By the turn of the 20th century, wild turkey populations across the state were decimated due to the destruction of critical habitat and unregulated hunting. 

In the 1950s, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources began an effort with partners to reintroduce Wild Turkey to the state. Fifty Wild Turkeys were purchased from Pennsylvania and released into the open woodlands of Allegan County, helping to strengthen and diversify the population. Thirty years later, wild turkeys from Missouri and Iowa were released across the state. There are now 200,000 Wild Turkeys gobbling across Michigan thanks to a half-century of partnership.