Wisconsin's Wild Turkeys

Once abundant in Wisconsin, turkeys disappeared from the state by the 1880’s.  It took nearly 100 years for the bird to seriously mount a recovery and today they can be found in every one of the 72 counties in Wisconsin.  As a Thanksgiving offering, Audubon’s guest speaker this month is Chris Pollentier from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Chris will present an online, Covid-safe talk entitled: “Wisconsin’s Wild Turkey: From Demise to a Wildlife Success Story”.  His talk will highlight the ecology of the bird, its history of recovery in Wisconsin, and what the future looks like in terms of research and management.  Join us Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 pm for the program, followed by a live question-and-answer session with Chris. The online program is free and open to the public.  Pre-register through our website at www.aldoleopoldaudubon.org/Programs  or Zoom Link: https://bit.ly/2PA9S3T.  Not sure if you can watch on your cell phone or computer?  Check out this link to our September newsletter (Audubon Programs and Covid -19) that outlines what you have to do: http://www.aldoleopoldaudubon.org/Newsletters/September2020.pdf.

Chris Pollentier is an Upland Game Bird Research Scientist with the Wisconsin DNR.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in 2005 then joined the research branch of the US Geological Survey investigating mercury contamination in Wisconsin loons and PCB impacts on birds in New York. He completed a Master’s degree studying Wisconsin turkeys at UW–Madison in 2012. Since then he has worked for the Wisconsin DNR studying upland game birds, including wild turkeys and ruffed grouse. Chris resides in Cottage Grove with his wife and 2 boys.