Tennessee Wildlife Manager Receives National Wildlife Management Award

Based in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley region of western Tennessee, Hollis thinks creatively about how to improve forest stands in ways that will also benefit wild turkeys. He is only the second wildlife forester in the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to apply for an NWTF Super Fund grant, and he furthers his work through additional grants as well. His region has capitalized on more than $800,000 in grant funding for timber stand improvements in bottomland hardwoods. Hollis has also saved TWRA $500,000 through an innovative cottonwood removal timber sale.

Receiving the coveted Joe Kurz Award for his work is an honor, Hollis said.

“It’s definitely humbling,” he said. “Today, we had a staff meeting and they read out my nomination summary, which was the first time I had ever heard it. Once they read everything I’ve done, I thought, ‘I guess I have done all that.’ You don’t really think about it until someone brings it up to you because you’re just doing your job. I’m just doing what I feel is right.”

Hollis’ dedication to wild turkeys goes beyond his direct role as a wildlife forester. When a wild turkey leg-banding project to estimate gobbler harvest rates began, he was excited to help with the turkey trapping process, work that he was not required to do. To date, Hollis and a fellow biologist are responsible for banding over 60 turkeys, nearly a third of the region’s banded turkeys for the project.

Hollis goes above and beyond to provide turkey sighting reports for summer brood surveys, and even offered to spend time driving through counties where there have been historically few wild turkeys.

Hollis is now an active member on TWRA’s internal Wild Turkey Management Team. He attends the NWTF Convention and Sport Show every year and says he soaks up the information and research being shared.  

“Damon goes above and beyond in his duties,” NWTF co-CEO Kurt Dyroff said. “He thinks of innovative ways to manage his projects and how he can make the biggest impact for conservation. He is also a stalwart of the wild turkey in Tennessee. For his efforts in creating better habitat for the bird we all cherish, we are proud to recognize his efforts with the Joe Kurz Wildlife Manager of the Year Award.”

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 positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities, and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats. and Healthy Harvests. for future generations.