Audubon Canyon Ranch biologist Daniel Gluesenkamp
likens the exploding population of
wild turkeys in Marin and
Sonoma counties to a "Star Trek" episode.
"It's just like 'The Trouble with Tribbles,' "
Gluesenkamp said, referring to an episode in which lovable
but exponentially reproducing creatures create havoc for the
crew of the Enterprise. "It's OK to have just a few, but it
can be a really bad thing to have a lot of them.
"We get reports of turkeys in backyards eating the dog
food at various homes," Gluesenkamp said. "They seem to like
shiny vehicles, especially Mercedes-Benzes. The males in
particular like to look at their reflections."
He added that the birds, which typically weigh in at
about 20 pounds, are an aggressive bunch. He has heard the
report of an elderly woman who had been in a cemetery
visiting her husband's grave who was chased by a flock of
wild turkeys.
Gluesenkamp works at Audubon's Bouverie Preserve, 500
acres of prime turkey grazing land located just outside Glen
Ellen. His tiny office is nestled amid moss-shrouded oaks
where one can count on finding salamanders, lizards,
crickets, spiders, beetles, earwigs, ants and other staples
of the wild turkey's diet. Bouverie is also an educational
destination for schools. It sees roughly 3,000 third- and
fourth-graders a year from all over the Bay Area who come on
field trips and guided nature walks around the preserve.
The biologist has been studying the wild turkey
population on the preserve since arriving at the site in
2001. The first year, he spotted a flock of 33 turkeys
outside his office window. By November 2003, the flock had
grown to 55. On a recent autumn morning, Gluesenkamp spotted
101 turkeys of the same flock wandering about the pristine
location.
"Wild turkeys were first introduced in California with
a small release on the Santa Cruz Islands in 1873,"
Gluesenkamp said. "Similar releases were conducted in 1910,
and in the 1920s and 1950s, as a part of major state-
sponsored hunting programs. Turkey population growth figures
remained flat for decades largely due to the fact that the
turkeys they used were farm-raised and couldn't thrive in
the wild.
"In the early 1970s and '80s, the California
Department of Fish and Game began importing wild turkeys (of
the Rio Grande subspecies) from Texas, where conditions are
similar to how they are here. While growth used to be zero,
we now have abundance."
Indeed, Gluesenkamp said growth of the turkey
population over the past three decades has been astounding.
Gluesenkamp said humans are the only hunters of wild
turkeys. Coyotes apparently don't know what to make of them.
"The problem is that no one really knows how many
turkeys there are," Gluesenkamp said. "We would really like
to learn about things like distribution and growth rate."
The study has thus far been informal, with Gluesenkamp
noting his observations in areas marked by chicken wire
fencing and bug traps to track soil changes and other
environmental factors. The scientist has worked with
students from Sonoma State University, as well as the Sonoma
Ecology Center, a source for Geographic Information System
mapping.
The plan is to expand the study to about 30 satellite
stations around Marin and Sonoma counties in early 2005 to
develop more accurate figures. When all is said and done,
and depending on funding, Gluesenkamp hopes to find out
roughly how many turkeys there are in the region, what the
impact is on the environment, and what native organisms will
survive the turkey onslaught -- or not. This is a question
Skip Schwartz, Audubon executive director, asks not just
about the turkey invasion, but ecology as a whole. With
offices at the Audubon Canyon Ranch Bolinas Preserve,
located on Highway One, between Bolinas and Stinson Beach,
Schwartz is celebrating his 30th anniversary next year with
the environmental organization.
"The question sort of needed to be asked and answered:
What effects will this have on the eco-system," Schwartz
said. "Will it be that native oaks won't be able to
regenerate, or that certain indigenous amphibians or other
animals will be compromised? The nature of the study is to
ask practical questions about resource technology. We are
trying to protect animals and plants in a healthy ecosystem.
These are important questions that management strategies
will follow."
Gluesenkamp noted: "At some point, we have to make
decisions about whether we want turkeys in California or
not. We have to look at things like how this will affect the
terrain. This area is surrounded by lizards, but we won't
see lizards any more as a result of a growing turkey
population. Lizards are protein and ... turkeys can't become
20 pounds without eating a lot of protein. The same is true
with wild tulips -- they love them. Growth in the wild
turkey population will reduce the natural diversity of
things."
At the same time, the scientist said that state
wildlife officials are already planning on adding more
subspecies of turkeys that can better handle the cold to
higher elevations.
"Fish and Game is (largely) funded by the issuance of
hunting licenses," Gluesenkamp said. "Turkeys are the
fastest growing segment of hunting licenses. I think they
just need to slow down and answer some of the bigger
questions before they do drastic things like introduce more
turkeys to a new area."
____________________________________________________________________
