2022, 22 Million Acres and More: NWTF Year-End Conservation Wrap-Up
2022 was a transformational year for the NWTF, filled with unprecedented conservation milestones across the country. Not only did the NWTF surpass 22 million acres of conserved or enhanced wildlife habitat since its inception, but the organization also made significant investments into the wild turkey, our hunting heritage, healthy forests, clean water and all that is important to sportsmen and women across America.
Through the efforts of its dedicated volunteers, staff and partners, the NWTF delivered an extraordinary year of conservation success; here are some of the milestones:
Wildfire Crisis Strategy Support
The NWTF kicked off 2022 by giving its full support to the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy — announced on Jan. 18 by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack — and continues to collaborate and bolster its shared stewardship model of conservation with the federal agency, ensuring the nation’s forests are safe, resilient, and benefit Americans and their natural resources.
The NWTF was a leader among conservation organizations on Capitol Hill in the early drafting phase of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Since the passage of the once-in-a-lifetime legislation, the NWTF has been working side-by-side with the Forest Service and directly involved with the Wildfire Risk Reduction Implementation Strategy Team at the national level and in the development of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
“It’s important to first point out that this is not just a Forest Service or government problem,” said Tom Spezze, NWTF national director of field conservation and state policy. “This crisis is our collective problem as Americans; whether you’re concerned about wildlife habitat, hunting or fishing on public land, clean water or local economies — if it hasn’t already, this crisis will impact you in some way if we do not work to vastly reduce hazardous fuels in our forests.”
Co-hosted 12th National Wild Turkey Symposium
All year, the NWTF highlighted the importance of wild turkey research through various investments and events. The kickoff began when the NWTF and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission co-hosted the 12th National Wild Turkey Symposium June 6-10, 2022, in Asheville, North Carolina.
The 12th Symposium brought together wild turkey experts from all arenas, including state, federal and private entities; wild turkey researchers from universities and agencies; land managers; and wild turkey enthusiasts, to exchange ideas to ensure the sustainability of wild turkeys and their habitats. The symposia provide an avenue for managers, student researchers and academia to present current and recent research updates.
The first National Wild Turkey Symposium was held in 1959 and has been held about every five years since the second Symposium was held in 1970.
$360K Investment into Wild Turkey Research
At the 12th National Wild Turkey Symposium, the NWTF announced more than $360,000 in funding for seven new research projects in multiple states addressing the needs of wild turkey populations. Dedicated funding will be leveraged multiple times, resulting in more than $2.5 million worth of research to benefit the wild turkey. Individual projects can be viewed below:
Fast-Tracked 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium
The NWTF, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are expediting the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium by co-hosting the event in Kansas City in 2025.
Usually held every five years, the NWTF and partners concluded that wild turkey research is more important now than ever.
“Fast-tracking the 13th symposium is part of NWTF’s heightened effort to address population declines experienced throughout the country,” said Mark Hatfield, NWTF director of conservation services. “Our recent funding of critical wild turkey research projects coupled with the momentum created from the 12th National Wild Turkey Symposium have built a strong synergy between NWTF, academia and state agencies to address the emerging challenges and questions we face today. We need to keep our foot on the gas.”
NWTF Completes Monumental Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. Initiative
In 2012, the NWTF set out to bolster its mission by creating the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative, a national campaign entailing three distinct goals: conserve or enhance 4 million acres of wildlife habitat, recruit 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres of public hunting land, all by the end of the NWTF’s 2022 fiscal year.
In 2020, the final metric of the initiative was surpassed thanks to the dedication of NWTF chapters, volunteers, partners and staff. As the 2022 fiscal year officially closed on Aug. 31, the final totals for the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative were:
- 5,216,914 acres conserved or enhanced (goal accomplished in 2020).
- 1,534,819 hunters recruited (goal accomplished in 2019).
- 700,041 acres open to public hunting access (goal accomplished in 2018).
“The 10-year initiative rallied our membership, staff and partners to help deliver our mission on an unprecedented scale," NWTF co-CEO Kurt Dyroff said. "We faced many challenges over the last decade, but what we accomplished is a testament to our dedicated people who make the NWTF so special. We will look back 50 years from now and see that Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. served as a springboard for mission-focused delivery far into the future.”
Waterways for Wildlife Announcements
The NWTF launched its new Waterways for Wildlife Initiative by awarding 14 high-priority conservation projects with funds totaling $2,807,947 with partner match.
