Innovation for Conservation

As the NWTF continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary year, the organization’s volunteers across the country are coming up with innovative ways to fundraise and deliver the NWTF mission, and the volunteers in the Bay State are no exception. 

The NWTF Massachusetts State Chapter recently finished its 50 Calls for 50 Years silent auction, which saw renowned call makers from across the east coast donating calls and allowing the Massachusetts State Chapter to raise thousands of dollars for mission-related projects. 

“I cold-called some of the best call makers in the country,” said Keith Fritze, NWTF Massachusetts State Chapter President. “We ended up getting a great response and some beautiful calls that we were able to auction off on Facebook.” 

Since the founding of the organization in 1973, turkey call makers — be it custom call makers or callmaking companies — provided lifeblood to the NWTF in those early years. The dedication, spirit, innovation and craftsmanship of these call makers still ring true nearly 50 years later as they work with the NWTF at both a national and grassroots level. And while the volunteers in Massachusetts considered the 50 Calls for 50 Years fundraiser a success, the unique, DIY approach is emblematic of the conservation and outreach work the NWTF is accomplishing across Massachusetts. Here are a few examples. 

License plate funds have bolstered the conservation efforts in multiple states that have allowed residents to acquire an NWTF-branded state license plate, with a significant portion of initial and renewal costs going back to the NWTF every year. After multiple years of working on this project, the Massachusetts State Chapter is proud to announce that it has recently received final approval from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles for an official NWTF license plate. 

“This program will be a monumental boost to our conservation efforts across the state,” said Fritze. “I want to give major recognition to former Massachusetts State president and dedicated volunteer Joe Judd for his effort on this project. He has seen this from beginning to end.” 

The Massachusetts State Chapter will soon provide information on how residents can sign up. 

Thanks to a USDA Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration Grant, the new Massachusetts Dynamic Forestry Initiative is managing about 2,000 acres of public and private forests and providing outreach and assistance to private woodlot owners in the Commonwealth.

The primary objective of the work is to create diverse age-class forests that optimize carbon storage and carbon sequestration. This is done by encouraging a balance of old-growth forests with young forests.  

“This exciting initiative shows that we can take NWTF’s landscape-scale conservation framework and apply it to smaller regions, in this case, Massachusetts,” said Matt DiBona, NWTF New England district biologist. “We are excited to get the community involved and watch the work unfold.”  

The NWTF has a long history of working with MassWildlife to develop and implement youth and adult-focused R3 programming in the state. For instance, ahead of the recent spring turkey season, the state chapter hosted numerous learn-to-turkey-hunt seminars. These events are designed to give participants a better understanding of how to effectively use turkey calls, spring turkey hunting tactics, tips for preseason scouting and more. 

Additionally, the state chapter is a long-term partner of MassWildlife's Youth Turkey Hunt Program, which also hosts seminars and provides live fire training to help young turkey hunters meet the legal requirements for participating in the spring youth turkey hunt. Since its inception, thousands of youth hunters have gone through this program.

Whether it is a novel approach to forestry, fundraising or keeping kids in the turkey woods, the NWTF Massachusetts State Chapter shows that, with a little innovation, big things can happen in a small state.