THE FOLLOWING IS AS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION
Near the small town of Albion, Washington, in the rolling farm country of the Palouse, NWTF volunteers recently put nearly 4,000 trees and shrubs into the ground with a much bigger goal in mind: creating the kind of habitat that keeps wild turkeys on the landscape for generations to come.
The Smoot Hill Project, developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and supported through the Washington NWTF Super Fund, is helping reconnect fragmented habitat in northeast Whitman County, where agriculture dominates much of the landscape and quality turkey habitat can be limited.
In just two days, volunteers planted approximately 2.5 acres with ponderosa pine, hawthorn, elderberry and chokecherry, laying the foundation for future roosting and travel corridors for wild turkeys. Additionally, cottonwood was planted in lower, wetter portions of the property.
The project site sits on private land enrolled in WDFW’s Hunt by Reservation program, meaning the habitat work will directly support public hunting opportunity in both the spring and fall. The area already holds good turkey numbers, but habitat fragmentation has limited the birds’ ability to move, roost and nest across the broader landscape. This project is designed to help change that by connecting pockets of habitat that already exist nearby.
“This is the kind of project that can have a really lasting impact,” said Kaleb Ohler, NWTF regional director in Washington. “The Palouse is such an agricultural landscape that good turkey habitat can be few and far between. By adding trees and shrubs here, we’re helping create the cover and connectivity that birds need, while also creating more opportunity for hunters.”
Four NWTF volunteers, including members of the Lilac City Longbeards and Snohomish County Strutters chapters, joined WDFW staff, additional volunteers and a Pheasants Forever volunteer to complete most of the planting effort in just six hours.
The project represents one of the first major habitat efforts spearheaded by the Lilac City Longbeards chapter and highlights the impact local NWTF chapters can make when they partner with agencies and other conservation groups.
The Smoot Hill Project also carries a unique connection to the next generation of hunters and conservationists. Located near Washington State University, the area is frequently hunted by college students and young outdoorsmen looking for access close to campus.
For many students in Pullman, finding a place to hunt can mean knocking on doors, scouting hard and piecing together small pockets of habitat in a heavily agricultural region. Ohler knows that firsthand.
As a former Washington State student himself, he hunted turkeys in the same area while in college and remembers how difficult it could be to find access and quality habitat. Seeing NWTF-supported habitat work take shape there now is especially meaningful. He hopes that when students and hunters see NWTF signage on the property in the future, they will connect their hunting success to the habitat work that made it possible.
That visibility could help spark something even bigger.
“There are a lot of outdoors-minded students around Pullman,” said Ohler. “Projects like this show them that conservation is something they can be part of. Maybe they see that sign while they’re out hunting and realize they want to get involved, volunteer or even help start a collegiate chapter someday.”
That kind of connection matters because habitat projects are about more than putting plants in the ground. They are about building healthier landscapes, improving hunting access and showing the next generation that conservation is something worth investing in.
The Smoot Hill Project was funded through a partnership between NWTF, WDFW and local conservation partners. NWTF contributed $5,000 toward the more than $10,000 project, helping pay for trees, shrubs and planting materials. The project also included significant in-kind support from WDFW staff, volunteers and conservation partners.
In total, the project will establish thousands of new trees and shrubs to provide roosting cover and travel corridors for wild turkeys and other wildlife species. As those plantings mature over time, they will help create a larger connected corridor of habitat in an area where timber and cover are limited.
This project is a reminder that local NWTF chapters are helping shape the future of hunting on the ground, one project at a time.
