NWTF Missouri State Chapter Approves Funding for 2023 Mission Delivery

The Board of Directors budgeted $119,223 for conservation projects and $76,200 for Hunting Heritage-related projects, including outreach-education events, chapter scholarships, 4H Shooting Sports support and mentored hunts.  

NWTF awarded funding will be matched with almost $500,000 in partner funds for the approved projects, representing a 5:1 match rate for NWTF funding.  

“We’ve got great partners and great volunteers here in Missouri that annually keep us at the top of the leader board in dollars raised and mission delivery,” said John Burk, NWTF district biologist for Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. “The turkey decline is real, and these new allocations are examples of effective measures being put in place to address the problem.”

Conservation Funding = $119,223

Projects awarded funding for 2023 occur in the Ozark, MO/IA Oaks and SEMO Focal Landscapes. Project awards include:

• $30,000 unrestricted gift to Conservation Program for use in Missouri.  

• $5,000 to the Mark Twain National Forest to conduct nonnative invasive species control on a 135-acre tract plus 18 miles of right-of-way. 

• $10,000 to support cost-share work on an estimated 1,000 acres of private land in the MO/IA Oaks Focal Landscape.

• $7,100 to support cost-share work on an estimated 1,000 acres of private land in the Missouri River Hills.

• $10,000 to purchase native warm season grass drills for Gasconade and Miller County Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

• $12,000 to assist with 500 acres of native warm season grass restoration on the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge.

• $6,667 to assist with purchasing a UTV that will be used primarily for burning 1,000 acres annually on Missouri's national wildlife refuge system.

• $2,800 to assist with establishing a 16-acre native warm season grass field in a turkey management unit of Mark Twain Lake.

• $5,000 to assist with purchasing a fully stocked prescribed burn trailer for the newly established Mid Missouri Prescribe Burn Association.

• $10,000 to provide general funding support for the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council.

• $4,556 to assist with the purchase of a pendulum seeder for creating pollinator plots on private land. 

Partners include Pheasants and Quail Forever, Mid Missouri Prescribed Burn Association, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Mark Twain Lake Forest Council, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NWTF Iowa State Chapter, NWTF Illinois State Chapter, Gasconade and Miller Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, Missouri Department of Conservation and the USDA Forest Service, among others. 

About the National Wild Turkey Federation

Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has conserved or enhanced over 22 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The organization continues to drive wildlife conservation, forest resiliency and robust recreational opportunities throughout the U.S. by working across boundaries on a landscape scale. Today, the NWTF is investing heavily in wild turkey research to ensure the future of wild turkey populations and is working to secure Healthy Habitats and Healthy Harvests.