Local NWTF Chapter Makes Landscape-Level Impact
The NWTF April AWOL Chapter in the Nacogdoches, Texas area recently made a $20,000 donation to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the Northeast Texas Conservation Delivery Network’s Habitat Incentive Program.
This increased funding will provide critical habitat enhancements in priority areas in northeast Texas, such as where the Eastern wild turkey has been reintroduced into Texas as part of TPWD’s Super Stocking Program.
Once prevalent in east Texas, the Eastern wild turkey was reduced to an estimated 100 birds in the mid-1900s. Since 2014, the TPWD’s Super Stocking Program, the process of releasing 70-plus birds at a time, has provided east Texas with excellent results and a bright future for the subspecies in the region.
However, TPWD only releases birds on quality habitat where the translocated turkeys will have a higher chance of survival and reproduction. This includes at least 10,000 acres of contiguous land and the essential habitat features that turkeys need to flourish. Habitat is scored and approved before translocation efforts can begin.
Quality habitat is where the April AWOL’s contribution will be allocated.
Through the Habitat Incentive Program, the April AWOL Chapter’s contribution will bolster habitat management practices that benefit both native and translocated wild turkeys. Work includes prescribed burning and invasive species removal to create the essential habitat for wild turkey’s annual cycle needs, including nesting and brood-rearing, annual forage and roosting habitats. This one-two punch of on-the-ground habitat management and super stocking optimizes the long-term sustainability of Eastern wild turkeys in east Texas.
The NWTF chapter’s donation will be matched 3:1, turning it into an $80,000 investment after being leveraged through TPWD.
To date, the Habitat Incentive Program has spent over $1.2 million across 25,500 acres of high-priority landscapes for wild turkeys and many other species.
Annie Farrell, NWTF district biologist for Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma is a steering committee member and the Habitat Incentive Program administrator for the Northeast Texas Conservation Delivery Network.
“We are beyond proud of our accomplishments through the Habitat Incentive Program,” she said. “The contribution from the April AWOL Chapter shows how our volunteers are going above and beyond for the wild turkey and ensuring the future of our natural resources in the great state of Texas.”
The donation was made possible thanks to the success of the NWTF volunteers of the April AWOL Chapter, who have taken grassroots fundraising for conservation to a new level. For the last decade, the April AWOL Chapter has led the state of Texas in annual banquet fundraising, allowing them to contribute to conservation beyond what they already do through the state chapter. The chapter further exceeded expectations during the NWTF’s 50th year by raising over $150,000 net at an NWTF banquet, the highest ever at an NWTF Texas banquet.
“Being in a rural area, growing our banquet and fundraising efforts have been synonymous with sharing and growing a passion for the NWTF mission in our community,” said Don Irwin, April AWOL Chapter president. “When we are able to make contributions like this, it allows us to show our community and faithful contributors where their dollars are going.
“The good Lord has tasked us to be good stewards of the land and the animals that walk upon it. As a group of believers, APRIL AWOL chooses to honor this through a national platform such as NWTF and by supporting our state wildlife agencies, local farmers and ranchers. The amount of time and sweat equity that this amazing group of volunteers puts into the NWTF mission and stewarding our natural resources is amazing to say the least.”
Last year, the NWTF Texas State Chapter allocated $114,461 to conservation and hunting heritage projects across the Lone Star State. This was made possible thanks to the local chapters in Texas, such as the April AWOL Chapter, who raise money at banquets and other types of fundraisers and then allocate a significant portion of those funds back into meaningful conservation and outreach projects the state board of directors approves. The NWTF Texas State Chapter will announce its 2024 funding in the near future.
“Whether on a state or a local level, our chapters continue to adapt to address the conservation challenges of the day,” said Barry Woods, NWTF national director of event fundraising. “A major kudos and thank you go out to the April AWOL Chapter for continuing to exceed expectations and showing how our local grassroots fundraising efforts can significantly impact our mission. I challenge all NWTF chapters to see how they can make the biggest impact for the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage through their fundraising efforts, no matter how big or small.”