Turkey Seminar March 9 at Pequest

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife will team up with the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NJNWTF) to host a free seminar and turkey-calling clinic on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center in Oxford, Warren County. The program will be conducted by Division Assistant Director/Wildlife Biologist David Chanda and will highlight the division's Wild Turkey Restoration Project and life history of the state's largest and smartest game bird, as well as offer some excellent hunting tips.

A calling clinic will be held at 2:30 p.m. immediately following the seminar. Members of the NJNWTF will demonstrate various calls and allow participants to try their luck with box, slate, and air-operated turkey calls. Although targeted to youngsters aged 10 to 18, the clinic is open to all.

Teaching materials on wild turkey biology and ecology will be demonstrated as part of the clinic. This "turkey box" of teaching aids was produced by the National Wild Turkey Federation and is available for loan through local chapters and the division's Pequest Trout Hatchery. Teachers and youth leaders may borrow the box, which contains a CD, posters, activities and video.

For more information or to register for the clinic, call 908-637-4125. The Pequest facility is located on Rt. 46 nine miles west of Hackettstown.