The California Fish and Game Commission introduced invasive, wild turkeys to California for economic and recreational hunting reasons between 1959 and 1999. But officials didn't expect that the birds would do so well in the state -- too well, in fact. Today, there are approximately 250,000 birds who occupy one quarter of the state.
In 2007, the California State Department of Parks and Recreation described three possible threats that wild turkeys posed to California's environment and wildlife:
1. The birds consume endangered reptiles and amphibians
2. They compete with native, ground-dwelling bird species for limited resources
3. During California's tree state of emergency (where there are 22 million dead California trees, 58 million water depleted trees and 888 million drought stressed trees), wild turkeys could spread the tree disease known as sudden oak death.
A bonus threat that some conservationists have noted is soil disturbance.
Pinnacles National Park's Invasive Wildlife Biologist Daniel Ryan tells Scientific American that, “we need far more good scientific research on this species and the effects it has had since being dropped into the state. We need concrete answers and we don’t have the time or money to find out."
California wildlife officials introduced these invasive wild turkeys into California to be hunted. The California between 1959 and 1999 when the turkeys were introduced wasn't plagued by the drought, climate change and massive die-offs of the California today. Sign and share this petition if you agree that it's now their responsibility to take the time and find the money to study the long-term environmental impacts of the turkeys' long-term presence in the state.
Photo Credit: Steve Voght
