NewsLocal News

Actions

Residents of Mendon aren’t very ‘wild’ about turkeys introduced into their valley by the DWR

Posted at 9:58 PM, Dec 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-17 23:58:26-05

MENDON, Utah - Residents of Mendon have a wild turkey problem.   Too many of them call the small Utah town home.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reintroduced wild turkeys into the Mendon area about 15 years ago.

At first, the Mayor enjoyed watching the five or ten that settled near his home.  But then, "Those five to ten turn into a hundred, then two hundred, then three hundred, then now there's an estimated five hundred turkeys in this area," Mayor Ed Bruist said.

It wasn't long until upset residents started calling up the mayor to complain of damage done by the turkeys.  "They scratch, they claw, they eat, they break limbs," Bruist said.  "They are a beautiful ... well I don't know if they're a beautiful bird, but they are a bird to watch and some people enjoy it, some don't."

The turkeys are protected, so there's not much to do about them.  Bruist said there aren't enough predators in the area to keep the turkey population down.  He also said the 75 hunting permits handed out in the area each year is barely putting a dent in the turkey numbers.