Despite initial skepticism by some wildlife managers, wild turkeys today thrive in northwest Minnesota

Despite initial skepticism by some wildlife managers, wild turkeys today thrive in northwest Minnesota

On a crisp January afternoon in 2006, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released 14 wild turkeys from Goodhue County in southeast Minnesota at sites near Red Lake Falls and Thief River Falls. So began a multi-year relocation project to see if the birds could survive north of U.S. Highway 2. Ross Hier, who was assistant area DNR wildlife manager in Crookston at the time, admits he was “at best neutral” about the prospects for success.…