"I am very pleased that this diverse group was able to work together, work through the challenges and then devise a plan that will bring more turkeys into Southern Aroostook County," said Roland D. Martin, Commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Before releasing turkeys into suitable habitat in Aroostook County, IFW will evaluate potential sites with regards to agricultural concerns, turkey habitat needs, proximity to agricultural operations, and the potential impacts of turkeys to these operations.

The group also designed a response plan to deal with the impacts of potential nuisance wild turkeys. It includes education on protection; help lines; quick, direct responses; and Animal Damage Control Agents.

The protocol also provides a vehicle to review the established protocol so that it can be adaptive to any issues that may result from the continued release of wild turkeys into Aroostook County.

This protocol was the result of two information hearings and an additional two working group sessions.

"The concerns that were raised in these forums were legitimate issues, and I feel that this group has stepped forth and addressed these issues. The protocol also allows the group to revisit these if need be," said Commissioner Martin.

The Department is guided through goals and objectives set by stakeholders in Maine's fish and wildlife resources. In 1999, a group convened to establish a turkey population goals and objectives for the next 15 years, and one of the goals was to establish wild turkeys within all suitable habitat in Maine. Wild Turkeys are already present in all 16 counties in Maine, including established wild turkey populations in Aroostook towns such as Hersey, Benedicta and Orient.

The department's desire to continue wild turkey introduction efforts into Aroostook County are a result of this fifteen year management plan, and over 900 letters and signatures that were received by Commissioner Martin in support of the Department's wild turkey introduction efforts.

Those involved in the Aroostook County stakeholders group that designed the protocol for the release of turkeys included members of the Maine Potato Board, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine; Small Woodlot Owners of Maine (SWOAM), the County Farm Bureau, Maine Department of Agriculture, Aroostook Beef Producers, Penobscot Valley Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Wood Prairie Farm, Lilley Farm, Maine Dairy Industry Association, Natural Beef Producers, Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District, Maine Chapter of the NWTF, Southern Aroostook

Chapter of the NWTF, Members of the Aroostook County Delegation of the Legislature, an IFW Advisory Council member and Biologists and Game Wardens from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.