The Foundation Of Relevance

In 1972, when Tom Rodgers had his vision of forming the NWTF, he was concerned with the vast loss of wildlife habitat, large areas where no wild turkey populations existed. There was also a need for more solid scientific knowledge of the bird.

While his vision was valid, there was also a strong reservation among wildlife agencies that the NWTF could pose a threat if its leadership, particularly with the formation of nationwide chapters, began trying to dictate wild turkey policy within each state.

When I was hired in May 1980 as NWTF’s director of research, I found that Tom and Ted Lynn, the NWTF’s first wild turkey biologist, had indeed fanned the flames of this fear, telling agencies they were going to lead a movement to stop clear-cutting, among other initiatives, on forest lands. I quickly realized that the role of the organization to help coordinate research had to wait until we could build relevancy and trust.

The NWTF Technical Committee then included each state’s wild turkey project leader. It met annually at the NWTF National Convention. While we discussed many issues during the two days of meetings, expanding populations seemed like a top priority. We discussed trades, including what to swap for wild turkeys.

Beginning in the early 1930s, agencies traded different fish and other wildlife species with their neighbors. It usually required something in return for the donation. Unfortunately, this approach was difficult because it was limited by what the neighboring state needed in return.

I proposed in 1982 that we try to determine the cost to trap an individual bird – to derive the value of an Eastern wild turkey. If we could figure out that amount, we could use dollars to repay donating states. The committee quickly pointed out that this would violate the Lacy Act of 1905, the law making it illegal to buy and sell wildlife or take it across state lines.

We eventually determined that both the cost and value of an Eastern wild turkey was about $500. I offered that the NWTF would willingly serve as the initiative facilitator, getting letters from state agencies needing turkeys and looking for willing donors. The committee, while skeptical, agreed with the proposal. We adopted a goal to stock all suitable Eastern wild turkey habitat by the turn of the century. “Target 2000” was born.

While the idea seemed logical, no agency was willing to take the first step. Then, in 1986, Texas Parks and Wildlife approached me and stated they needed Eastern wild turkeys for release in an area about the size of South Carolina. They had limited flocks to trap and transfer birds and releasing Rio Grande birds there had been a failure.

With that request, I traveled to Atlanta and met with Joe Kurz, chief of wildlife with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Joe immediately saw that sending birds out of state could provide match money for federal Pittman-Robertson dollars, which could be used to purchase public land. He convinced his director, Leon McGraw, to donate the birds, provided the money was deposited anonymously in the NWTF Georgia State Super Fund for holding. Now we needed to raise money to make it happen.

I traveled to Dallas with Dr. Jim Dickson, an NWTF board member, to meet with Trammell Crow, a wealthy real estate developer who owned a large property near Lufkin. He quickly said, “I’ll write you a check for 15 birds on the spot.”

In 1986, birds were trapped near Thomson, Georgia, then delivered to Augusta, where they were loaded into Trammell’s private jet with some of the seats removed. The plane then flew to Texas with me, my wife, Mary, and NWTF Chief Executive Officer Rob Keck on board with the birds. We released the turkeys that same day. Target 2000 had become a reality.

With this breakthrough, other states got involved. Potential donating states saw the opportunity for new money to buy public land. It was a classic win-win scenario. Iowa and South Carolina are prominent examples.

Terry Little, with Iowa’s DNR, saw an opportunity to purchase, for $40, an acre of critical, nontillable crop land, which wild turkeys needed for brood and roost habitat. I guess the statute of limitations has passed, but the first 50 Iowa birds were shipped and released in Texas before proper documentation was completed. The trapping window was closing fast, but Little trusted us to hold up our end of the deal. However, his DNR accountants feared they wouldn’t be paid and demanded the money within 24 hours of the transfer. We paid.

In South Carolina, John Frampton, then wild turkey project leader, saw that every bird leaving the state meant an acre of land could be purchased in management areas and larger tracks. Under Frampton’s coordination, birds were trapped in areas like the Savannah River Site, where hunting wasn’t allowed, and then delivered to North Carolina. This let North Carolina finish stocking its habitat in 10 years, a process that took 40 years in South Carolina.

The NWTF held the money in its Super Fund, earmarked for land purchase, until parcels were located. As Frampton noted, if the funds were given directly to the state, politicians would have claimed it for pet projects.

With the Eastern project now rapidly progressing, states needed other subspecies.

Oregon has a high yearly rainfall, but the habitat suited Rio Grande’s nesting and brooding needs, so a deal was made with Kansas for $50 per bird since trapping costs were much lower. The NWTF also assisted with the Gould’s introduction into southern Arizona’s Sky Islands.

Even Canada got involved with Target 2000. Ontario invited the NWTF to help train their staff on wild turkey biology and management. I invited John Lewis from Missouri, Jerry Wunz of Pennsylvania and Little from Iowa, to assist. All three states then contributed birds for the program. A similar deal allowed Michigan to establish wild turkey populations in the lower part of that state.

The fact that the NWTF could provide services not available to the individual states forged trust and credibility for the organization, such that it could expand research projects and begin hunter safety, education and habitat programs. The NWTF now had a presence on the state and national political scene.

While we didn’t quite make our goal of finishing restoration by the turn of the century, we celebrated our 200,000th wild turkey released in 2011. My involvement in Target 2000, with so many state professionals and our dedicated NWTF volunteers, was the highlight of my career.