Love, hate relationship: Residents divided on feelings about flock of wild turkeys

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Some call them a nuisance and others say they love them. A flock of wild turkeys has seemingly arrived in the area around South Mink Creek Road out of thin air. Residents are divided in their stance on the poultry.

On Friday, the flock, at nearly 30 birds strong, had found a yard they liked. The homeowner, who declined a formal interview, said she didn’t mind them and would find it odd if she didn’t see them.

But just a few houses down, opinions changed. 

"They’re more of a nuisance than a problem," long-time resident Greg Rosa said. "They litter the driveway with their droppings, you know, and then you’re worried it’s gonna get in trapped in the house."

Rosa has lived in the Mink Creek area for nearly 40 years and said the poultry population has increased rapidly over the past few years. 

"From zero to 100," he said. "When my kids were all living here, we never seen wild turkeys, ever." 

This inconvenience has had some benefits for Rosa, though. He said the birds eat all of the bugs outside his home. 

“And I like that part. But ... I mean, they’re really messy.” 

Idaho Fish & Game has heard both sides of the story, too. Over the past three or four years, reports have said everything from “we love the turkey’s they’re great and they’re not causing any issues to I have turkeys on my house and I can’t sleep at night,” Fish & Game's regional communications manager Jennifer Jackson explained.  

Jackson said they’ve tried everything from noise deterrents and pyrotechnics to special hunts in an effort to alleviate the flocking problem.

Trappings in the fall of 2018 and 2019 removed dozens from the area. Now, the group is considering proposals to tackle the problems regionally. 

“We’re looking at adding a general turkey hunt for bearded toms in Unit 70, which includes the Gibson Jack and Mink Creek area, that’s part of that Unit 70. And we’re also looking at adding some landowner permission hunts in nearby Unit 71, as well as Unit 70, in the fall.” 

In the meantime, residents are asked not to feed the turkeys.

"Feeding always comes from a good place in the heart, but it can actually cause problems cause you can artificially congregate animals," Jackson explained.

Links to some of Fish & Game's proposals can be found here.