Lake Orion student’s design wins 2013 Michigan Wild Turkey Cooperator patch contest

Lauren Gamboa, a freshman at Lake Orion High School, has won the design competition for the 2013 Michigan Wild Turkey Cooperator patch contest, the Department of Natural Resources announced.

Gamboa, who was an eighth-grader at Waldon Middle School in Lake Orion when she submitted her design, created a patch using drawings of feathers from a turkey’s breast, wing and tail as part of her design.

 

“The first thing I think about when I think of turkeys is the feathers,” Gamboa said. “I like the feathers, especially the black and white (wing) ones.”

 

Gamboa’s design will grace the commemorative patch that is available through the Michigan Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Patches are available to hunters, collectors or other wild turkey enthusiasts for $5, though youths 16 and under can obtain a patch for free by mailing in a copy of their spring turkey hunting license.

The commemorative turkey patch was originally created as a token of appreciation for hunters who brought their spring turkeys to a DNR check station. The National Wild Turkey Federation took over the program and incorporated a design contest for youths in 2001.

 

For more information on the commemorative turkey patch, visit www.nwtf.org/michigan.

 

The spring turkey hunting application period begins Jan. 1. To learn more about turkey hunting in Michigan, visit www.michigan.gov/turkey.