Photo by Donald M. Jones

Ever been to northeast Washington? Not the north-central part of the state, the land of Banks Lake down to Potholes Reservoir, but the real northeast corner, from Okanogan and Colville over to Metaline Falls and Newport, encompassing the eastern edge of Okanogan County and all of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, and the north half of Lincoln counties. If you have, you know this is some of the most breathtaking country on which you'll ever lay eyes. It's windswept, vacant of billboards, devoid of freeways, quiet, peaceful and teeming with wildlife of every description. This is heaven fallen to earth for the hardcore woodsman.

Even better, this gorgeous landscape offers some of the finest turkey hunting to be had anywhere. Make no mistake: This is no sissified urban tarn that would have girlymen waxing eloquently. No, sir. This isn't easy country at all. But if you know what you're doing, where to go and where to hunt, you'll have some of the best turkey hunting of your life, in some of the best country you've ever experienced.

Northeast Washington is home to a burgeoning population of Merriam's turkeys -- and that may be an understatement.

"Why is northeast Washington such a good spot for turkey hunters? Because there are so many turkeys there," quips Mick Cope, the upland game section manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. With flocks as big as these, it's easy to find humor in such a situation until the birds become a nuisance. (Continued)

As with all wild turkeys, Merriam's are easily domesticated. Landowners in some of the region's low-lying areas, such as the Colville Valley, are prone to befriending the first two or three turkeys that show up in their backyards. Two or three birds are a novelty, so landowners ignorantly start feeding them. Before they know it, says Cope, they'll have 200 to 300 birds strutting in their backyards. Things often get ugly when hundreds of turkeys accustomed to getting handouts compete to be first in line anytime a human walks outside.

And it's not just Merriam's, either. While most of the state's Rio Grande birds are concentrated in southeast Washington's Blue Mountains, there's also a remnant population living amongst the Merriam's birds south of the Spokane River in northern Lincoln County.

BIRDS OF THE '60s
Turkeys in this part of the state are naturally occurring now that the WDFW has suspended major planting operations here. Only a small amount of supplemental or augmenting transfers are conducted by the agency these days, mostly in response to nuisance and crop damage complaints from landowners. "We haven't added turkeys as part of any turkey enhancement programs or established new populations since the late 1990s," Cope reports. "We've only done a little augmenting here and there since then."

The birds, however, are not indigenous. They were first planted in northeast Washington back in 1960, with birds from South Dakota and New Mexico.

"They seem to be doing very well," Cope adds. "Merriam's are a hardy strain of bird, and the terrain in that part of the state suits them well."

By terrain, Cope means ponderosa pine forests, which provide year-round cover and forage even during heavy snow years. The turkeys thrive in these rich pine woods, while adjacent valleys, pastures and croplands provide them with even more forage bases. Relatively mild winters over the past few years have also meant no major winterkill.

"Turkeys are associated with ponderosa pine forests for the most part," Cope confirms. "They provide good, year-round habitat, plenty of winter food in most areas where that habitat exists. Plus we'll also have quite a few turkeys get down in the valley bottoms to forage. That's when we tend to have problems with people wanting to feed them."