Alexander Pendleton of Shorewood remembers Sept. 4, 1979 as if it were yesterday.
And though he was a freshman attending his first classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his primary memory of that day has nothing to with coursework.
It was the more than 1,000 pink flamingos peppering the campus’ Bascom Hill.
The plastic figures were part of a prank organized by the UW student government’s Pail and Shovel Party and its leaders, Jim Mallon and Leon Varjian.
It acquired legendary status in UW history.
It also sparked an idea in Pendleton.
For about the last eight years he and I have corresponded about his notion for a more authentic Wisconsin display on Madison’s famous hill.
“I’ve always thought that in celebration of one of the anniversaries of the 1976 successful reintroduction of wild turkeys to Wisconsin a group should get together and cover Bascom Hill with gobbler and hen turkey decoys,” Pendleton wrote to me in October 2017. “Would be even better [and more germane to Wisconsin] than the 1979 covering of Bascom Hill with the pink flamingos.”
Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?
After all, the wild turkey is native to Wisconsin, not some tropical interloper.
And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the species’ reintroduction to the state, arguably the most successful such wildlife restoration in history.
As you may know, wild turkeys were depleted through the 1800s by removal of vast areas of timber from southern Wisconsin and high, unregulated turkey harvests by market and subsistence hunters.
By 1860 the birds were rare, and in 1881 the last wild turkey in the state’s original flock was killed near Darlington, according to the Department of Natural Resources’ document “Ecology of Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin.”
Efforts through the early to mid-1900s to bring the species back, mostly through stocking game farm birds, met with failure.
But by the 1970s the DNR had seen what worked in other states and put a plan together for Wisconsin.
It was based on transferring wild turkeys obtained in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri into the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin.
It also relied on an agreement between state agencies. The Wisconsin DNR would exchange three ruffed grouse for each wild turkey provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
On Jan. 21, 1976 the first flight of Missouri wild turkeys landed at the La Crosse airport. It was met by about a dozen people, including DNR wildlife supervisor Ron Nicklaus and wildlife biologist Carl Batha, local rod-and-gun club members and UW-Madison professor Tom Yuill, an expert in wildlife diseases.
Yuill took a blood sample and inspected each of the 29 turkeys. After the turkeys were pronounced healthy, Nicklaus, Batha and a crew of other DNR staff and volunteers drove the birds to Vernon County and released them on the farm of Butch and Iva Lee Baumgartner near Romance.
The birds and others flown in afterward went forth and multiplied.
I know you’ve seen them. From the wilds of northern Wisconsin to farms to suburbs and even cities, wild turkeys are back in the Badger State.
The birds are found in all 72 counties and the population supports annual spring and fall hunting seasons. In fact, Wisconsin routinely ranks among the top three states in annual turkey harvests.
I’ve turkey hunted in nine states and Mexico and am convinced the turkey hunting in Wisconsin is unmatched anywhere in North America.
In my opinion the Wisconsin wild turkey reintroduction deserves special recognition.
Like me, Pendleton grew up in Wisconsin when there were no wild turkeys. Pendleton, who earned a history degree from UW and a law degree from the University of Minnesota, became an avid turkey hunter.
Pendleton and I worked on a 45th anniversary recognition of the Wisconsin wild turkey reintroduction but it got shelved due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This year, though, thanks to the great support and planning of the National Wild Turkey Federation, it’s going to happen for the 50th.
The events are scheduled for May 17 on the UW campus.
It will start about 11 a.m. with a gathering and photo session including turkey decoys on Bascom Hill. Then it will move indoors from noon to 2 p.m. for food and beverages and a program in the UW Memorial Union Hall.
It’s all free and open to the public. Participants are asked to register at nwtf.org/EVT-21151/tickets.
Representatives from UW and the DNR, including Nicklaus and Jon Nelson, members of the 1976 turkey reintroduction team, are expected to be on hand.
You can ask for their autographs and hear first-hand what it was like to restore wild turkeys to Wisconsin.
You also can meet Pendleton and hear him describe the difference from the 1979 pink flock on the hill to a more natural grouping.
And you never know. Some of Madison’s wild turkeys might make an appearance, too.
In 2009, the city of Madison designated the flamingo lawn ornament as the city’s official bird.
In 2025, a bill was introduced to make the wild turkey the official state game bird. It didn’t gain traction. But I’m hopeful it will in the next Legislature.
The May 17 celebration in Madison is 50 years in the making and a great opportunity to thank the DNR, the NWTF and UW for their roles in bringing the wild turkey back to Wisconsin.
Bring a turkey decoy and your stories and help mark a tremendous achievement in Wisconsin wildlife history.
For more information, contact Scott Chandler at schandler@nwtf.net or (715) 572-0613.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wild turkey celebration will flock Bascom Hill, student union in Madison | Paul A. Smith
Reporting by Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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