whitman national forests.

From Halfway to Medical Springs, turkeys can be found along the lower edge of the Whitman National Forest. The Umatilla National Forrest continues to be productive. Last season 14,807 turkey hunters set foot in Oregon, for a total of 58,157 days afield. They harvested 4,859 birds. Considering how far Oregon has come since its first statewide general season opened in 1987, and all it has to offer now, it’s no wonder why hunters are flocking here from around the country.