Skagit county

[Seatown5]

So it might be a long shot but, my friend has some access so property in skagit county and they want the turkeys gone.  The family said they are attacking people and the farm animals.  Its a good size chunk of property and we would prob have to use a bow.  I was gonna ask wdfw but they were closed today, so anyone know if those turkeys are huntable.  Or should i say legal

[h2ofowlr]

They are not huntable in La Conner.  They prosecuted the last guy that shot one.

[bearpaw]

I think hunting is closed within most city limits.

As far as I know the season is a statewide season except for any areas specifically closed to hunting. I would look through the phamplet pretty close first. Maybe somebdy else has more info?

[BOWHUNTER45]

hey i live in skagit county and no you can not hunt in La Conner.. they were going to kill them but the people of La Conner shut that down ... the towns people said no way your killing the turkeys .. I actually have the article from the paper some where ...

[Seatown5]

well what if i were to say those birds are NOT in La connor.  They are somewhere between marysville and mount vernon and its not tribal grounds.  Im sure im going to have to go to the wdfw to find out for sure

[BOWHUNTER45]

Well if thats the case you can give me a call and we will gladly take ya and you can get one.... these could be some of the birds we turned loose on the Pilchuck tree farm many years ago ... I would be interrested in looking at them to see if they are true easterns...let me know ..thanks john !!

[skagit]

That is interesting.  Other than LaConner I have never heard of many turkeys in Skagit County.  If it is a legal place to hunt and during turkey season I don't see a problem with it.  If it is in the County, outside city limits, there is no reason you can not use a shot gun.  Unless you are going to PO the neighbors.

[cryfowl]

I'm a pretty good shot with a bow if you need help.   

[h2ofowlr]

The ones on Camano Is. Can be hunted if on private.  I wouldnt brag about shooting one there as its very unpopular with the locals.  If this is the location that you havent mentioned.  There are a few other pockets of turkeys as well in Skagit county.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Yeah there are little groups here and there and the dept. wants them gone.. but they have not went out of there way to enforce it .... Thats good ...

[Andrew]

I'll never understand the mentality of these few people/places that have turkeys, mostly on private land, and they are aggravated and tired of their existence, however, they don't want them hunted!  Then to top it off they feed them!...no I'm not talking about illegal immigration    .

Regs are statewide...therefore, if you are not in a city's limits go for it.  However, just because you are in the county does not mean you within a shooting zone.  If you are able to shoot be mindful of distances from roads etc.  Heard of guys getting busted for being to close to a maintained road while duck hunting.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Wasn't there a program to transplant excess birds (Merriams , I think?) from NE to There, or was that shot down ? I remember quite a controversy over the issue.....

[BOWHUNTER45]

No there are a few turkeys around .. none which I would hunt because the population is very low ...Seatown started this conversation and he will not let me know where these birds are .. We turned a few loose on the pilchuck tree farm a few years back and they were true easterns and all I  wanted was to see is if they were true wild birds for birds someone else cut loose other than us ...I will research this on my own ......

[Special T]

I would say if it looks legal, use a bow and fill the tag.  The regs are there for us to follow. If you have investedgated the information fully then wack and tag. I don't know why so many people have to call the WDFW for every little thing.    The answers they give you are not binding only the law is. So if your outside city limits, on private property have a tag and its the season... Well shoot it!

[Wacenturion]

Wasn't there a program to transplant excess birds (Merriams , I think?) from NE to There, or was that shot down ? I remember quite a controversy over the issue.....

NWTF biologists recommended to WDFW to plant Rio Grande's up in Whatcom county a year or two ago, and they bought it hook, line and sinker .  Reason given by the NWTF was that WDFW was pre-mature in planting Easterns in western Washington from mid 80's through the 90's, and should have planted Rio's instead.  That numskull idea was based on the obvious simple fact that Rio's had done so well from Roseburg ,Oregon all the way down into California.   Yeah I can certainly see that working.  Whatcom is really dry and has mostly open oak woodlands as a habitat base.  That idiotic idea makes about as much sense as global warming put forth by Al Bore.

Small organic farmers questioned potential damge problems which WDFW had no answers for.  The proposal got shot down....and good thing it did.  Would have been a disaster.  Easterns could have been sold with no nuisance problems....too bad.  Now it's unlikely any birds will ever get released up there.  A moronic exercise from the very start.  If truth be know WDFW staff in Region 4 as well as in Olympia now have the perfect excuse not to do anything.  Whatcom was only a tidbit been put out there in lieu of no releases elsewhere in the state.

I elaborated on this issue back when it was happening, even going as far as posting harvest records for NW Oregon counties that were similar in habitat to western Washington.  Want to guess how many Rio's were harvested in those Oregon counties.....the answer......nada....none...zero.  That should have been the first clue.  Just an unbelievably stupid scientific recommendation.