A fierce commitment to preserving our hunting traditions is one of two key principles that guides the work of the NWTF and its volunteers. Outlined in the organization's mission statement above, it has helped the Federation a driving force in the protection of one of North America's richest and most treasured traditions. So how does a 450,000-member wild turkey organization become such a power throughout the hunting world? A short list follows:
• The Federation's outreach programs — JAKES, Women in the Outdoors and Wheelin' Sportsmen — reach hundreds of thousands of children, women and the disabled across the U.S. and Canada, groups that have traditionally been overlooked by much of the hunting community. Thousands of events introduce or create opportunities for these audiences to experience first-hand the thrill of the outdoors and hunting.
• Through the NWTF Hunting Heritage Fund, has contributed or pledged nearly $2.5 million to the U.S. Sportsman's Alliance, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and the 4-H Shooting Sports Foundation to support their legislative and educational efforts to defend and promote the rights of hunters and shooters across the country.
• Promotes the positive aspects of hunting in its five publications and two television programs.
• Has awarded $746,075 in scholarships to graduating high school seniors with an interest in hunting and a desire to continue their educations at a university or college.
• Annually presents the Lynn Boykin Hunting Heritage Award to a leader in the world of hunting who has made it a lifetime commitment through their career and their volunteer work to promote and share with others a love for hunting. These are just a few of the ways the NWTF and its volunteers have stepped forward to defend and promote a heritage that is as much a part of American history as the establishment of the first colonial settlements and the defense of the free world centuries later. It was a nation of hunters that explored and settled this country and hunters that ultimately saved and continue to conserve the wildlife and the rest of our natural resources. The Federation and its members are proud of the role they play in this history. The NWTF — a national nonprofit organization — is the leader in upland wildlife habitat conservation in North America. Our History
On March 28, 1973, the Commonwealth of Virginia issued incorporation papers to a fledgling organization in Fredericksburg called the National Wild Turkey Federation. The NWTF has come a long way since its founding chief executive, Tom Rodgers, took $440 out of his own pocket to put this organization in motion. And what it has turned into is nothing short of phenomenal. NWTF Rescues Wild Turkeys From Brink of Extinction
NWTF Helps Rescue Wild Turkeys From Brink of Extinction
Click the image to watch the video. Founded in 1973, the NWTF is headquartered in Edgefield, S.C., and has local chapters in every state. The NWTF is dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage. Through vital partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and our members have helped restore wild turkey populations throughout North America — from a mere 30,000 in the entire United States to more than 7 million across the United States, Canada and Mexico. We are sportsmen, women and children who care deeply about our natural resources and the wild places we love to hunt. We cherish the memory of the ridge top gobbler we hunted last spring and fondly remember the cornfield where we saw that big buck at sunset two years ago. Collectively, we come from all walks of life to engage in conservation and preserve the hunting heritage we all hold dear. We're hunters...
Some of us follow bird dogs through waving stands of grass from south Georgia to Montana in pursuit of bobwhite quail and pheasant. And most of us would rather spend a bitterly cold winter morning knee deep in a flooded oak flat or beaver pond than waste that morning in a warm bed.
.. the champions of conservation. According to many state and federal agencies, the restoration of the wild turkey is arguably the greatest conservation success story in North America's wildlife history. We have spent more than $412 million to conserve nearly 17.25 million acres of habitat. That area is larger than the state of West Virginia. Wild turkeys and hundreds of other species of upland wildlife, including quail, deer, grouse, pheasant and songbirds, have benefited from this improved habitat. Our dedicated volunteers bring new hunters and conservationists into the fold — nearly 100,000 every year — through outdoor education events.
