National Master Stewardship Agreement
This first-of-its-kind agreement paved the way for these partner organizations to work together to address the wildfire crisis in the West and promote healthy forests across the U.S.
In the fall of 2022, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service signed a landmark 20-year national master stewardship agreement.
This first-of-its-kind agreement paved the way for these partner organizations to work together to address the wildfire crisis in the West and promote healthy forests across the U.S. It also includes an initial $50 million commitment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as regular agency appropriations and other sources.
“This agreement reflects our strong, long-standing relationship with the National Wild Turkey Federation and its four decades of forest restoration work on national forests and grasslands,” USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said. “Larger wildfires, more frequent natural disasters, and other disturbances that continue to threaten the health of the nation’s forests and grasslands, and the wildlife habitat they provide, means the work we do together is even more vital.”
This agreement is largest in the NWTF’s 50-year history and was the first long-term agreements of its kind between the Forest Service and a conservation partner. The NWTF is the largest and longest-serving nongovernmental partner involved in Forest Service stewardship agreements. A master stewardship agreement will expand funding and partnership opportunities with other federal and state agencies, and Tribes, as well as with the timber industry, municipal water providers, and volunteers.
“Our partnership with the Forest Service is central to our mission,” said Kurt Dyroff, co-chief executive officer of the National Wild Turkey Federation. “Wild turkeys, as well as other wildlife, rely on healthy habitats and healthy forests for their long-term sustainability. Likewise, hunters rely on the same for a quality and successful hunting experience. Our work focuses on the shared values of water, forests/wildlife habitat, recreation, and resilient communities. This partnership enables us to make greater investments at a greater scale to keep forests healthy, water clean and stop critical habitat loss.”
Joining the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy
Wild turkeys thrive in a contiguous mosaic of habitat; in other words, a mixture of habitat types, together, provide wild turkeys the roosting, brood-rearing and foraging habitat they depend upon. But wild turkeys are not the only species that benefit from a rich mixture of habitat types. Nearly all game species, birds, pollinators and native vegetation thrive in this mixture of habitat. This type of habitat is indicative of both healthy wildlife populations and healthy forests.
When part of Mother Nature’s natural ebb and flow, natural disturbances are exceptional for overall forest health and wildlife, and this is why the NWTF works at a landscape-scale across the U.S. on lands of all ownerships (Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, state-owned, private, etc.) to re-create these disturbances through forest management, which mimics a “good” natural disturbance.
Forest management comes in a variety of practices and techniques and is carried out depending on what a particular forest, grassland or habitat needs. In the case of dense western forests, one of the most effective management practices is forest thinning.
“Forest thinning is not cheap, nor is it an overnight process,” Spezze said. “However, when we collaborate with multiple partners and leverage funds and expertise, the difference we make in forest health, resilience, habitat and safety for nearby communities is exceptional.”
While there are many other forest management practices that benefit wildlife — such as invasive species removal, prescribed fire, erosion control and tree plantings, to name a few — the bulk of what the NWTF will be assisting the Forest Service with, through the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, will be forest thinning projects. Through the newly announced strategy, nearly 30 million acres of land will have hazardous fuels removed through forest thinning practices.
With over 50 active forest stewardship agreements in every Forest Service region in the country, the NWTF is proud to work with the Forest Service enhancing habitat and making America’s forests healthier and safer, and to accelerate the pace and scope of this all-encompassing work.
“Our work benefits more than just turkeys and turkey hunters,” Spezze said. “That’s what makes the wild turkey so great. Our conservation work impacts our critically important Four Shared Values. These values impact everyone’s quality of life. Every American that drinks water, recreates outdoors, enjoys seeing wildlife in a healthy forest or hopes for a safe community to live in. We look forward to continued partnership with the Forest Service and making these values increasingly evident for all Americans. The Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy will accelerate this great work to necessary and unprecedented levels”
The relationship between wild turkeys and catastrophic wildfire prevention is clear. Wild turkeys are an icon of American conservation. Not only have they been brought back from near extinction to flourishing populations across the country, but the work the NWTF and its partners deliver for this beloved bird goes far beyond just wild turkeys. The work that benefits this iconic bird benefits America.
Wildfire Crisis Strategy Team
The National Wild Turkey Federation Stewardship Projects Under Agreement for the Wildfire Crisis Strategy
Region 2
San Juan National Forest (Colorado): First Notch Forest Stewardship Project. This project includes 2,993 acres of hazardous fuels work that will reduce fuels, improve wildlife habitat and provide forest products to local markets. Implementation will start in the fall of 2024 or summer of 2025 depending upon project layout being completed.
White River National Forest (Colorado): Cottonwood Forest Stewardship Project. This project will treat 325.5 acres of live and dead timberstands to treat hazardous fuels, improve forest health, enhance wildlife habitat, and provide forest products to the local wood products industry. Some road reconstruction is also included within the project scope. Implementation will begin in the summer of 2024.
Bighorn National Forest (Wyoming): Blondie/Cheap Trick Forest Stewardship Project. This project will treat 536 acres of mature lodgepole pine. This project is one of several being implemented within the Sheridan Municipal Watershed to treat hazardous fuels, enhance wildlife habitat, improve forest health, and provide forest products to the local wood products industry. This project also includes some road reconstruction. Implementation will begin in the summer of 2024.
Region 5
Klamath National Forest (California): Colt Forest Stewardship Project. This project included approximately 6,000 acres of various treatments to advance forest restoration, which were completed in 2023 and 2024. Objectives for the project were to treat hazardous fuels, improve forest health, and enhance wildlife habitat. Treatments included brush mowing and juniper felling, juniper reduction, plantation thinning, mastication, and timber removal. The forested acres within the project area were burned during the Antelope fire in the summer of 2021. To expedite restoration of these forested stands a pilot project using rail transport was implemented due to lack of local markets. The project is within the Klamath River Basin Fireshed and is a high priority to treat hazardous fuels.
Region 6
Fremont-Winema National Forest (Oregon): Hawks Forest Stewardship Project. There is approximately 5000 acres being treated within the scope of this project with commercial timber harvest, meadow restoration, and thinning understory ladder fuels. This project is currently under contract and should be completed in the spring of 2024. Project objectives are to treat hazardous fuels, improve forest health, and enhance wildlife habitat. The project is in the Klamath River Basin Fireshed and is a high priority to treat hazardous fuels.
For more information about the 20-year master stewardship agreement, contact tspezze@nwtf.net.
For more information about the Wildfire Crisis Strategy work by the NWTF, contact mpitts@nwtf.net.
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