Habitat & Conservation
in the State of Idaho
 
 

   Habitat Links
 


OPERATION BIG SKY
Operation Big Sky is the NWTF's flagship habitat program for wildlife in the northern Great Plains. Through the Big Sky program, NWTF chapters plant mast-producing shrubs, help provide standing grain and help ranchers that winter large numbers of turkeys on their property. In only four years, chapters in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and the Dakotas have provided more than 60 tons of grain bales, 24,000 square feet of netting and 2,500 acres of standing grain and shrubs for wild turkeys and other wildlife.


GUZZLERS FOR GOBBLERS
The Guzzlers for Gobblers program is a habitat enhancement program for arid areas in the west. Projects funded through this program include developing water catchments, improving riparian habitats, enhancing natural springs, installing water guzzlers and planting wildlife friendly seedlings. In just five years, chapters in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Oklahoma have spent more than 1.3 million dollars on 557 such projects.

  

  Trees available for
  Fall Habitat Projects 

We have the following trees available this fall for turkey habitat projects: 20 Crab Apple, 20 Choke Cherry, 5 Green Ash and 5 Cottonwood. These trees are available to NWTF Chapters and individuals who want to plant them on land to improve turkey habitat. These trees were purchased and grown at a Nampa area nursery using Operation Big Sky dollars, a NWTF National Conservation Program. Please contact Charley Henry at 343-5732 or John Thiebes (541) 772-9908 for details and coordination.

 

 

 Palouse Longbeards
 2006 Conservation Project 

The Palouse Longbeards Chapter located in Moscow recently volunteered their time and resources for a Turkey habitat project near Bovill, Idaho.  The landowner, Ken Bowey, utilized a grant through "Operation Big Sky" to purchase several hundred shrubs and trees as well as fencing to protect them from...read the whole story 
View the photos from the project

 

 Turkey Trapping & Release 

 "Click" to see pictures of the turkey relocation

85 Turkeys were trapped in Bonners Ferry and released on January 5th, 2006 in Southern Idaho by the Snake River & Gem State Chapters of the Idaho NWTF.

 

 IDFG's Latah County Conservation Reserve Program 

We are currently working on a large project that will entail planting shrubs and trees on CRP lands adjacent to farmers fields and forests in several locations within Latah country.  Our hope is to provide food and cover for many wildlife species, thus pulling animals from farmers fields where they have a negative impact on their crops.