
March 2014 – Issue 36

March 2014 Update
To all MWTHA members and interested friends:
It’s been a very long winter. Especially for our wild turkeys, which have had to withstand the coldest temperatures the state of Michigan has seen in many, many years. If you are helping our wild turkeys survive by feeding them, our hat is off to you and you have our deepest appreciation. Without our help, the wild turkey cannot survive the winters of northern Michigan.
To help the winter pass, once again plans are in the works for a variety of MWTHA banquets and spring hunting workshops – our primary fundraisers for our feeding programs, as well as another visit to a variety of outdoor shows. Be sure to attend these functions, details of which you’ll find on our site, and support your local chapter of MWTHA!
Traverse Bay Notes Spring 2014
After an exceptionally cool and wet fall, winter began in Area J just before Christmas, and with the exception of a brief thaw in January, hasn’t let up since, with more than 136 inches of snow so far. But even worse than the deep snow has been the extreme cold, the coldest any of us have seen in many, many years.

Of Public Forests and Turkeys XII
This past December our organization was represented at the state forest compartment reviews within four counties in the DNR Cadillac district. Once again, we were the only ones other than DNR personnel present. Where were the “save the habitat – save the hunt people?”
Winter Survival
On January 2, 2014, I received a phone call from a land owner in northern Osceola County. He had planted four acres of corn, which produced a great crop. The corn was gone having been eaten by all of the wildlife and he had 57 turkeys picking on the stalks for food. He was allocated a supply of corn, always without charge.
This is being written during the third week in January. Winter came early with deep snow, ice that prevents access to the ground and brutally cold weather. As I write this it is 22 degrees below zero in Grayling.