History of the American Wild Turkey - Conservation Field Notes with Steven Rinella

The Wild Turkey is a true American original, being native only to North America and Central America. Steven Rinella gives a history lesson and shares the importance of protecting and preserving the Wild Turkey habitat within the sporting community.

The wild turkey has been a staple of American tradition since the 1500s, but its survival has not always been certain.

•Native only to North and Central America, the wild turkey was discovered by Europeans in Mexico in the early 1500s. •By the 1930s, the wild turkey population was at less than 30,000 birds; a victim of market hunting, subsistence hunting and widespread habitat destruction. •Over the next 50 years, state wildlife agencies funded by hunters' dollars and working with the National Wild Turkey Federation, captured more than 200,000 wild turkeys and released them in quality wild turkey habitat. •Today there are more than 7 million wild turkeys roaming the woodlands and river-bottoms across the country.