Work began on 14 shovel-ready projects in 2022 for the Waterways for Wildlife initiative, which will potentially enhance 7,677 acres of wildlife habitat and nearly 78 stream miles.
The landscape-scale initiative also announced a second request for proposals for 2023 projects in late 2022.
Over the next decade, the NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife seeks to raise $10 million in private funding and leverage $40 million in matching partner funds to improve 75,000 acres of wildlife habitat along 1,500 linear miles of waterways in the Great Plains landscape.
General Springs Stewardship Agreement
The NWTF signed a new agreement with the USDA Forest Service on the newly formed General Springs Stewardship Agreement, a collaborative endeavor set to restore wildlife habitat, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve water quality and quantity for millions of Arizonans.
In response to the increasing threat of uncharacteristic wildfires, the Forest Service and the NWTF have identified priority areas for management to provide wildfire protection and increase forest health. One of these areas, the General Springs Project, is part of the larger Cragin Watershed Protection Project, a concerted effort with interested partners and stakeholders to protect an area of over 63,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat that is also a municipal watershed for Payson, Arizona.
“Our new agreement with the Coconino National Forest for the General Springs Project will conserve and enhance roughly 3,500 acres while also providing protection for the East Clear Creek Watershed and water pipeline, which supplies the town of Payson, Arizona, with drinking water and is valued at over $300 million in water and hydroelectric infrastructure,” said Chuck Carpenter, NWTF district biologist for Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. “The agreement also provides other important infrastructure protection, including powerline corridor protection and roadside thinning.”
NFI 2.0
Building on 20 years of partnerships and collaborative conservation, the NWTF and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service bolstered their joint agreement for the National Forestry Initiative. The new five-year agreement will provide $7 million in funding for conservation and additional forestry professionals to reach even more private landowners.
“Our work with forestland owners plays an important role in improving wildlife habitat and supporting climate-smart conservation practices,” said Terry Cosby, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “In partnering with the National Wild Turkey Federation, NRCS looks forward to expanding our impacts and supporting even more forestland owners, especially in underserved communities.”
Over the last four years since the inception of the original agreement in 2018, the partnership has implemented conservation practices on more than 333,000 acres. Now, thanks to a new and enhanced agreement between the NRCS and the NWTF, the NFI is becoming an even more robust platform for promoting forest health and habitat conservation on private lands across the country.
Under the new five-year agreement, which the NWTF has dubbed NFI 2.0, the NRCS will contribute $5.3 million over the life of the agreement to implement volunteer conservation practices on private lands. This will enable the NWTF to bring much-needed forestry capacity and technical expertise across the country to work with private landowners, including landowners within historically underserved communities.
20-Year Master Stewardship Agreement
The USDA Forest Service and the NWTF signed a landmark, transformational, 20-year national master stewardship agreement.
This first-of-its-kind agreement paves the way for the NWTF and the Forest Service to work together to address the wildfire crisis in the West and promote healthy forests across the U.S. It also includes an initial $50 million commitment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as regular agency appropriations and other sources.
"This agreement reflects our strong, long-standing relationship with the National Wild Turkey Federation and its four decades of forest restoration work on national forests and grasslands," USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said. "Larger wildfires, more frequent natural disasters, and other disturbances that continue to threaten the health of the nation’s forests and grasslands and the wildlife habitat they provide, means the work we do together is even more vital."
When Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Forest Service’s wildfire crisis strategy at the beginning of this year, the NWTF began to identify areas where it could assist. Using funding made possible by this agreement, the NWTF will develop regional projects to protect communities, reduce wildfire risk, and improve forest health, wildlife habitat and water quality on national forests and grasslands.
This agreement is the largest in the NWTF’s 50-year history and is one of the first long-term agreements of its kind between the Forest Service and a conservation partner. The NWTF is the largest and longest-serving nongovernmental partner involved in Forest Service stewardship agreements. A master stewardship agreement will expand funding and partnership opportunities with other federal and state agencies and tribes, as well as with the timber industry, municipal water providers and volunteers.
Preparing for a Year-Long 50th Celebration
The momentum generated from 2022 will catalyze the organization as it celebrates its 50 years of conservation success in 2023. If you think 2022 was a conservation powerhouse, wait until you see what we’ve got in store for 2023.
Learn how you can join us in the celebration here.